ipl-logo

Slavery In America Essay

1516 Words7 Pages

Slavery, in the public eye, exists as nothing more than a distant bygone; however, the public often spreads misinformation and suppresses the truth. In fact, slavery thrives in the United States today. Slavery, in its most common form, subsists as prison slavery, or perhaps better known by its official name: penal labor. Penal labor involves the 13th amendment which abolished slavery but left a crucial loophole: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…” Unfortunately, this loophole did not spawn from a simple mistake, but formed as a calculated ploy to return slaves to their shackles. By means of the 13th amendment, countless …show more content…

Prisons make profits by sending their residents to fill, usually physical, job positions for corporations which is known as convict leasing. The benefits of convict leasing for corporations include reduced wages, no requirement to provide workers’ rights, and a plentiful and essentially unlimited source of workers. Convicts hired out to corporations are paid much less than minimum wage, typically ranging from $0.93 to $4.73 per day, and they cannot unionize nor do they benefit from the usual constitutional rights that citizens benefit from, as they are owned by the state (Khalek). Furthermore, a number of convicts suffer consequences such as solitary confinement if they refuse to work for the prison. These factors combined lead to what is essentially slave labor, and the addition of penal labor to a corporation’s workforce eliminates job opportunities for free Americans. However, penal labor provides some benefits to prisoners. It instills within them practical and social knowledge which they can take advantage of upon release from prison. Unfortunately, this still occurs at the expense of the general population of the US. Perhaps if prisoners were employed to make the prison self-sufficient by only manufacturing goods for the prison and the US military, with no corporations involved, penal labor would be devoid of the more harmful consequences that have not yet been

Show More
Related

Slavery In The South Dbq Essay

1137 Words | 5 Pages

Known as the “peculiar institution” in the South, slavery was perhaps the most divisive issue America faced during its early days. Rapid westward expansion encouraged by the American idea of manifest destiny highlighted the issues that came with protecting the institution of slavery, resulting in various compromises drawn up by the government in an effort to qualm the intensifying division in the country. Moreover, movements like the Second Great Awakening revitalized America’s moral conscience, revealing the ugly injustice and dehumanization hidden in the institution of slavery. In the decades leading up to the civil war, economic and moral arguments were what fueled the growing opposition to slavery. Analyzing the differences between the

Read More

13th Documentary Analysis

695 Words | 3 Pages

The 13th amendment abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude “except as punishment for a crime”. The clause that left the prisoners

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The Prison-Industrial Complex

833 Words | 4 Pages

The prison-industrial complex is a corrupt political system that consists of overpowered politicians whose sole ambition is exploiting poor, uneducated, and under-privileged Americans to make money. Although, it wasn’t initially the purpose when Rockefeller started the war on drugs, but he started something bigger than he could’ve imagined at that time. The prison system has been proven to be ineffective, and costly waste of resources. However, it probably won’t be abolished due to the cash flow that it brings to some of the largest corporations in the

Read More

13th Amendmentamendment Essay

1209 Words | 5 Pages

The authors Eve Goldberg and Linda Evans, writers, and filmmakers, published "The Prison Industrial Complex." This text discusses how the government and private corporations increase mass incarceration for profit. The text states, "For private business, prison labor is like a pot of gold. No strikes. No union organizing.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The Prison Industrial Complex

875 Words | 4 Pages

“Made In America”, should be connoted with patriotism, independence and liberty, conversely, “Made In America” accurately signifies the abuse of prison labor. It is an obligation for those who have committed crimes to owe a debt to society, but owing a debt should not be accompanied by the maltreatment of prisoner workers. The prison industrial complex (PIC) is a term used to describe the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems. The prison industrial complex has its roots in slavery and has spread its branches across American society, letting its leaves fall into pools of injustice and inequality.

Read More

Slavery Dbq Essay

769 Words | 4 Pages

History Slavery DBQ Slavery is the ownership of a person or persons. Slavery in the United States was the legal institution of human chattel enslavement, primarily of Africans and African Americans, that existed in the United States of America in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 1800's slavery was a key issue that divided our state into two territories. the government had ideas on how to deal with slavery but their ideas were different from individuals and groups. the actions taken by the federal government and the Abolitionist Movement helped shape our history and the freedom and rights of African-Americans.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Prison Labor

336 Words | 2 Pages

developed—the first institution in which men were both “confined and set to labor in order to learn the habits of industry” (LeBaron, 2012, p.331). Although prisons had been designed to enforce and promote punishment, retribution and deterrence, they have also fallen into the conceptual belief that they were in many instances, nothing more than a sweat shop for the socially-undesired. At this point in history, there was very little reform and an immense lack of regulation for prisons or for the proper way they should be ran. Finances. In modern-day calculations, prison labor has been rather beneficial to the U.S. government, bringing in an average of 1.6 billion dollars in 1997.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Prison Industry Programs

217 Words | 1 Pages

The two biggest arguments that supporters of prison industry programs make are that prisoners can help provide products and services to society and that these programs help to prepare the prisoners for the transition back into society (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). I know that my department employs prisoners to make all of the department’s utility uniforms as well as help build the new patrol cars that come in. This saves the State of Tennessee a substantial amount of money and prepares the prisoners for the reintegration back into society by teaching them job skills and work ethic. Another strong argument is that prisoners that participated in prison industry programs were extremely less likely to reoffend their first year out of prison

Read More

Essay On Slavery In Colonial America

536 Words | 3 Pages

The slavery in colonial America started around 1600 with indentured slaves, but after some time, people were often sold and bought unintentional. In 1619, the first African slaves arrived in Virginia and by 1820, almost four Africans for every European had crossed the Atlantic. In the late 1800‘s around 12.5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa, and 10.5 million had arrived in America. Prices of slaves varied a lot over time, and it was expensive to own a slave, but it was gainful. In order to make sure the effectiveness of slaves, most slave owners supplied only the bare minimum of food and shelter needed for the slaves to survive and then forced them to work twenty-four hours a day.

Read More

Essay On Mass Incarceration

492 Words | 2 Pages

Therefore, individuals who consume goods and services provided from corporations that participate in the system are also interacting with the system in an impactful way despite not being a part of the system. In addition to this, research indicates that prisoners have a very oppressed role in the incarceration system. They are incarcerated for unfair and discriminatory policies that serve to benefit corporations looking to use incarcerated populations as free labor (Sundury, 2005). Therefore, individuals purchasing from corporations that are a part of the prison industrial complex, means that they are also interacting with the systems that policy makers reside in by an impetus for policies that incarcerate more people and therefore provide a larger work force for

Read More

Should Prisons Be Paid Minimum Wage Essay

703 Words | 3 Pages

So hearing from past experience of a inmate it seems like prisons already require you to do work with no pay as a result of punishment, however these prisons let you have the freedom to work outside of the usual restricted boundaries and pay you money. This sounds like a much better alternative rather than be locked up in a four sided cell, being forced to work for no pay at all and the job is inhumane and

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Prison Privatization

1356 Words | 6 Pages

The US prison population makes up 25% of the world’s prison population while the rest of America only makes up 5% of the world population. The cost of keeping these 2 million people in the US behind bars is an astonishing $80 billion. With such a gargantuan price, politicians, economists, and concerned taxpayers are struggling to find ways to reduce costs. Two ways have been identified as the most promising: privatize the prison industry or put inmates to work. There have already been successful implementations of both around the country, yet inmate labor is likely to be stifled and greatly discouraged due to its association with slave labor.

Read More

Slavery In North America Essay

1774 Words | 8 Pages

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the 13th Amendment was put into place that states "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States” (13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery par 1). Other amendments were created that allowed African- Americans to vote and become citizens, but these laws were often ignored and not enforced. The slavery in the United States was a brutal time in history.

Read More

Essay On The Abolition Of Slavery

2830 Words | 12 Pages

Introduction: During the 1800’s, Slavery was an immense problem in the United States. Slaves were people who were harshly forced to work against their will and were often deprived of their basic human rights. Forced marriages, child soldiers, and servants were all considered part of enslaved workers. As a consequence to the abolition people found guilty were severely punished by the law.

Read More

Modern Day Slavery Essay

907 Words | 4 Pages

One of the most important steps to terminating modern day slavery is learning about the many diversified business these people are working in. One of the most prevalent forms of modern day slavery is forced labor. Research has shown that over 20 million people around the world are employed in the forced labor industry. These people gravitate to work in the fishing and agricultural corporations, because they need the most workers for the company to thrive. Slaves in today 's age tend to be hired because they are economical and effortlessly accessible to get to.

Read More

More about Slavery In America Essay

Related Topics

Open Document