The Pros And Cons Of The Jim Crow Laws

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Pig laws were created in the late 19th century where southern states would enact a variety of laws specifically to destroy African Americans lives after slavery. These were harsh laws that penalized African Americans for petty crimes like stealing a pig. Any normal misdemeanor would be seen as a felony offense and result to severe consequences. The black codes gave African Americans limited rights to things like marriage and property but did not allow them to vote or serve on a jury. The Jim Crow laws were also created around the same time where African Americans held a "separate but qual status, but this idea had many disadvantages towards African Americans. These three laws played a very important role in making blacks seem like the real …show more content…

The legal system basically condoned a new form of slavery by allowing prisoners to be forced into hard labor. It was also up to the courts for how long a sentence would be. This also ties into the term peonage. Peonage was a term where an employer agrees to let the worker pay off their debt by working. This relates because depending on the employer, they will decided how long a worker has to work and when the debt is considered "paid". In som cases, the worker paid off their debt and that was it, but in other cases workers were subjected to a harsh crime and a heavy workload. Also, in the south, Blacks were charges minor crimes which led to expensive fees that forced them to work for someone who would pay off their expenses. In convict leasing, sheriffs played a huge role in gathering African American men. Sheriffs would arrest blacks for petty crimes and misdemeanors which caused them to go to jail. Being in jail would give industries all throughout the south the opportunity to lease the convicts and put them to hard work. Over and over sherries would do this where prisons began to be overwhelmed with African Americans. The main ones to benefit from convict leasing would be the owners of industries and members who worked for the state. Convict leasing became a huge source of revenue for southern