when did prison gangs first originate in the US??

Question

when did prison gangs first originate in the US?

please no speculations, and also since this is for a report too, so It would be really helpfull if you could cite your source

Answer 1

In the days following the Civil War, with no money for prison construction, the state of Georgia adopted the convict lease system. This program began in March 3, 1874, when Federal Governor Ruger signed the bill authorizing state prisoners to be “leased out” to private individuals and companies. Each convict brought the state about $10.00 per year. Prisoners were often the labor sources for mining operations, rock quarries, and the turpentine industry. Amos G. West, the “Iron King of the South, supposedly made his fortune using convict labor. Then in 1897, the General Assembly passed an act to end the lease system in favor of a “reformed” system run by a prison commission.

In 1903, the state prison board commissioners once again authorized contracts with individuals and corporations and started the chain gang.. In this new system, counties received a share of the state inmates for public construction of highways, railroads, and other forms of public service. These prisoners were housed in camps, and by 1929, Georgia had 140 prison camps. To cut down on travel time between the camps and work sites, inmates sometimes spent the night at the sites in rolling cages. These had a lattice steel design, which provided ventilation. Today these convict cages are jokingly referred to by the manufacturer as the country’s first RV’s. Grand Jury Presentments from 1911 note that Turner County had two such “convict cages in good condition.”

In this new system, prisoners were expected to repay their debt to society through physical labor, often back-breaking work performed in leg chains. They were highly visible in black and white striped uniforms and worked under threat of a whip and armed guards. The chain gang had a reputation for harshness. However, the Grand Jury Presentments published in the March 21, 1911 issue of The Turner County Banner makes reference to 35 men in the county chain gang who are found “well cared for and properly clothed.” In a 1912 edition, though, the presentments are contradictory and imply cruel treatment: “There has been some complaint to this body relative to the Warden whipping convicts on the public roads near the residences of some of the citizens, we would suggest that the Warden be a little more careful in this respect and not whip them near the residences of any of the citizens nor on public roads.”

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

probably from the first time they had prisons, they didnt coddle convicts back in the old days. Im sure it came from england, from debtor prisons,