--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Convicts had no meaningful legal rights…" description: "\"“Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and no effective redress. They were understood, quite literally, to be slaves of the state. The T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg" --- # Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and… ![“Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and no effective redress. They were understood, quite literally, to be slaves of the state. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had abolished slavery but allowed one major exception: slavery remained appropriate as punishment for a…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg) > ““Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and no effective redress. They were understood, quite literally, to be slaves of the state. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had abolished slavery but allowed one major exception: slavery remained appropriate as punishment for a crime.”” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how the criminal justice system effectively creates a modern form of slavery, despite the formal abolition of slavery, by denying convicts basic rights and treating them as state property. **In simple terms:** The justice system treats prisoners like slaves, even after slavery was abolished. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge systemic oppression. Themes justice racism civil rights prison reform Mood angustrated determined Type analytical critical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - legal defense - community organizing - education campaigns Key Concepts structural inequality state power legal disenfranchisement Questions to Reflect On - How does this view change your perception of criminal justice? - What reforms could restore rights to prisoners? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex legal distinctions and ignore reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Legal rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legal-rights/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery other than in prisons - but it was a lie that you regained your freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/the-thirteenth-amendment-to-the-u-s-constitution-abolished-slavery/) [Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/) > [In our desire to have government become our benefactor and sustainer, we have allowed it to become our taskmaster and overlord. As a result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-baldwin/in-our-desire-to-have-government-become-our-benefactor-and-sustainer/) [Chuck Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-baldwin/) > [When the mass of families in a State are without property, then those who were once citizens become virtually slaves. The more the State…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/when-the-mass-of-families-in-a-state-are-without-property-then-those/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred ans sixty-three, all persons held as slaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/that-on-the-first-day-of-january-in-the-year-of-our-lord-one-thousand/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The First Amendment of the US Constitution ... is an eloquent repudiation of the First Commandment's prohibition of religious freedom. It is also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zindler/the-first-amendment-of-the-us-constitution-is-an-eloquent-repudiation/) [Frank Zindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zindler/) > [Statutes that curtail her abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-johnsen/statutes-that-curtail-her-abortion-choice-are-disturbingly-suggestive/) [Dawn Johnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-johnsen/) > [The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was enacted in 1865 by martial law. The Fourteenth Amendment was enacted in 1868…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eustace-mullins/the-thirteenth-amendment-to-the-constitution-of-the-united-states-was/) [Eustace Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eustace-mullins/) > [ “Since 1865, when the \[Thirteenth\] Amendment was passed, Black men were getting charged, set up, arrested, and convicted for the pettiest of offenses--like child… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-watkins/since-1865-when-the-thirteenth-amendment-was-passed-black-men-were/) Amy Watkins > [In the Constitution of the United States, Negroes are referred to as fellows although the word 'slave' is carefully avoided before the thirteenth amendment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/in-the-constitution-of-the-united-states-negroes-are-referred-to-as/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [I think all these reverend gentlemen who insist on the word 'obey' in the marriage service should be removed for a clear violation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/i-think-all-these-reverend-gentlemen-who-insist-on-the-word-obey-in/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Who freed the slaves? To the extent that they were ever u2018freed,' they were freed by the Thirteenth Amendment, which was authored and pressured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lerone-bennett-jr/who-freed-the-slaves-to-the-extent-that-they-were-ever-u2018freed/) Lerone Bennett, Jr > [“Americans have found it particularly difficult to come to terms with our “slave origins,” perhaps because the national history of the United States makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-wright/americans-have-found-it-particularly-difficult-to-come-to-terms-with/) Gavin Wright > [All these cries of having "abolished slavery," of having "saved the country," of having "preserved the union," of establishing a "government of consent," and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/all-these-cries-of-having-abolished-slavery-of-having-saved-the/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [“Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1980, though its own government admitted that the practice continued nevertheless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/mauritania-officially-abolished-slavery-in-1980-though-its-own/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I speak on due consideration because Britain, France, and Mexico, have abolished slavery, and all other European states are preparing to abolish it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/i-speak-on-due-consideration-because-britain-france-and-mexico-have/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Legal rights quotes > [Any home where there is love constitutes a family and all families should have the same legal rights, including the right to marry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/any-home-where-there-is-love-constitutes-a-family-and-all-families/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [“Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is largely an interrogation agency for whistle-blowers that extracts their full range of knowledge without upholding their legal rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/occupational-safety-health-administration-osha-is-largely-an/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Romantic literature often presents the individual as somebody caught in a struggle against the state and the market. Nothing could be further from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/romantic-literature-often-presents-the-individual-as-somebody-caught/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Corporations are created by the people, acting through their governments. We grant them corporate charters that confer certain legal rights and privileges, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcgovern/corporations-are-created-by-the-people-acting-through-their/) [Jim McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcgovern/) > [Part of doing mash-ups is getting the legal rights to use the songs. If you're going to do a mash-up with five songs, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mason-jr/part-of-doing-mash-ups-is-getting-the-legal-rights-to-use-the-songs/) [Harvey Mason, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mason-jr/) > [In the US, you even lose legal rights if you store your data in a company's machines instead of your own. The police need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/in-the-us-you-even-lose-legal-rights-if-you-store-your-data-in-a/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [Whenever you're going after something that belongs to you, anyone who's depriving you of the right to have it is a criminal. Understand that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/whenever-you-re-going-after-something-that-belongs-to-you-anyone-who/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“MR. CORPORATION It happened in Washington in 1886. Gargantuan companies won the same legal rights as regular home-grown citizens. The Supreme Court annulled over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/mr-corporation-it-happened-in-washington-in-1886-gargantuan-companies/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [I used to brag that I can hold up any eviction - even if the landlord had legal rights, I could hold it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-lee/i-used-to-brag-that-i-can-hold-up-any-eviction-even-if-the-landlord/) [Ed Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-lee/) > [There's a a right to privacy for all individuals and all who have legal rights - and that includes the unborn. As an obstetrician,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/there-s-a-a-right-to-privacy-for-all-individuals-and-all-who-have/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It may not be easy, in every possible case, to trace the line of separation between the rights of religion and the Civil authority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/it-may-not-be-easy-in-every-possible-case-to-trace-the-line-of/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Once you have realized that law enforcement are not going to uphold your legal rights, you should always exercise your legal right to silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/once-you-have-realized-that-law-enforcement-are-not-going-to-uphold/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Marriage would change hardly anything between us, except that we would end our arguments in a much more satisfying way. And of course I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/marriage-would-change-hardly-anything-between-us-except-that-we-would/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Strictly speaking, my interest is not in legal rights for animals but in a change of heart towards animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/strictly-speaking-my-interest-is-not-in-legal-rights-for-animals-but/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [“A behavior has occurred that is good, bad, or ambiguous. How have cultural factors stretching back to the origins of humans contributed to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/a-behavior-has-occurred-that-is-good-bad-or-ambiguous-how-have/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Browse all 60 Legal rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legal-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and no effective redress. They were understood, quite literally, to be slaves of the state. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had abolished slavery but allowed one major exception: slavery remained appropriate as punishment for a crime.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights-at-this-time-and-no-effective/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Legal rights" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights-at-this-time-and-no-effective/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/michelle-alexander-750_legal-rights_convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights_995710.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and no effective redress. They were understood, quite…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michelle Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Convicts had no meaningful legal rights...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights-at-this-time-and-no-effective/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/convicts-had-no-meaningful-legal-rights-at-this-time-and-no-effective/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```