photo #9131838

A chain gang of young African-American convicts in the southern United States pose for a photo in 1903. The convicts were leased to harvest timber. A common practice historically in the American South, prisoners would be chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. #chaingangs allowed prisoners to work in public outside of #penitentiaries, satisfying the need for labor on government projects, such as #railroads and roads. During the decline of convict leasing, from which states generated significant revenue, chain gangs were employed to offset the costs for the housing of inmates. The practice had ceased by the 1950s, though it had a small resurgence in the 1990s in some states. #ColourisedPieceofJake Source: US Library of Congress #chaingang #convicts #prison #prisoners