Working in Captivity

Summary: In this lesson, you will look at primary sources from different time periods to investigate how people in captivity work.

Share whatever information from this introduction you feel will help provide context for your students before they investigate the primary sources.

Introduction

Prison labor is a complicated subject. Forced prison labor has a complicated history– it used to mean hard, dangerous work for no pay. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlawed slavery in the United States “except as a punishment for crime.” This was used as a loophole, especially in the South right after the Civil War. Formerly enslaved people were arrested in high numbers and put to work in prison.

Over the years, incarcerated people’s rights have become more protected, but prison labor is still controversial. Today, people who are incarcerated are paid for their work, but they are paid very low wages compared to federal minimum wage. Prison labor is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Incarcerated people do work ranging from building office furniture to fighting wildfires.

Some people argue that work is a way to teach people in prison new skills so that they can get good jobs and have better lives when they are released. Others argue that people in prison are being exploited – meaning other people are unfairly profiting from their hard work. What do you think?

Prisons

In the early years, the Maine State Prison forced prisoners to do hard labor in a quarry. The work was difficult and could be dangerous to their health. It was a way to punish prisoners, as well as to financially support the prison.

In later years, work changed. Prisoners learned skills such as carpentry and built goods like brooms and sleighs. Today, people who are incarcerated at Maine State Prison can make goods in a shop and earn a small hourly wage for their work.

Prisoners of War

During World War II, the U.S. Military held German prisoners of war (POWs) in camps across the America. Several were in Aroostook County, Maine. One goal of the camps was to provide labor to help the U.S. military effort. Many American men were away from home fighting, which made it hard for industry and agricultural work to continue. Many women stepped up to work in fields and factories, but there was still a labor shortage.

The 1943 Emergency Farm Labor Act provided labor for food production. POWs earned wages in credit from farmers.

In Aroostook County, though many prisoners did not leave during their time in the camp, others went to local farms to work. They were paid around $1 an hour. Their labor produced potatoes, corn, peas, and beans. Other work included harvesting timber and cutting ice.

Indian Boarding Schools

At the Carlisle Indian School, an Outing System sent children out to work. After being a student at the school for at least two years, the children were sent to live with a White family. The boys would do farm work, while the girls would help in the household. They were also enrolled in the local public school.

When the program was first created, Captain Richard H. Pratt, the head of Carlisle Indian School, had to beg families to take in his students because people were afraid of them. However, after a few years, the school began receiving many requests from families who wanted students to live and work with them. In 1903, there were 948 students in the Outing System.

Juvenile Justice

Maine’s first reform school for boys, the Boy’s Training Center, had a working farm, kiln, brickyard, chair caning shop, and tool house.

At the State School for Girls, girls on parole were paid to work to transition to life outside of the school. These wage earners were placed in homes in the community, usually to do housework. Over time, girls advocated for having the option to do other types of work, such as office work.

In both cases, there was a complicated balance of goals. The Center and School said that it was a way to teach the young people how to work so they could have better lives. At the same time, they controlled the money that the young people earned.

The Lesson:

1. Present the introductory information above to your students to give them context for the lesson. Depending on the class, they could read the introduction as a homework assignment, or you could go over it together as a class.
2. Students choose (or the teacher assigns) one or more of the primary sources to work with.
3. Without first seeing the source label information, students practice their observation and analysis skills to complete an Analysis Worksheet for each one. They can make educated guesses using whatever information they find in the sources. Note – This can be completed as a class, individually, or in small groups.
4. Discuss the sources as a class. What source did you work with? What did you learn from it? What questions do you have? How do the different sources connect to the theme, or to each other?
5. Present the source label information (the “answers”) to the students. Were you surprised by anything you learned? Have you found more connections between the different sources?
6. Optional: use the recommended activity prompts and reflection questions for further discussion.

Optional activity:

Based on the primary sources in this theme, working in captivity can be both positive and negative.

Divide into two teams. Using examples from the primary sources, half of you advocate for labor in captivity, and the other half advocate against labor in captivity.

*Alternate option for younger groups or short time – write a pro/con list as a class.

Reflection questions (for class discussion or written assignment):

• How is labor for people in captivity different from people who are not in captivity?
• What are some of the purposes behind having people in captivity work?
• Who do you think benefits from this work?
• Do you think making people in captivity work is ethical? Why or why not?
• How should people in captivity be reimbursed for their labor?
• People in prison still work today. Based on the sources you looked at, do you think there should be rules about working conditions in prisons?

Freedom & Captivity Primary Source Sets developed in collaboration between the Maine State Archives, Maine State Library, and Maine State Museum.