The History of Chain Gangs
A chain gang is a form of punishment utilized by prisons and jails, particularly throughout a good part of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. A chain gang is a group of inmates literally chained together and taken off prison grounds to perform physical labor as a form of punishment. Chain gangs are rarely to be found in use in the United States and in other countries around the globe in this day and age.
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19th Century
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During the 19th century throughout the United States and in many other countries around the world (including Australia), chain gangs widely were utilized by different penal institutions. Despite being used in some other countries, chain gangs primarily were centered in the United States.
During this time period, chain gangs were commonplace in many different public works projects and to provide labor for other types of endeavors beneficial to the community. For example, chain gangs were used to build roads, plant and harvest crops, and dig ditches.
In the last half of the 1800s, chain gangs started to be used with a bit less frequency in many of the Northern states in the United States. However, they remained widely utilized throughout the Southern states during this time period.
Historical Objectives of Chain Gangs
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There are a number of different objectives associated with the use of chain gangs within the penal system. These include punishment and utilizing the free labor of inmates to undertake public works and related projects. Additionally, the purposes of chain gangs include using inmate labor to offset the costs associated with incarceration.
Two other objectives attached to the use of chain gangs are reducing the idle time of inmates and providing what is hoped is a deterrent to crime. Finally, in some instances, politicians endorsed chain gangs as a means of demonstrating that they are "tough on crime."
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20th Century and Beyond
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By 1955, chain gangs were eliminated throughout the United States. Georgia was the last state to abandon chain gains in that year. However, the termination of chain gangs proved to be temporary.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, some states reintroduced chain gangs. Leading the way in bringing back chain gangs was the Alabama state correctional system, which linked up inmates and put them to work in 1995.
The return to chain gangs was very short lived nearly everywhere in the country. Most correctional systems and institutions that reinstituted chain gangs abandoned them within about one year.
One exception to the termination of chain gangs in the 1990s is the Maricopa Sheriff's office in Arizona. Chain gangs remain in use at the Maricopa County Jail to this day.
Danger of Chain Gangs
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The act of chaining inmates together for the purposes of undertaking physical labor proved to be a dangerous activity in many instances. Because the movement of inmates was restricted and because they nonetheless were called upon to perform significantly strenuous tasks, prisoners regularly were injured while on chain gangs--many times seriously.
Moreover, chaining inmates together also tended to aggravate tensions that naturally exist in a penal setting. Fights between prisoners on chain gangs, sometimes resulting in serious injuries, was also a recurring problem associated with the practice.
Future of Chain Gangs
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There is no indication that a widespread restoration of chain gangs will be introduced in the future in the United States. Indeed, the various state penal systems as well as the federal Bureau of Prisons expressed no interest in bringing back chain gangs. Beyond Maricopa County, the use of chain gangs appears to be a feature of incarceration whose use likely will remain historical in the United States.
From time to time other countries around the world do experiment--at least for a short time--with chain gangs.
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- Photo Credit Xerones, Everystockphoto.com
