Chain Gangs: A Symbol of Inequality

Written By Max Gibson

Chain Gang – A group of convicted prisoners chained together, usually while doing hard labor.

Popularized throughout the South in the years following the Civil War, the creation of the chain gang served as an economic initiative that exploited the incarcerated of America. Originally created to replace the slave labor base that was prevalent at the turn of the century, chain gangs served as a means to reconstruct the South after the war without incurring massive labor costs. In essence, chain gangs created a new form of free labor, providing states the ability to leverage the manpower of those behind bars.

It was the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that would signify the end of legalized slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States. Severely damaged following the end of the Civil War, the South was faced with the herculean task of reconstruction. With a newly liberated African American population and overwhelming debt, Southern states were in desperate need of a plausible solution.

Black Codes & The Prison System

It wasn’t until the abolishment of slavery in 1865 that a formal prison system was established in America. In the South specifically, the necessities of reconstruction demanded a labor force that was nonexistent. However, the rise of the prison system created a mechanism that allowed for a varied form of indentured servitude to subsist. Following the war, Southern law makers enacted a series of “black codes,” which enabled states to recoup their free labor force by establishing a variety of laws aimed to exploit liberated African Americans. Vagrancy laws allowed authorities to arrest blacks “in idleness” while other laws aimed to limit blacks social mobility. In some Southern states the black codes denied African Americans the right to vote, while also denying them the right to testify against whites or express legal concerns in a public forum. Oftentimes blacks were forced to sign yearly labor contracts. If they breached their contracts, the act would serve as grounds for incarceration. In Mississippi specifically, the black codes were especially rigid, illustrating the early beginnings of institutionalized racism.

“Negroes must make annual contracts for their labor in writing,” read one Mississippi black code. “If they should run away from their tasks, they forfeit their wages for the year.”

The introduction of the black codes led to an increasing number of incarcerations, surpassing that of whites for the first time in U.S. history. In Tennessee for example, African Americans were only 33 percent of the prison population in 1865, yet by 1877 the number had swollen to 67 percent of the total prison population.

This phenomena led to the institution of “convict leasing.” Under the practice, plantation owners in the South were given free range to purchase incarcerated prisoners to live on their property and work under their control. Cloaked under the title of “convict leasing,” this form of indentured servitude was championed by proponents of segregation, who saw it as an acceptable method to reconstruct the South.

The Rise of the Chain Gang

“Bad boys make good roads,” went one Georgia saying that epitomized the Good Roads movement–a reconstructive initiative aimed at rebuilding Southern roadways through the institution of chain gangs. The rise of chain gangs evolved from convict leasing, as a form of punishment for the incarcerated. Chained together at the ankles, prisoners were forced to perform manual labor with limited mobility; their legs and limbs chained to the prisoner next to them. Sometimes prisoners were also chained by the neck.

Weighing over twenty pounds for each person in some cases, the chains hindered a prisoner’s ability to perform their work, resulting in debilitating  punishment in the form of manual labor. Oftentimes chained together while inmates ate and slept, chain gangs flourished as an alternative to the tortuous nature of slavery.

Advocates of the policy championed chain gangs claiming they provided inmates with a better environment; removing them from their “cramped” cells and placing them in fresh air and sunshine. Proponents of the Good Roads initiative applauded the State of Georgia especially for building more roads than any other state, while successfully “utilizing” their new found workforce. However, for black lawbreakers, the abolishment of slavery did little to alter their bleak reality.

While the Thirteenth Amendment ended the institution of legalized slavery, convict leasing and the introduction of the chain gang subjugated blacks to a life that could hardly be considered free. Forced to toil along Southern roadsides while under the harsh eyes of an armed overseer, the plight of the freed black now left them at the mercy of the state. Once a slave to an individual owner, the emancipated African American was now a slave to the public sector; their forced labor serving to rebuild the South.

The Decline of the Chain Gang

Although chain gangs thrived throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, economic factors coupled with media influence led to its demise. As the Great Depression thrust the country into financial ruin, the once celebrated chain gang was shunned, as critics believed the practice took away jobs from the free labor sector. Additionally, as the number of white convicts working the roads increased, so did opposition to the practice. Eventually government intervention debilitated the initiative by cutting Federal funding for the chain gangs, the lack of financial support leading to the demise of the practice.

Popular media at the time also played a significant role in the eradication of chain gangs. Specifically, Meryn LeRoy’s vivid on-screen tale, I Am a Fugitive on the Chain Gang portrayed the plight of the system, bringing the harsh realities of the practice to shocked audiences throughout the country. Yet while the film served to capture the essence of life on the chain gang, the producers cast mostly white actors allowing the film to resonate heavily with its caucasian audience.

As a result, the once celebrated chain gang met considerable opposition. Declining throughout the 1940’s, the institution of the chain gang met its final demise in 1955. With mounting scrutiny from humanitarians and activists, every state abolished the practice by the end of the year.

Four decades later, the chain gang saw a revival in the South. Reintroduced by the State of Alabama in 1995, once again inmates were chained together to perform manual labor. Championed as a crime deterrent chain gangs reemerged in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Florida, and Iowa shortly following Alabama. In Arizona specifically, female chain gangs were introduced for a period of time, although the practice was abolished by all states the following year.

Today, chain gangs are nearly nonexistent. Inhumane and disturbingly merciless, their use recalls a dark period of race relations in America. Tied to the plight of racism and discrimination, the legacy of chain gangs serve as a symbol of inequality and despair.