Slavery by Another NameThe lasting impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the

U.S.

Background Civil War – WWII: Southern blacks not slaves, not free

Forced Labor

13th Amendment (1865): outlawed slavery “except as a punishment for crime”

1877 Reconstruction Ends New laws enacted Designed to:

Re-subjugate blacks Provide cheap labor

Subjugate:

Bring under

control

Examples of “crimes” Vagrancy

Loitering

Riding the Rails

Changing Jobs

Talking too loudly in public

Punishments ranged from Fines to Prison Time

Result = Huge increase in # of blacks arrested/convicted

Result = Peonage (debt slavery)/Forced to work for local employer who would pay their fine for them.

Other Methods Crime to leave employment for another job

Sharecropping

Indebtedness Planters Merchants

Unable to pay debt, work without pay

Convict Leasing

Background http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/the

mes/reconstruction/

http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/reconstruction-amendments/

http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/black-codes/

Reflections on Peonage

The following excerpt is from a StoryCorps oral history that features Kate Willis and her cousin Susan Burnore, descendants of John Williams, a plantation owner who practiced peonage. In this clip Willis, who wrote a high

school paper about peonage and her family’s connection to it, defines the practice as well as

discusses how it operated and how it differs from slavery.

Reflections on Peonage 1. What is peonage and how does it

operate?

2. How is peonage different from the slavery that existed in the South prior to the Civil War? How is it similar?

Peonage vs. Slavery

Reflections on Robert FranklinThe following excerpt is from a StoryCorps oral history that features Robert Corley, a descendant of Robert N. Franklin, a

white shop owner who benefited from forced labor. Here

Corley, an historian, talks about how he felt to find out about his great-grandfather’s role in the illegal practice. Corley

discusses John Davis, a 23-year-old black sharecropper who after encountering Franklin, was fraudulently charged, imprisoned, and subsequently forced into labor while

traveling in Alabama. As an historian, Corley also provides context regarding forced labor and racial attitudes of the

time.

* This clip contains offensive language. Please act like adults.

Reflections on Robert Franklin

1. How was John Davis forced into labor?

2. In what ways is Corley trying to reconcile his family history?

3. How can knowing history be used as motivation to make a difference?

“The Connected History of Peonage” (Handout)

While we are reading, underline: Dates Historical figures Events Organizations/entities Laws

Circle any you do not know/want to know more about.

When did it take place? What was going on then at the time?

Where did it take place?

Who was involved?

What factors contributed to its existence?

How was it able to continue for so long?

What impacts might this history still hold today?