Monday, November 16, 2009

Chain Gangs

Research Day in the library. At the end of the hour, make sure to post summarized information about what you found, and include links in case your classmates would like more information. Don't forget to cite your sources -- MLA format!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ella and Rachel Hour 5
Notes on Chain Gangs
McKelvey, Blake. American Prisoners. 1st. Montclair: Patterson Smith, 1977. 208-212, 275. Print.
• Southern penal development made the conditions worse for prisoners than in the North
o Both were bad
• In south majority were controlled by county
o Less continuity
• Lease had much of the control
o Leased to private companies to work on:
 Roads
 Drain swamps
 Lumber camps
o Kept them alive, because best interest—leased
o Conditions:
o Barely kept alive: disease, little food (depended on economy), little water, no bathing
 Cold, smoke because of fires uses
• Used chains, dogs and armed guards to control
o Many prisoners were shot
• Prison Administration in the 1920’s
o Got main control
o New laws – more criminals were created
o No habitual crime laws
 Many made up their own rules – unfairly
o Humanitarians were against them
 Didn’t get heard
• No regulation, everyone tried to do the least for them
• Guarding against fleeing, armed guards, striped clothes, and chains
• Religion some prevalence, but not helpful
o Went to Sunday school
o Tried to get rid of card playing, but couldn’t
• Captain J. C. Powell
o Related conditions to those of a hog
o Only real way to stop: escape or die
 # of escape shows bad
• 1100 men escape in 1882

Pictures of Chain Gang:
http://www.thechaingang.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/a-chain-gang.jpg

http://www.niu.edu/~rfeurer/labor/chaingang.jpg