page_title: Labor trafficking in the United States
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Labor trafficking in the United States / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Convicts Leased to Harvest Timber, around 1915, Florida
context_page_description: Labor trafficking in the United States is a form of human trafficking where victims are made to perform a task through force, fraud or coercion as it occurs in the United States. Labor trafficking is typically distinguished from sex trafficking, where the task is sexual in nature. People may be victims of both labor and sex trafficking.
context_section_description: Many Native American tribes practiced some form of slavery before the European introduction of African slavery into North America; but none exploited slave labor on a large scale. The arrival of the Europeans ushered in the Atlantic slave trade, where Africans were sold into chattel slavery into the American continent. It lasted from the 15th through 19th centuries and was the largest legal form of human trafficking in the history of the United States, reaching 4 million slaves at its height. It first became illegal in the northern states, which favored other forms of human trafficking, such as debt bondage. Following the Civil War, chattel slavery became illegal throughout the United States through the thirteenth amendment, except as punishment for a crime. Three years later, the peonage system of slavery was abolished in New Mexico Territory.
  Though the amendment formally abolished slavery throughout the United States, the amendment did not clearly define slavery. Factors such as Black Codes, white supremacist violence, and selective enforcement of statutes continued to subject some black Americans to involuntary labor, particularly in the South. Employers had complete control over black employees, and were allowed to use corporal punishment. If blacks tried to "escape" employment, they were arrested and brought back to their employers. They were also arrested and enslaved if they failed to find a job or were homeless. Many blacks were arrested for minor offenses and subject to often brutal forms of penal labor. A system of convict leasing emerged which sold black prisoners to do the work previously done by slaves. The black codes were eventually overturned and ruled unconstitutional during the civil rights movement.
  In addition to race-based slavery, many poor Americans were enslaved through debt bondage. One common system was the truck system, in which victims were paid in credits to the company store. The pay was not enough to sustain life, and so victims were often indebted to the company store, and were unable to leave until the debt was repaid. The 19th and 20th centuries saw major reforms of labor law and debt bondage is outlawed. Today, illegal forms of unfree labor are considered labor trafficking. Under federal law, this includes any form of force, fraud or coercion, but differs under state law.
  At the beginning of the 19th century, there was growing concern over "white slavery", which referred to the kidnapping of females to work in the sex industry. A number of laws, such as the Mann Act, were passed to protect white females, and eventually extended to children and women of all races and to a lesser degree men. The laws have continued to change, especially regarding the boundary between a willing prostitute and an innocent victim. Currently, under federal law, a prostitute is considered a victim of human trafficking if he or she is either under 18 or is being controlled through force, fraud or coercion. However, this is not fully implemented, and in many states, prostitutes who are considered victims under federal law are still arrested and prosecuted under state law. Some states have adopted the federal standard, while others have only partially adopted them.
caption: Convicts leased to harvest timber circa 1915, in Florida
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