Even a 1941 peonage conviction drew only a $100 fine.

Evidence

In an unusual case in Mobile, Alabama, in 1941, criminal charges were actually filed against Charles E. Bledsoe, who pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of peonage for holding a black man named Martin Thompson against his will. Bledsoe’s sentence: $100 fine and six months’ probation. — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 285

Categorization

• CANDY: The absurd leniency of a $100 fine for holding a man in slavery is a striking, conversation-stopping fact.