Consider DuBois’s essay on the convict lease system: How does DuBois define the “convict-lease system”? Based on DuBois discussion, what is the process by which convict leasing follows a crime? How does DuBois describe the private police run by slave owners before the Civil War? According to DuBois, what difficulties does the tradition of private police raise following the Civil War in the South? Explain what DuBois means by the following statements: “The state became a dealer in crime.” “Above all, we must remember that crime is not normal.” How does the theory of crime and punishment that DuBois sets forth relate to Marx’s and Engels’s theory of crime? Consider similarities and differences. How does the theory of crime and punishment that DuBois sets forth relate to Durkheim’s theory of crime and punishment? Consider similarities and differences.
