How long were chain gangs used in America?

Borrowing from eighteenth-century English penal procedures, southern states began using chain gangs before the Civil War and continued the practice for nearly a hundred years.

Georgia became the last state to outlaw this method of punishment in the late 1940s.

The decline of chain gangs was due as much to automation as to public protest: New machinery used to build roads did not require as many workers.

Possibly Related Answers:

1. When was the first eight-hour day introduced in America?
2. How many Levittowns were built in the post–World War II era?
3. What business was the target of the Homestead strike in Pennsylvania?
4. How old is the song “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”?
5. Was it a “Shay” or a “Shays” who led the rebellion of 1786?