After the Civil War officially ended slavery in 1865, Southern states quickly created new laws
After the Civil War officially ended slavery in 1865, Southern states quickly created new laws known as Black Codes and later Jim Crow laws. These systems were designed to control Black labor and restrict Black freedom. Minor offenses like “vagrancy,” “loitering,” unemployment, or even speaking disrespectfully to a white person could lead to arrest. Once arrested, many Black men, women, and even children were forced into labor through a system called convict leasing. Prisoners were leased out to farms, railroads, mines, and private companies where they worked under brutal conditions with little food, almost no legal protection, and constant violence. Historians today often describe convict leasing as “slavery by another name.” Chain gangs became one of the most visible parts of this system. Prisoners were chained together while building roads, clearing land, or doing hard labor for long hours under armed supervision. Many were teenagers. Some had committed no serious crimes at all. The...