Southern Labor Law in the Jim Crow Era: Exploitative or Competitive?

Abstract

This paper explores the economic effects of certain Southern labor laws from the Jim Crow era. 1 The motivation for these labor laws was to prevent movement of black laborers and increases in their wages.Throughout the period, we read of white planters pleading with one another to hold down black wages."White men have to stick together" was the common theme.Despite all these admonitions, white employers vigorously competed with one another for black labor, and there are numerous reports of blacks leaving jobs to take higher-paying opportunities. 2 Some economic historians have concluded that laws aimed at t Assistant Professor of Economics, Yale University.I am grateful to Charles McCurdy for bringing this problem to my attention.Discussions with John Bigelow and Joseph Tracy have been helpful.Useful comments from Howard Dickman, Robert Fogel, and other participants in the labor law conference have been incorporated into this paper.I am grateful to all of these people.The Earhart Foundation provided financial support for this paper, which is part of a larger project on