Convict Labor: Kentucky Edition

Kentucky was very familiar with the practices of convict labor.  Their first state prison was Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort, KY.  This prison was notorious for the shoe making factory inside of it, which was made possible by the use of convict labor.  There was convict shoe making at this prison from the day it opened, however it increased dramatically after the end of slavery.  After slavery was abolished there were more free blacks on the streets, so there was more of a chance for blacks to be arrested, and that is precisely what happened. According to the Notable KentuckyAfrican Americans Database in 1844 there were 19 colored male prisoners, in 1865 slavery was abolished, and by 1880 there were more colored shoe makers in prison than out of prison.  Abolishing slavery gave convict labor the push it needed to take off in Kentucky.