Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II

Written by journalist Douglas Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II is a searing and thorough account of the “new” form of slavery that continues throughout much of the South in the decades after the Civil War.

Through a partnership of corporations, state governments, local sheriffs, farmers, and judges, black men throughout the South were routinely arrested on false or trivial charges like vagrancy—a crime levied usually against black men for being unemployed—or for speaking to a white woman the wrong way. After being arrested, the men were sentenced to a term of hard labor and charged with phony fees or fines to the sheriff, judges, witnesses, and other individuals as a result of their arrest. An individual or a large corporation—like US Steel—would agree to pay off the prisoner’s debt in exchange for working in their mines or on their farms. The black men were then forced to work in terrible conditions producing iron for major companies or picking cotton. They faced abuse and torture from racist guards and fellow workers, and they were effectively re-enslaved for years on end. This system of “neo-slavery” continued in various forms all the way up to World War II, challenging the usual assumption written in history books that all African Americans were free after the Civil War and showing the full extent of injustice that has been wrought upon former slaves and their descendants.

Although black individuals were granted political rights as citizens in the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, they were not treated as equals to whites after emancipation—far from it. Even somewhat progressive northerners who wanted to guarantee equal rights for all citizens still largely saw whites as superior to all other races, including African Americans. The more racist leaders openly supported suppression of black political power, such as the right to vote. Even those African Americans who were technically free—such as sharecroppers—still lived under the thumb of white oppression in the South, limiting their ability to move and seek employment or demand better compensation. White mob violence and the threat of the Ku Klux Klan also dominated the headlines and put black America in a constant state of terror.

Blackmon’s precisely detailed account reveals how far white mythology has seeped into our interpretation of history by revealing this largely forgotten—and incredibly ugly—chapter of American history. He challenges historians who characterize neo-slavery as an inevitable result of the Civil War and instead forcefully presents the turn of events as a result of decisions motivated by racist beliefs and the desire for financial profit. Whereas other works researching the so-called Jim Crow era of racial segregation have focused on just the government’s failure to ensure civil rights for African Americans, Blackmon also targets private business for upholding injustice in the US.