Peonage

"Peonage" by Lafayette M. Hershaw is a profound exploration of post-slavery America, revealing a system where African Americans were trapped in forced labor. The book focuses on the underhanded ways laws were twisted to keep Black workers in conditions resembling slavery, despite the Thirteenth Amendment. Hershaw exposes schemes like strict labor contracts and vagrancy laws that bound people to endless debt and servitude. Through careful examination, the author demonstrates how these legal traps were used to strip African Americans of their freedoms and dignity, painting a disturbing picture of continued oppression in a supposedly free society.