Sentence:  This act, passed on September 15, 1?86, hoped "to produce such strong impression upon the minds of others as to deter them from committing like offenses" by sentencing convicts to "hard labor, publicly and disgracefully imposed." Chained and clogged, these "<WSD>wheel-barrow men</WSD>" worked by day cleaning and repairing public roadways and buildings. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A convict sentenced to hard labor in the 1800s, especially one sentenced to work maintaining the roads.