what role did convict leasing play in the south after emancipation
Convict lease
Convict leasing in the United States began during the Reconstruction Period ( 1865 -- 1877 ) after the end of the Civil War , when many southern legislatures were ruled by majority coalitions of blacks and Radical Republicans , and Union generals acted as military governors . Farmers and businessmen needed to find replacements for the labor force once their slaves had been freed . Some southern legislatures passed Black Codes to restrict free movement of blacks and force them into employment with whites . If convicted of vagrancy , blacks could be imprisoned , and they also received sentences for a variety of petty offenses . States began to lease convict labor to the plantations and other facilities seeking labor , as the freedmen were trying to withdraw and work for themselves . This provided the states with a new source of revenue during years when they were financially strapped , and lessees profited by the use of forced labor at below market rates . 
Convict leasing in the United States began during the Reconstruction Period ( 1865 -- 1877 ) after the end of the Civil War , when many southern legislatures were ruled by majority coalitions of blacks and Radical Republicans , and Union generals acted as military governors . Farmers and businessmen needed to find replacements for the labor force once their slaves had been freed . Some southern legislatures passed Black Codes to restrict free movement of blacks and force them into employment with whites . If convicted of vagrancy , blacks could be imprisoned , and they also received sentences for a variety of petty offenses . States began to lease convict labor to the plantations and other facilities seeking labor , as the freedmen were trying to withdraw and work for themselves . This provided the states with a new source of revenue during years when they were financially strapped , and lessees profited by the use of forced labor at below market rates .
Farmers and businessmen needed to find replacements for the labor force once their slaves had been freed. If convicted of vagrancy, blacks could be imprisoned, and they also received sentences for a variety of petty offenses. States began to lease convict labor to the plantations and other facilities seeking labor. This provided the states with a new source of revenue during years when they were financially strapped, and lessees profited by the use of forced labor at below market rates.
Farmers and businessmen needed to find replacements for the labor force once their slaves had been freed . If convicted of vagrancy , blacks could be imprisoned , and they also received sentences for a variety of petty offenses . States began to lease convict labor to the plantations and other facilities seeking labor , as the freedmen were trying to withdraw and work for themselves . This provided the states with a new source of revenue during years when they were financially strapped , and lessees profited by the use of forced labor at below market rates .