BAILEY v. ALABAMA

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
300
Petitioner 
Bailey
Respondent 
Alabama
Heard By 
Interim Court (1910)
Decided By 
White Court (1910-1911)
Opinion 
219 U.S. 219 (1911)
Argued 
Thursday, October 20, 1910
Decided 
Tuesday, January 3, 1911
Term:
Facts of the Case 

Bailey contracted to work on a farm for a year at $12 a month. He quit after a month and did not return $15 advanced to him. Under Alabama law, Bailey's act was criminal. He was convicted and sentenced to 136 days of hard labor under the Alabama peonage law.

Question 

Did the Alabama law violate the Thirteenth Amendment?

Conclusion 

The Court, through Hughes, argued that the law was a restriction on personal rights. Judged by its effect and not by its pretense, the law violated the Thirteenth Amendment. Involuntary servitude meant more than slavery.

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BAILEY v. ALABAMA. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 27 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1910/1910_300>.
BAILEY v. ALABAMA, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1910/1910_300 (last visited April 27, 2013).
"BAILEY v. ALABAMA," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 27, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1910/1910_300.