Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice (Paperback)

by David M. Oshinsky (Author) "In the tumultuous summer of 1861, a Mississippi planter named William Nugent rode off to war with a regiment from Vicksburg..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Parchman Era, After Slavery, Parchman Farm (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American
Oshinsky's beautifully constructed narrative brings to vivid life one of the most shameful chapters in American history.

From Booklist
Historian Oshinsky uses Mississippi as a paradigm for the shameful history of black injustice in the South between the post^-Civil War demise of slavery and the post^-World War II rise of the civil rights movement. Since its admission to the Union, Mississippi had been a violent place, as the author relates; and brutality to blacks was simply a part of Mississippian culture. After the abolition of slavery, in most white Mississippians' minds, something else had to be arrived at for "keeping the ex-slaves in line." Thus laws were passed designed to maintain white supremacy, particularly when it came to controlling black labor. After a discussion of the deplorable practice of convict leasing, a system whereby people could "hire" prisoners for physical labor outside the walls of prison, the author turns his attention to Parchman Farm, the state penitentiary, "a sprawling 20,000-acre plantation in the rich cotton land of the Yazoo Delta." What transpired behind the fences of Parchman Farm since its founding in the early part of this century is a horror story told here through a rigorous study that should be accorded an important place on the U.S. history shelf. Brad Hooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (April 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684830957
• ISBN-13: 978-0684830957
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #10 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Mississippi
  #32 in	Books > Nonfiction > Crime & Criminals > Penology
  #62 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Discrimination & Racism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing yet fascinating southern history, January 18, 1999

By	Rick Hunter (Malone, NY United States) - See all my reviews

David M. Oshinsky's "Worse than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice, tells yet another piece of recent, uncomfortable American history which must not be forgotten. Mississippi, like other southern states after the Civil War, did not deal well with freed blacks, and developed the system of "Jim Crow justice" which, in many respects, replicated slavery. Initially, the state leased prisoners -- usually blacks -- to private individuals, usually to pick cotton and do other heavy labor. As Oshinsky presciently concludes, this resulted in a more onerous existence for the black contract workers than when they were slaves. Owners, at least, had a vested interest in keeping their slaves fed and clothed, as they represented a substantial investment of capital. Persons leasing convict labor had no such capital investment, and, as a result, had no incentive (other than humanitarian, which, Oshhinsky notes, usually begged the question in white southern minds as to whether blacks were "human" at all) to keep workers from starving or working to death. The system of convict labor, considered "enlightened" by many at the time - and a great source of profit for the State - was an exercise in barbarism.

Parchman Farm, a huge cotton plantation in the Mississippi delta, represented an improvement, in that Mississippi itself owned and operated the farm and tended to feed and house the convicts. The system, however, was far from just, in that prisoners were armed and chosen to guard their fellow inmates, profit was a main goal and justification of the system, and no effort was made to rehabilitate the inmates. Only in the last quarter of this century was Parchman reformed through a series of federal court orders defining the situation as "cruel and unusual punishment."

Oshinsky writes extremely well, and both his research and insight are impressive. If one wants an example of how Reconstruction did not work, and the lives of rural southern blacks up through the civil rights victories of the last few decades, I recommend this book highly.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all....., February 1, 2005

By	Cullen J (Bama) - See all my reviews

The title says it all: "Worse than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the ordeal of Jim Crow justice. The author supports this bold statement well by documenting the rise and fall of the Southern penal farm, with its brutality, corruption and racism. In order to put Parchman farm in perspective, Oshinsky details the atmosphere of reconstruction in Mississippi, and how the resentment and bias against African-Americans led to racial violence, and eventually a system of forced incarceration. While unlike slavery insofar as it applies to a smaller percentage of blacks, Oshinky demonstrates that the inmates on Parchman farm were worse off than slaves. Furthermore, he also proves that the convict leasing and convict farm programs reinforced the social hierarchy of the white race being superior to the black.
The book's subtitle indicates that it's primary focus will be Parchman Farm, a Mississippi correctional facility that housed mostly black convicts. However, the first 100 pages don't even deal with Parchman; instead, the author discusses the convict leasing system that preceded the penal farm. Convict leasing reflected the consensus belief that African-Americans were fit for hard labor and little else. Leasing involved a corrupt and biased legal system, which placed unfair "court costs" on black males that would only be paid off by hard labor as a convict. According to Oshinky's research, the laborers would have to work long days in harsh conditions with little or no shelter. While a lot of the inmates would die from the extreme working situations, the people of Mississippi cared very little; the leasing system gave former plantation owners access to cheap labor and reinforced racial stereotypes. The convict leasing system was also not limited to Mississippi- Oshinky documents many similar systems in other states. Eventually, outrage over the death of one of the few white laborers in the system caused the states to shut down convict leasing.
However, instead of building a prison, as was standard practice, Mississippi built a farm on some of the most fertile ground in America. It was here, at Parchman farm, where large numbers of black inmates would come to spend their days picking cotton. Oshinky's research is stunning, as he reveals some of the innermost details of Parchman life. It was a brutal, kill or be killed lifestyle where the most rabid, and often mentally challenged, guards were given shotguns and a free reign over other prisoners. Not only was this farm a brutal and sometimes deadly prison, it was also a huge money maker. According to the author, the area around Parchman was some of the most profitable and fertile real estate in the U.S.A. at that time. The Civil Rights movement and a federal judge eventually ended Parchman Farm. The scars of cruelty would remain.
Oshinky describes the tragedy and the events leading to it's existence in the only way possible- objectively. Instead of editorializing, he quotes people from the days in question and lets their experiences and biases speak for themselves. His research is exhaustive and everything is well supported and well documented. His weaving of statistics into the narrative is the most vital quality of this book, because it adds a sense of overwhelming factual support for his story. This is an amazing book, full of vivid details and stunning facts. This is a must read for anyone interested in the racial history of the South.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book From A Particular Point of View, February 15, 2006

By	James Shannon Bussey (Mississippi) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a good, easy book to read, and I believe this story is based on true facts supported by one writers point of view and opinion. I believe the best way to get a true depiction of Parchman Farm is to read this book along with "Down On Parchman Farm" by William Banks Taylor. It doesn't matter which one you read first but read them back to back. Take bits and pieces from each book and form your own conclusions about whether Parchman Farm was a "hell on earth" or an effective way of rehabilitating prisoners. This book, along with the other one mentioned, is so one side and opinionated that it is hard to read one withoput the other. It is almost impossible to form an educated opinion without reading both books.

That being said this is a book detailing the infamous Mississippi penal farm in the Mississippi delta during the early to mid 20th century. the books relates the horrors and mistreatment of inmates by the Mississippi penal system. This is an exceptional book. I would reccomend this book for anyone who has an interest in Mississippi history. I would also reccomend this book for every correctional administrator, criminal justice student, or criminal psychologist.