Among the concerns of those demanding harsher punishments throughout American history has been the demand for labor as recompense or reeducation for those imprisoned.

Convict leasing, in the post-Civil War South, in which prisoners were passed to private bosses at minimal costs, often functioned as an extension of slavery before it ended in the 1930s. “Chain gangs,” in which workers under public guards work on highways and other projects, have continued and are even cited as a deterrent because of the public humiliation involved. Within prisons, convicts have been employed in many day-to-day functions of the prison—laundry food, etc.; in the 1990s, prisons also became areas for telephone services nationwide. Prisoners receive some or all of this money although it may be taken from them for supplies or privileges within the system.