The Process to Slavery Increase

Kaveena Bullock

Professor Young

AFAM: The New Jim Crow

2 February 2017

“Slavery Increase” Response

Question: The process and system by which slavery increased.

There was more than one process that was done in order to increase the amount of slaves. Not only was there a way to increase slaves, but also a way to keep blacks into captivity permanently. “The system of leasing convicts soon radically altered the implications of the debt enforcement process and the significance of each official involved in it” (Blackmon, 64). There was a system of having blacks being in debt where white officials knew that they were never going to be able to pay it off. This is how the counties kept blacks under a lease.

By the time it was the early 1880s, there were 29 counties in Alabama that were leasing their prisoners (page 65). This was the beginning of more and more black workers increasing. “Because of the financial benefits of leasing convicts rather than sending them to state officials, some counties opted to prosecute men accused of felonies on misdemeanor charges-solely so the sheriff and other locals could receive the proceeds of the prisoner’s lease” (Blackmon, 65). The state was making more money by having prisoners in their counties given to landowners than keeping them in jail.

Another tactic that was used for slavery increase was “’confess judgment’, an archaic legal concept under which the accused confesses his responsibility before being tried” (Blackmon, 67). This would happen with minor situations such as a black person having a weapon or even speaking loudly in front of a white woman. Blacks who did this confess judgment statements did this to be avoid being sold but was traded with labor contracts or to a landowner who they were familiar with, which was better than being sold into slavery. However, the result of this, these blacks were being returned as unpaid workers, beaten and even held in shackles (page 67). The irony of this was that they were treated this way in fields where they were working free before doing a confess judgment.

There were two problems that whites had that misdemeanor convict leasing solved for them. The first one was “it terrorized the larger black population into compliance with a social order in which they willingly submitted to complete domination by whites,” and the second was “it significantly funded the operations of government by converting black forced labor into funds for the counties and states” (Blackmon, 68-69). The value of leasing blacks convicts became popular among the different counties and grew into a large profit.

An example of how these rules were double standard and were made to increase the number of slaves was James Cottingham. He was charged with assault and battery with a weapon. His fine came out to one dollar along with court fines. Of course with that being such a low charge, he was able to pay it and was free. “Little changed over the next two years, with the number of inmates in the county jail never exceeding twenty. All of that transformed as the value of leasing black convicts became more apparent” (Blackmon, 69-70).  

(Picture Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=slavery+increase&espv=2&biw=1396&bih=781&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHr_XT5_DRAhVCQiYKHSiiCzEQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=F0iI3XJb2qQ2aM:)