Question

Before the abolition of slavery there was no real prison system in the United States. Punishment for crime consisted of physical torture, referred to as corporal or capital punishment. While the model prison in the United States was built in Auburn, New York in 1817, it wasn’t until the end of the Civil War, with the official abolition of slavery, that the prison system took hold.

In 1865, the 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery for all people except those convicted of a crime and opened the door for mass criminalization. Many have argued that prisons were built in the South as part of the backlash to Black Reconstruction and as a mechanism to re-enslave (e.g., socially control) Black workers. Discuss this argument and identify the economic, racial and social underpinnings that may have led to the continued enslavement of Blacks in the South.

Answer 1

In 1865 slavery was officially abolished in Congress. The new law established equality for all. But the new law was not enacted in many places, Specially in South America. The black African Americans were deprived of government facilities. In every government places the discrimination would be maintained officially. The blacks would be mainly employed as planters. Along with blacks, other immigrants would face similar fate. The black people were deprived of education and health facilities. The rights of land property were not applicable to the black people. Most of the blacks were unable to avail facilities offered by the law. The employment facilities and housing grants would not be provided to the black people. They had to suffer from starvation, violence, health problems and lack of education. No social welfare was done for them. They had no social and political rights.

Most of the blacks remained as slave and they would not get any social justice. They would lead life without getting least help from the government. The predicament of the women and children was beyond description. After 1890, the scenario began to change slowly.