Indeed the years between 1860 and 1940 were highlighted by the "nadir" of racism in America. (Takaki page 130) Although they were free, they were continually humiliated, mistreated and discriminated against. Most free blacks, particularly in the South, ended up having to go to work for their old masters and spend all their wages on rent and food from their old masters. They quickly became slaves again as they could do nothing to improve their situation. Another way they literally became slaves was through new laws passed in the South that bypassed emancipation through a loophole called the leasehold. This allowed anyone who committed a crime to be assigned to work without pay with chain pay. Then, by being falsely accused of a crime, they could be enslaved by plantation and corporate owners and assigned to dangerous jobs where their lives had no value. (Lesson