English: Florida convicts Leased to Harvest Timber. A chain gang of young African-American convicts in the Southern United States, circa 1903. A common practice historically in the American South, prisoners would be chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Chain gangs allowed prisoners to work in public outside of penitentiaries, satisfying the need for labor on government projects, such as railroads and roads. During the decline of convict leasing, from which states generated significant revenue, chain gangs were employed to offset the costs for the housing of inmates. The practice had ceased by the 1950s, though it had a small resurgence in the 1990s in some states.