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Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America's Second Slavery
From the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Chesapeake Requiem comes a gripping new work of narrative nonfiction telling the forgotten story of the mass killing of eleven Black farmhands on a Georgia plantation in the spring of 1921—a crime that exposed for the nation the existence of “peonage,” a form of slavery that gained prominence across the American South after the Civil War.
On a Sunday morning in the spring of 1921, a small boy made a grim discovery as he played on a riverbank in the cotton country of rural Georgia: the bodies of two drowned men, bound together with wire and chain and weighted with a hundred-pound sack of rocks. Within days a third body turned up in another nearby river, and in the weeks that followed, eight others. And with them a deeper horror: all eleven had been kept in virtual slavery before their deaths. In fact, as America was shocked to learn, the dead were among thousands of Black men enslaved throughout the South in conditions nearly as dire as those before the Civil War.
Hell Put to Shame tells the forgotten story of that mass killing and of the revelations about peonage, or debt slavery, that it placed before a public self-satisfied that involuntary servitude had ended at Appomattox more than fifty years before.
By turns police procedural, courtroom drama, and political exposé, Hell Put to Shame also reintroduces readers to three Americans who spearheaded the prosecution of John S. Williams, the wealthy plantation owner behind the murders, at a time when white people rarely faced punishment for violence against their Black neighbors. The remarkable polymath James Weldon Johnson, newly appointed the first Black leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, marshaled the organization into a full-on war against peonage. Johnson’s lieutenant, Walter F. White, a light-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed Black man, conducted undercover work at the scene of lynchings and other Jim Crow atrocities, helping to throw a light on such violence and to hasten its end. And Georgia governor Hugh M. Dorsey won the statehouse as a hero of white supremacists—then redeemed himself in spectacular fashion with the “Murder Farm” affair.
The result is a story that remains fresh and relevant a century later, as the nation continues to wrestle with seemingly intractable challenges in matters of race and justice. And the 1921 case at its heart argues that the forces that so roil society today have been with us for generations.
On a Sunday morning in the spring of 1921, a small boy made a grim discovery as he played on a riverbank in the cotton country of rural Georgia: the bodies of two drowned men, bound together with wire and chain and weighted with a hundred-pound sack of rocks. Within days a third body turned up in another nearby river, and in the weeks that followed, eight others. And with them a deeper horror: all eleven had been kept in virtual slavery before their deaths. In fact, as America was shocked to learn, the dead were among thousands of Black men enslaved throughout the South in conditions nearly as dire as those before the Civil War.
Hell Put to Shame tells the forgotten story of that mass killing and of the revelations about peonage, or debt slavery, that it placed before a public self-satisfied that involuntary servitude had ended at Appomattox more than fifty years before.
By turns police procedural, courtroom drama, and political exposé, Hell Put to Shame also reintroduces readers to three Americans who spearheaded the prosecution of John S. Williams, the wealthy plantation owner behind the murders, at a time when white people rarely faced punishment for violence against their Black neighbors. The remarkable polymath James Weldon Johnson, newly appointed the first Black leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, marshaled the organization into a full-on war against peonage. Johnson’s lieutenant, Walter F. White, a light-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed Black man, conducted undercover work at the scene of lynchings and other Jim Crow atrocities, helping to throw a light on such violence and to hasten its end. And Georgia governor Hugh M. Dorsey won the statehouse as a hero of white supremacists—then redeemed himself in spectacular fashion with the “Murder Farm” affair.
The result is a story that remains fresh and relevant a century later, as the nation continues to wrestle with seemingly intractable challenges in matters of race and justice. And the 1921 case at its heart argues that the forces that so roil society today have been with us for generations.
419 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2024
117 people are currently reading
9954 people want to read
About the author
Earl Swift
13 books178 followersLongtime journalist Earl Swift is the author of the forthcoming ACROSS THE AIRLESS WILDS: THE LUNAR ROVER AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE FINAL MOON LANDINGS, due from HarperCollins in July 2021.
He is also the author of seven other books, among them the New York Times best seller CHESAPEAKE REQUIEM (HarperCollins, 2018), the story of an island town threatened with extinction by the very water that has sustained it for 240 years; AUTO BIOGRAPHY (HarperCollins, 2014), a narrative journey through postwar America told through a single old car and the fourteen people who've owned it; THE BIG ROADS (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011), an armchair history of the U.S. highway system and its effects, physical and cultural, on the nation it binds; JOURNEY ON THE JAMES (University of Virginia Press, 2001), about a great American river and the largely untold history that has unfolded in and around it; WHERE THEY LAY (Houghton Mifflin, 2003), for which he accompanied an Army archaeological team into the jungles of Laos in search of a helicopter crew shot down thirty years before; and a 2007 collection of his stories, THE TANGIERMAN'S LAMENT (UVa Press). He also co-authored, with Macon Brock, ONE BUCK AT A TIME (Beachnut/John F. Blair, 2017), an insider's account of Dollar Tree's rise from loopy idea to retail juggernaut.
Since 2012 he's been a fellow of Virginia Humanities at the University of Virginia. He lives in the Blue Ridge mountains west of Charlottesville.
He is also the author of seven other books, among them the New York Times best seller CHESAPEAKE REQUIEM (HarperCollins, 2018), the story of an island town threatened with extinction by the very water that has sustained it for 240 years; AUTO BIOGRAPHY (HarperCollins, 2014), a narrative journey through postwar America told through a single old car and the fourteen people who've owned it; THE BIG ROADS (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011), an armchair history of the U.S. highway system and its effects, physical and cultural, on the nation it binds; JOURNEY ON THE JAMES (University of Virginia Press, 2001), about a great American river and the largely untold history that has unfolded in and around it; WHERE THEY LAY (Houghton Mifflin, 2003), for which he accompanied an Army archaeological team into the jungles of Laos in search of a helicopter crew shot down thirty years before; and a 2007 collection of his stories, THE TANGIERMAN'S LAMENT (UVa Press). He also co-authored, with Macon Brock, ONE BUCK AT A TIME (Beachnut/John F. Blair, 2017), an insider's account of Dollar Tree's rise from loopy idea to retail juggernaut.
Since 2012 he's been a fellow of Virginia Humanities at the University of Virginia. He lives in the Blue Ridge mountains west of Charlottesville.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
March 29, 2024
Have you ever read a book and find your mind in the wrong century? I found myself, multiple times, thinking, "Man, the 1800s were ridiculous," only to have to remind myself that the story of Earl Swift's Hell Put to Shame takes place in the 1920s.
You see, there is a farmer named John Williams who is effectively still using slavery on his land. He uses the peonage system. This means he goes to jail, bails men out who can't pay fines, and then uses various means to never let them leave either through ensuring the prisoners never pay their bills or he just murders them. Yes, murder. A lot. Luckily, some brave men escape and we have some courtroom drama!
Besides the excellent court scenes, Swift does an amazing job tackling the peonage system. I get very wary when subtitles of books seem to reference a much bigger topic than what the story is ostensibly about. In this case, Swift definitely explores the peonage system and how it really is American's second slavery. Also, the author explains the actions of the NAACP around this time to ensure the story is not entirely from a white perspective.
It should be noted that Swift does not shy away from quoting directly from the actual records. Swift has a thoughtful notes section explaining his reasoning for not altering any language. As such, there is repeated use of a racial epithet because... well there is a ton of racists in this story and they had no shame even in the middle of court. Which was a huge part of the problem! So fair warning, the very bad, hateful word is in here more than a couple times.
Overall, the book was absolutely riveting from beginning to end. Swift not only makes the courtroom scenes fascinating and suspenseful, but his exploration of the peonage system and the NAACP at this time is equally readable. It is simply a must read.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books.)
You see, there is a farmer named John Williams who is effectively still using slavery on his land. He uses the peonage system. This means he goes to jail, bails men out who can't pay fines, and then uses various means to never let them leave either through ensuring the prisoners never pay their bills or he just murders them. Yes, murder. A lot. Luckily, some brave men escape and we have some courtroom drama!
Besides the excellent court scenes, Swift does an amazing job tackling the peonage system. I get very wary when subtitles of books seem to reference a much bigger topic than what the story is ostensibly about. In this case, Swift definitely explores the peonage system and how it really is American's second slavery. Also, the author explains the actions of the NAACP around this time to ensure the story is not entirely from a white perspective.
It should be noted that Swift does not shy away from quoting directly from the actual records. Swift has a thoughtful notes section explaining his reasoning for not altering any language. As such, there is repeated use of a racial epithet because... well there is a ton of racists in this story and they had no shame even in the middle of court. Which was a huge part of the problem! So fair warning, the very bad, hateful word is in here more than a couple times.
Overall, the book was absolutely riveting from beginning to end. Swift not only makes the courtroom scenes fascinating and suspenseful, but his exploration of the peonage system and the NAACP at this time is equally readable. It is simply a must read.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books.)
April 12, 2024
In the book Hell Put To Shame by Earl Swift we learn about a time 60 years after slavery was made illegal how a Georgia farmer and his family enslaved men anyway. It was called peonage when they needed a worker they just mosey on down to the local jail paid someone’s fine and made them work it off and then some. Like most good books it’s not just the murders of the 11 men by A Georgia farmer named John S Williams his sons and his nephew. But we also learned the reporters and lawmakers that tried to put a stop to it other people who did it and some who didn’t live to talk about it. The practice of peonage wasn’t just popular in America in history is wrought with sad stories but the one of slavery always breaks my heart no matter if in America or elsewhere. Mr. Swift has written a compelling interesting book about the practice of peonage in the worst case ever on record and he did a wonderful job. This is a great book I want to thank mariner books for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
August 7, 2024
I’m a journalist and in school I was taught that you’re the writer and your sources play small, albeit important, roles in your narrative. If you let them take over, you’ve lost your voice. Good lord, there’s like 150 pages that are almost cut and paste from the court documents. This book is great outside the court proceedings but that is such an absolute drag and boring part that seems to never end.
January 7, 2024
This forthcoming book is SO timely!
I read an ARC, and wow... Earl Swift has done it gain with his meticulous research, explorations of places, and interviews with others to weave a story that I predict will be a starting point for many discussions on race and the suppression and mistreatment of Blacks. Slavery clearly did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation and was alive and well in the South for nearly half the 20th century.
You'll need a strong stomach to read about some of the mistreatment, especially with lynchings and the just cruel and heart breaking story of Mary Turner and her 8 months in the womb baby--brutal is an understatement.
The main John S. Williams was a church-going family man, planter, prominent citizen... and mass murderer of the peons he was holding on his farm. Bailed them out of jail, put the to work on his farm, abused them, then killed most of them.
A timely book that we all should read.
I read an ARC, and wow... Earl Swift has done it gain with his meticulous research, explorations of places, and interviews with others to weave a story that I predict will be a starting point for many discussions on race and the suppression and mistreatment of Blacks. Slavery clearly did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation and was alive and well in the South for nearly half the 20th century.
You'll need a strong stomach to read about some of the mistreatment, especially with lynchings and the just cruel and heart breaking story of Mary Turner and her 8 months in the womb baby--brutal is an understatement.
The main John S. Williams was a church-going family man, planter, prominent citizen... and mass murderer of the peons he was holding on his farm. Bailed them out of jail, put the to work on his farm, abused them, then killed most of them.
A timely book that we all should read.
November 11, 2023
In the South, there are mysterious and horrid murders committed by someone, maybe an overseer. Whoever has perpetrated the crimes is not talking. This is because of the awful fear the men had of their master. Who knew what kind of torture they would face? Best to keep quiet. This happpens in the Twenties. There is a black father and son argument which leads to murder. Oddly, the murder was not reported to the authorities. So much about slavery is known and more unknown. It seems to have been a common occurrence for a lack of justice to take place. There were the Black Codes. These were no help to those working under peonage. Being unemployed could get a man arrested. With the signing of contracts, there was no protection. Most of the enslaved could not read or count. Only the owner of the plantation could gain something from a slave who put an x by his name. Did he work those hours? Who was telling the truth? Pontius Pilate's words come to mind. "'What is truth?'" This is one of the sad periods of History written about or not written about by Historians. Peonage is a word with a wide road to travel. I could not wrap my mind around it. I guess it is always hard to narrow down injustice. It is a wide berth with a narrow walkway.
April 22, 2024
I received this book as an eARC in return for an honest review. thank you to netgalley and the publisher.
this was a well written book and will leave you sickened by the fact that this was our country only 100 years ago (made even worse by the fact that we haven’t gotten much better). I am giving this 3 stars solely because I was expecting this book to be more about the “murder farm” and not focused so much on the politics. overall it was a good read
this was a well written book and will leave you sickened by the fact that this was our country only 100 years ago (made even worse by the fact that we haven’t gotten much better). I am giving this 3 stars solely because I was expecting this book to be more about the “murder farm” and not focused so much on the politics. overall it was a good read
July 11, 2024
Audiobook (12 hours) narrated by Mark Deakins
While the narration was a rather dry read, particularly the opening of the book with the explanations and foundation laying, he was clear, with good pacing, no annoying sounds or distortions.
The audio is excellent, without distortion, erroneous noise, or obvious edits.
Despite this book being well researched and written, the audio version was read extremely dryly at the beginning, as I stated above. It was like a bad history teacher trying to lecture, and it was a slog to listen too. Somehow I forced my way through that.
Once we moved out of that, we got into the meat of the atrocities that were happening to good people, because of race or religion. The details are horrific and difficult to hear.
Despite my belief that there are stories that need to be told and people who deserve to be remembered, I wasn't sure if I could finish. I do think that reading it would have made it easier as I would have not had to deal with the dry narration and then I would have been in a better space when the bloody details began. I did read a couple of books in between, picking this one up and putting it down, and then once I got to the part where people were fighting for the rights of the men who were murdered, with their bodies desecrated, it was easier to move through.
Short history lesson:
We fought the American Civil war from 1861 -1865. Shortly after, peonage became the new way for southern plantation owners to illegally enslave individuals to work their farms, under the threat of death, in untenable conditions, for free.
The short explanation of how an average situation of peonage would work is that a non white individual (usually a black male, or a native American, or in some cases Jewish, who were not considered to be white at the time in the south) would be arrested and thrown in jail, many times illegally. A high bail that the individual could not pay would be set. A plantation owner would then bail out the individual stating that they could work off the bail money at their plantation. Once the individual got there they were worked hard, whipped, locked in sheds at night. Some plantation owners would continually tack on fees for food, clothes and housing putting them in a perpetual state of owing a debt that would be for all intents and purposes, infinite. Others, who didn't care about the books, just kept the locked up and under guard, beaten down and under the threat of death for running away or not working hard enough. Basically slavery after slavery was outlawed.
While this is the basis of what happened to the men in this story, I want to take a side trip to note that despite what is known as The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the moves to stop this from happening in Georgia, peonage has continued across the country.
A rather famous case of peonage that was used as the base of a movie in 2022, was so incredible that many people were shocked that such a horrible movie would be made today with a story that was completely unbelievable. The reason people did not believe it, is because a woman, who was being kept as a slave, escaped the plantation where she was born, where her family and several others were kept, just as if it were pre Civil War, only it was in the early 1970s. Reviewers felt that there was no way that anyone wouldn't know that slavery was illegal.
The movie was popped ahead just a bit in time for dramatization into a time of the Civil Rights movement, whereas the original woman who escaped did so in 1961.
The woman's name was Mae Louise Wall(August 24, 1943 - 2014).
This brave woman's name deserves to be in bold and her story should be known.
There was a short documentary of her story, that is as of this review, still currently on Vimeo, in full:
https://vimeo.com/9310529
The movie that was made based on her story, is called Alice, with Keke Palmer playing Alice, aka Mae Louise Wall. The following is a link to the trailer on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/yANMAlVFPms?si=OITvo...
It seems that the movie is currently streaming for free on Tubi, or for rent on the usual places (Prime, AppleTV, Google, Fandango)
I thought that Keke's performance was excellent, as was Common's. The portrayal of the Georgia plantation was realistic to what actually happened. Although they did push the year up from the actual date of 1961, I believe that the latest report of plantation peonage was 1975, so I don't find it unrealistic to move the date for dramatization purposes.
Peonage, unfortunately, did not stop in the 70's and is thriving in some places today. We are more likely to hear of immigrants being held at farms, not dissimilar from Mae's story. The difference is that the immigrants are increasingly Mexicans, as well as others crossing into the border looking for hope in America, but finding themselves enslaved instead. Cases also often involve international Nannies or Au Pairs, as well as indigent or disabled citizens who took an offer of a job and/or housing from the wrong people. Sometimes even family of friends lock away an individual receiving social security disability, keeping the checks for themselves.
Unfortunately peonage seems to be timeless.
Hell Put to Shame is an excellent recounting.
In addition to the atrocities, we meet several brave poc including the first black attorney of Florida, brave white men in government and judicial positions, as well as those on the jury for this case. People who stood against the common social beliefs in Georgia at the time, who made differences that helped to move change in the US.
The United States is not perfect. It is what we collectively have made it. These people and names from the past deserve to be read about, their names known for who they were, what they did for us all. It is also a reminder of the importance of where we stand and what we do today, for ourselves as well as those who are born here tomorrow, and all the tomorrows thereafter.
Recommend.
While the narration was a rather dry read, particularly the opening of the book with the explanations and foundation laying, he was clear, with good pacing, no annoying sounds or distortions.
The audio is excellent, without distortion, erroneous noise, or obvious edits.
Despite this book being well researched and written, the audio version was read extremely dryly at the beginning, as I stated above. It was like a bad history teacher trying to lecture, and it was a slog to listen too. Somehow I forced my way through that.
Once we moved out of that, we got into the meat of the atrocities that were happening to good people, because of race or religion. The details are horrific and difficult to hear.
Despite my belief that there are stories that need to be told and people who deserve to be remembered, I wasn't sure if I could finish. I do think that reading it would have made it easier as I would have not had to deal with the dry narration and then I would have been in a better space when the bloody details began. I did read a couple of books in between, picking this one up and putting it down, and then once I got to the part where people were fighting for the rights of the men who were murdered, with their bodies desecrated, it was easier to move through.
Short history lesson:
We fought the American Civil war from 1861 -1865. Shortly after, peonage became the new way for southern plantation owners to illegally enslave individuals to work their farms, under the threat of death, in untenable conditions, for free.
The short explanation of how an average situation of peonage would work is that a non white individual (usually a black male, or a native American, or in some cases Jewish, who were not considered to be white at the time in the south) would be arrested and thrown in jail, many times illegally. A high bail that the individual could not pay would be set. A plantation owner would then bail out the individual stating that they could work off the bail money at their plantation. Once the individual got there they were worked hard, whipped, locked in sheds at night. Some plantation owners would continually tack on fees for food, clothes and housing putting them in a perpetual state of owing a debt that would be for all intents and purposes, infinite. Others, who didn't care about the books, just kept the locked up and under guard, beaten down and under the threat of death for running away or not working hard enough. Basically slavery after slavery was outlawed.
While this is the basis of what happened to the men in this story, I want to take a side trip to note that despite what is known as The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the moves to stop this from happening in Georgia, peonage has continued across the country.
A rather famous case of peonage that was used as the base of a movie in 2022, was so incredible that many people were shocked that such a horrible movie would be made today with a story that was completely unbelievable. The reason people did not believe it, is because a woman, who was being kept as a slave, escaped the plantation where she was born, where her family and several others were kept, just as if it were pre Civil War, only it was in the early 1970s. Reviewers felt that there was no way that anyone wouldn't know that slavery was illegal.
The movie was popped ahead just a bit in time for dramatization into a time of the Civil Rights movement, whereas the original woman who escaped did so in 1961.
The woman's name was Mae Louise Wall(August 24, 1943 - 2014).
This brave woman's name deserves to be in bold and her story should be known.
There was a short documentary of her story, that is as of this review, still currently on Vimeo, in full:
https://vimeo.com/9310529
The movie that was made based on her story, is called Alice, with Keke Palmer playing Alice, aka Mae Louise Wall. The following is a link to the trailer on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/yANMAlVFPms?si=OITvo...
It seems that the movie is currently streaming for free on Tubi, or for rent on the usual places (Prime, AppleTV, Google, Fandango)
I thought that Keke's performance was excellent, as was Common's. The portrayal of the Georgia plantation was realistic to what actually happened. Although they did push the year up from the actual date of 1961, I believe that the latest report of plantation peonage was 1975, so I don't find it unrealistic to move the date for dramatization purposes.
Peonage, unfortunately, did not stop in the 70's and is thriving in some places today. We are more likely to hear of immigrants being held at farms, not dissimilar from Mae's story. The difference is that the immigrants are increasingly Mexicans, as well as others crossing into the border looking for hope in America, but finding themselves enslaved instead. Cases also often involve international Nannies or Au Pairs, as well as indigent or disabled citizens who took an offer of a job and/or housing from the wrong people. Sometimes even family of friends lock away an individual receiving social security disability, keeping the checks for themselves.
Unfortunately peonage seems to be timeless.
Hell Put to Shame is an excellent recounting.
In addition to the atrocities, we meet several brave poc including the first black attorney of Florida, brave white men in government and judicial positions, as well as those on the jury for this case. People who stood against the common social beliefs in Georgia at the time, who made differences that helped to move change in the US.
The United States is not perfect. It is what we collectively have made it. These people and names from the past deserve to be read about, their names known for who they were, what they did for us all. It is also a reminder of the importance of where we stand and what we do today, for ourselves as well as those who are born here tomorrow, and all the tomorrows thereafter.
Recommend.
December 3, 2023
An interesting yet horrifying story of peonage and murder in 1920s Georgia. This book shows you the terrible truth of the murders of 11 black men at the hands of John S. Williams. This true story was intriguing and sometimes upsetting but so informative of the realities of that time. This is a must read.
October 29, 2025
Yow, this is more thought provoking than I first thought, largely because Earl Swift expands the cast of characters to include Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey, and the NAACP 's James Weldon Johnson and Walter White, and as many relatives of the participants as he could track down. This expands beyond the True Crime aspects of this awful series of murders, in that peonage [look it up] is part of our history right here, close to home, and continues in labor abuses.
This awful story is compellingly told, and well-referenced. It leads me to do more reading, specifically on Governor Dorsey's pamphlet on the rights of black citizens before leaving his office.
Read this book.
This awful story is compellingly told, and well-referenced. It leads me to do more reading, specifically on Governor Dorsey's pamphlet on the rights of black citizens before leaving his office.
Read this book.
July 3, 2024
This was all new information for me. I didn't know anything about peonage or about slavery basically continuing throughout the south for decades under it's guise. I knew the modern usage of the word 'peon' in its meaning of an unimportant person with no status or power. It will definitely have a different connotation now that I know where it comes from and what it originally meant.
This book presents the story very well chronologically. I also really liked the extra biographical information about some of the figures. I learned a lot about some of the NAACP leaders at this time that I had no idea about. I found Walter White's history particularly interesting. The murders were presented in the way that they were discovered by law enforcement and it was a captivating tale. Not only was it presented well, but a mass murder is always going to be interesting. The presentation made it easy to follow what was known when and what happened.
The part I think was the most disturbing was looking at the photos in the book. The last one is a family photo of some of the sibling children of the plantation owner when they are older and are smiling and posing in a typical family photo. The three older brothers are in the photo, looking happy and like anybody you might know. Looking at them and knowing what these men did to other human beings is shocking.
I definitely recommend this book to simply expand everyone's knowledge of what was happening, and in many ways, still happening. At the end, Swift relates peonage to modern forms that mostly target immigrants and are part of human trafficking schemes. It's a part of history that should not be forgotten.
This book presents the story very well chronologically. I also really liked the extra biographical information about some of the figures. I learned a lot about some of the NAACP leaders at this time that I had no idea about. I found Walter White's history particularly interesting. The murders were presented in the way that they were discovered by law enforcement and it was a captivating tale. Not only was it presented well, but a mass murder is always going to be interesting. The presentation made it easy to follow what was known when and what happened.
The part I think was the most disturbing was looking at the photos in the book. The last one is a family photo of some of the sibling children of the plantation owner when they are older and are smiling and posing in a typical family photo. The three older brothers are in the photo, looking happy and like anybody you might know. Looking at them and knowing what these men did to other human beings is shocking.
I definitely recommend this book to simply expand everyone's knowledge of what was happening, and in many ways, still happening. At the end, Swift relates peonage to modern forms that mostly target immigrants and are part of human trafficking schemes. It's a part of history that should not be forgotten.
November 20, 2024
Earl Swift disinters a long forgotten era of the rural Georgia, USA. A series of savage murders took place there roughly one hundred years ago. The lowly plantation of John S. Williams, a white farmer, was hell on earth for the black men he imprisoned and murdered. Justice was routinely denied to black citizens throughout the South. Lives were brutally ended for trivial, manufactured offenses. I would like to forget the details of torture revealed in this book. It won't be possible. Sadly, the social norms of racial servitude in early twentieth century Georgia have echoes in today's phobia against immigrants and other minorities.
Thanks to the author for shining a light on this shameful episode of American history. While reading the book I felt that Mr. Swift was also troubled by the events he so diligently reported.
Thanks to the author for shining a light on this shameful episode of American history. While reading the book I felt that Mr. Swift was also troubled by the events he so diligently reported.
January 13, 2024
An interesting although horrendous reminder of the evil in this world and how so much of it is covered up because of greed and politics. The sad truth is this happened in so many places, times and ways that we will never know. And those who paid the price are still screaming for retribution from their graves.
Read
December 16, 2024DNF 52%
January 10, 2025
4.5 stars. What a captivating read about yet another horrifying story from American history. Earl Swift does so much research & writes in a readable style. Looking forward to hearing him talk about it at an author event next week.
July 31, 2024
One hundred years ago, a man named John S. Williams owned a farm in rural Georgia. Though it was nearly 60 years after the end of the Civil War and therefore of slavery, Williams engaged in peonage, a practice whereby white planters would pay the fines of Black men held in the local jail, and in return those Black men would work for the white planters to pay off their fines. However, the planters would often overcharge the men for room and board, or underpay them for whatever they had earned by selling their crops, thereby keeping the men always indebted to them. This was peonage, and it was a common practice in the South during the Jim Crow years. When federal agents began sniffing around Williams’s farm for evidence of peonage, Williams took matters into his own hands and caused one of his workers, Clyde Manning, to murder the men Williams had in peonage. At least eleven men were killed over a few days, though there is evidence to suggest that Williams and his grown sons often killed the men they held in peonage.
This book describes the practice of peonage, and explains why Manning himself was in thrall to Williams. Other men had run away from the Williams farm, and they all had been captured, brought back, and beaten, if not outright murdered. Every time a man went missing, the other hands knew what had happened to him, but they were terrified to discuss it, in case Williams overheard and decided to get rid of them too.
What is surprising is that Williams was actually found guilty of the murders. What was far less surprising to me was how often the judges and lawyers on both sides used the N-word, and other derogatory terms for Black people. For so many years, Black people were dehumanized, the better to keep them as property instead of recognizing that they too are human beings that deserve basic human rights.
While at times dry, it was also fascinating to read about how the NAACP viewed this atrocity. It makes me so angry that so many Black men were lynched, strung up and hanged to death, and white men would say it was to protect the purity and sanctity of white women, when that was rarely the reason for the lynchings. Anything could provoke a mob after a Black man, and no white perpetrator was going to be brought to justice over it. A shameful chapter in our nation’s history, indeed.
It was also unsettling to read how southerners of the era viewed Jews, and that a Jewish man was lynched not long before the Murder Farm atrocities came to light.
This is a gripping book, and one that covers an important, though ugly, occurrence in the United States. We have much to be ashamed of in our treatment of those who were not considered white.
This book describes the practice of peonage, and explains why Manning himself was in thrall to Williams. Other men had run away from the Williams farm, and they all had been captured, brought back, and beaten, if not outright murdered. Every time a man went missing, the other hands knew what had happened to him, but they were terrified to discuss it, in case Williams overheard and decided to get rid of them too.
What is surprising is that Williams was actually found guilty of the murders. What was far less surprising to me was how often the judges and lawyers on both sides used the N-word, and other derogatory terms for Black people. For so many years, Black people were dehumanized, the better to keep them as property instead of recognizing that they too are human beings that deserve basic human rights.
While at times dry, it was also fascinating to read about how the NAACP viewed this atrocity. It makes me so angry that so many Black men were lynched, strung up and hanged to death, and white men would say it was to protect the purity and sanctity of white women, when that was rarely the reason for the lynchings. Anything could provoke a mob after a Black man, and no white perpetrator was going to be brought to justice over it. A shameful chapter in our nation’s history, indeed.
It was also unsettling to read how southerners of the era viewed Jews, and that a Jewish man was lynched not long before the Murder Farm atrocities came to light.
This is a gripping book, and one that covers an important, though ugly, occurrence in the United States. We have much to be ashamed of in our treatment of those who were not considered white.
June 11, 2024
Another topic I (and most) knew nothing about but should have been taught. This story covers a specific story but highlights the trials of peonage of blacks continuing well into the 21st century and how racism essentially delayed any justice. Well written and researched, it did get a little slow around the 2/3 to 3/4 mark but it was compelling enough to go to the end-which was worth it.
June 15, 2024
John S Williams was a plantation owner in Georgia. After the passage of the Emmancipation Act he struggled to hire field hands so he began to practice peonage, slavery by another name. Williams would go to the jail and pay fines or bonds for incarcerated Black men. He would then take them home offering them wages and lodging in return for their work. The men necessarily shopped at the company store where they quickly ran up charges, for exorbitantly priced goods, that they could not pay. This meant they had to stay and work to try to pay their debts in what became a never ending cycle. When the workers became belligerent or discontent because of being falsely promised the opportunity to work toward freedom, Williams, a cruel taskmaster, would punish or even kill them to keep them quiet.
Finally one of the men was able to report Williams’ illegal system of indebted servitude initiating an FBI investigation. That federal scrutiny eventually led to a historic lawsuit against Williams for peonage.
The first third of this book is brutal and very difficult reading. Once the suit starts it is very interesting to learn about the 1920s courtroom and the precarious outcome for a white man to be convicted on the testimony of Black witnesses. It was a part of history I did not know about so appreciated this book bringing light to this disgusting practice.
Finally one of the men was able to report Williams’ illegal system of indebted servitude initiating an FBI investigation. That federal scrutiny eventually led to a historic lawsuit against Williams for peonage.
The first third of this book is brutal and very difficult reading. Once the suit starts it is very interesting to learn about the 1920s courtroom and the precarious outcome for a white man to be convicted on the testimony of Black witnesses. It was a part of history I did not know about so appreciated this book bringing light to this disgusting practice.
April 2, 2024
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Thank you to netgalley and Mariner Books for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. Hell Put to Shame shed a light on a largely unknown series of murders during American's second slavery in Georgia, carefully weaving together written records, oral stories, and everything in between. Earl Swift's writing is very frank, matter-of-fact, and truly lets the atrocities of this time speak for itself.
Given the subject, there's no denying this is a heavy read. I often found myself having to put it down/step away to process what I had read. But, he is unflinching in his approach—which, when it comes to these heavy, forgotten histories, I do feel like it's important to be as brutally honest as you can.
The only reason I took it down a half star was because I found myself getting bogged down at times and slightly confused by the all the names/places/dates. I think Swift presented it as well as he could, but for some reason, there were paragraphs at a time that I had to read two to three times over to really understand what he was trying to say.
But, this is definitely an important read and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it.
Thank you to netgalley and Mariner Books for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. Hell Put to Shame shed a light on a largely unknown series of murders during American's second slavery in Georgia, carefully weaving together written records, oral stories, and everything in between. Earl Swift's writing is very frank, matter-of-fact, and truly lets the atrocities of this time speak for itself.
Given the subject, there's no denying this is a heavy read. I often found myself having to put it down/step away to process what I had read. But, he is unflinching in his approach—which, when it comes to these heavy, forgotten histories, I do feel like it's important to be as brutally honest as you can.
The only reason I took it down a half star was because I found myself getting bogged down at times and slightly confused by the all the names/places/dates. I think Swift presented it as well as he could, but for some reason, there were paragraphs at a time that I had to read two to three times over to really understand what he was trying to say.
But, this is definitely an important read and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it.
June 20, 2024
With a subject this brutal, you can't really state that you enjoyed the book, but I found it to be well-written and a worthwhile addition to the record of a time in our nation's history that tends to be forgotten. I thought the author hit the right balance in telling the specific story of the murder farm and providing the perspective of state and national reaction, politics and other relevant events of the time. The story of the United States during and after WWI is fascinating (yes, we were that messed up a hundred years ago) and deserves more of our attention.
The reaction of the Williams descendents was interesting, and the contrast in what you can research and uncover about black and white families is not suprising but shouldn't be overlooked. I agree with the choices the author made about quoting the language of the time accurately. The fact that he was surprised by how casually that language was used is all the more reason that it should be faithfully represented in our history.
The reaction of the Williams descendents was interesting, and the contrast in what you can research and uncover about black and white families is not suprising but shouldn't be overlooked. I agree with the choices the author made about quoting the language of the time accurately. The fact that he was surprised by how casually that language was used is all the more reason that it should be faithfully represented in our history.
May 23, 2024
This was an interesting book that suffered from a poor narrative structure and from diluting the story with information overload that made it nearly impossible to follow. The murders were compelling and it started off well, but the diversions into peonege and Mary Phagen caused great damage. Just as it was getting warmed off these two subjects would pop up now and then, There was just enough information to draw us off from the original story but not enough to help us keep on track. What was this book about again?
Not bad but not going on my shelf.
Not bad but not going on my shelf.
September 9, 2024
3.5 stars, actually. This was tough to read, really disheartening that humans are capable of this level of cruelty. It lacks the compelling storyline of narrative nonfiction, instead focusing on comprehensive accuracy, dutifully logging details and testimony.
And in case this seems like the problem of a bygone era, the author reminds us: "Peonage today has morphed into a complex international undertaking. If recent cases are a guide, it can involve extravagant organization, millions of dollars in loot, and large numbers of victims. Fraud and money laundering often figure in the crime. That said, Johnson, White, and Dorsey would recognize it and the same goes for John S. Williams. It remains an almost inconceivably cruel, brutal enterprise. It continues to prey on the poor, the disadvantaged, the downtrodden. It reduces its victims to the status of livestock. And most of those victims have dark skin." - Ch. 37
And in case this seems like the problem of a bygone era, the author reminds us: "Peonage today has morphed into a complex international undertaking. If recent cases are a guide, it can involve extravagant organization, millions of dollars in loot, and large numbers of victims. Fraud and money laundering often figure in the crime. That said, Johnson, White, and Dorsey would recognize it and the same goes for John S. Williams. It remains an almost inconceivably cruel, brutal enterprise. It continues to prey on the poor, the disadvantaged, the downtrodden. It reduces its victims to the status of livestock. And most of those victims have dark skin." - Ch. 37
May 25, 2024
Thank you Mariner for allowing me to read and review Hell Put to Shame on NetGalley.
Published: 4/2/24
Stars: 3
I'm not sure who the target audience is. The presentation is dry and repetitive. However, I do believe the story needs to be told and placed on shelves in a position to be seen.
I went in thinking I would have a story shared and picked up a textbook.
I would recommend this.
Published: 4/2/24
Stars: 3
I'm not sure who the target audience is. The presentation is dry and repetitive. However, I do believe the story needs to be told and placed on shelves in a position to be seen.
I went in thinking I would have a story shared and picked up a textbook.
I would recommend this.
September 1, 2024
Absolutely infuriating read because of how truthful this book is. It’s a story that in a very gritty and real way tells of the many iterations of slavery, including peonage. A hard but necessary read and clear telling of how America has always found ways to have a form of free or close to free working class.
January 31, 2024
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
What a horrid and shocking story about a time when slavery was supposed to be a dirty stain on the past. It’s truly heart wrenching to read about peonage and the way it was so widely accepted as normal business and those who worked so hard to make a change. A must read for all.
What a horrid and shocking story about a time when slavery was supposed to be a dirty stain on the past. It’s truly heart wrenching to read about peonage and the way it was so widely accepted as normal business and those who worked so hard to make a change. A must read for all.
April 9, 2025
A beautifully and powerfully written account of the murder of 11 African American people by a plantation owner in 1921. The language is rich and the writing clear, but it's the recovery of this history that gripped me. Cannot recommend the book enough.
February 6, 2026
I guess it’s good to be reminded that your country has always been pretty terrible.
This was a well done book. Depressing as hell but that’s no surprise. I learned a lot even if my listening was sporadic.
This was a well done book. Depressing as hell but that’s no surprise. I learned a lot even if my listening was sporadic.
dnf
January 1, 2025Great topic it’s just not my kinda book.
September 22, 2025
A history of “peonage”, which was a form of indentured servitude in the southern United States. It became national news when eleven farmhands were murdered. The trial goes into far too much detail about events already covered at the beginning of the book.
May 8, 2024
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
4.25
It's 1921 and eleven Black men have been found brutally murdered in rural Georgia. This book collects information into the investigation and trial and key players of the time period. What was striking to me as I read was that while this book is relaying events from 1921, it felt like it could have been 1821 or 2021 just as easily.
Swift sets the stage by giving some background into Georgia in 1921, including an explanation of peonage and how that system was created and the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jew accused of murdering a young girl. He then goes into the first bodies being discovered and the subsequent trial. His prose is engaging and informative and while the subject matter is hard to read, it is apparent that he has done good research and is approaching the subject with all necessary care.
While this book is about the 1921 Murder Farm Massacre, Swift also tackles the larger environment and politics that allowed for this situation to arise. The peonage system, which he (rightly) refers to as America's second slavery, allowed John S. Williams, a white plantation owner to murder his Black farmhands and fully believe that he wound be found not guilty. I found the court scenes to be particularly impactful because so much of the things assumed to be true about the criminal justice system in 2024 were not in place in 1921. The simple fact that Williams could "testify" in his trial without swearing to tell the truth was mindboggling to me.
Swift also is able to explore early efforts by the NAACP, including sections that talk about James Weldon Johnson, the first Black leader of the NAACP, and Walter F. White, a "passing" Black man who frequently went undercover for the NAACP. Towards the end he talks a little about how/why these two men are less well known when later Civil Rights leaders are household names. One of the other major players that Swift explores is Hugh M. Dorsey, the Governor of Georgia who rose to fame during the aforementioned Frank trial. Swift writes about how Dorsey rose to power on white supremacist ideals yet ended his governorship by publishing a pamphlet highlighting the mistreatment of Black people in the state of Georgia and calling for Georgians to do better. Something that was striking to me was that Williams was found guilty despite most assuming he would get away with it, yet what could have been a tipping point towards equality took a hard slide back towards white supremacy something that we have seen happen historically time and time again.
Overall, I found this book to be incredibly impactful and would highly recommend, though while this book has been tagged as true crime, and does have the crime/trial elements of a traditional true crime, it is much more about the political and societal situation that allowed for such a heinous crime to occur.
4.25
It's 1921 and eleven Black men have been found brutally murdered in rural Georgia. This book collects information into the investigation and trial and key players of the time period. What was striking to me as I read was that while this book is relaying events from 1921, it felt like it could have been 1821 or 2021 just as easily.
Swift sets the stage by giving some background into Georgia in 1921, including an explanation of peonage and how that system was created and the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jew accused of murdering a young girl. He then goes into the first bodies being discovered and the subsequent trial. His prose is engaging and informative and while the subject matter is hard to read, it is apparent that he has done good research and is approaching the subject with all necessary care.
While this book is about the 1921 Murder Farm Massacre, Swift also tackles the larger environment and politics that allowed for this situation to arise. The peonage system, which he (rightly) refers to as America's second slavery, allowed John S. Williams, a white plantation owner to murder his Black farmhands and fully believe that he wound be found not guilty. I found the court scenes to be particularly impactful because so much of the things assumed to be true about the criminal justice system in 2024 were not in place in 1921. The simple fact that Williams could "testify" in his trial without swearing to tell the truth was mindboggling to me.
Swift also is able to explore early efforts by the NAACP, including sections that talk about James Weldon Johnson, the first Black leader of the NAACP, and Walter F. White, a "passing" Black man who frequently went undercover for the NAACP. Towards the end he talks a little about how/why these two men are less well known when later Civil Rights leaders are household names. One of the other major players that Swift explores is Hugh M. Dorsey, the Governor of Georgia who rose to fame during the aforementioned Frank trial. Swift writes about how Dorsey rose to power on white supremacist ideals yet ended his governorship by publishing a pamphlet highlighting the mistreatment of Black people in the state of Georgia and calling for Georgians to do better. Something that was striking to me was that Williams was found guilty despite most assuming he would get away with it, yet what could have been a tipping point towards equality took a hard slide back towards white supremacy something that we have seen happen historically time and time again.
Overall, I found this book to be incredibly impactful and would highly recommend, though while this book has been tagged as true crime, and does have the crime/trial elements of a traditional true crime, it is much more about the political and societal situation that allowed for such a heinous crime to occur.
March 26, 2024
Sometimes it’s necessary to read and understand things that make a person uncomfortable. At the risk of sounding pretentious, those are teachable moments.
And Earl Swift delivers a profoundly important one with his telling of the so-called ‘Murder Farm Massacre’ in Jasper County, Georgia in 1921. It isn’t easy to know that slavery didn’t end when it was outlawed after the Civil War, that countless people actively engaged in it and many more looked the other way while it happened. And it is perhaps even less easy to know that slavery in various ways still exists in America today.
But society needs to know those things. It is the only way it will ever have a chance of ending.
Swift centers the story on John S. Williams, a white farmer in Jasper County who regularly paid the bonds of poor Black men to get them out of jail, often on charges more or less invented to set up the peonage system, in exchange for working on the white owned farms until the debts are paid. Williams, and many others, concocted ways to ensure that the debts were rarely ever paid so the laborers were rarely ever freed. And they were locked up, beaten, and whipped regularly.
In the case of Williams, the slave laborers were also murdered. There is no good way to be murdered but Williams and his sons ensured that the torture of the Black men lasted until their last possible moment of life.
As in so many heinous crimes, it was only the strength and bravery of one man getting away and going to federal investigators that brought anything to light. And it was the strength and bravery of a forced participant in the murders to tell the story so clearly and forcefully that a white jury convicted a white man of murdering a Black man.
John S. Williams murdered far more than one, but it was all he was convicted of.
Swift makes good use of hundred year old court transcripts and newspaper accounts to tell this important story. He sets the scenes in ways that are reminiscent of any Hollywood produced tale of justice in the Deep South a century ago. And he adeptly uses the particular case of the ‘Murder Farm’ to illustrate what came after Reconstruction and how the racial biases of Jim Crow South made it ripe for another round of slavery that few wanted to acknowledge. He shows this through a focus both on the politics of Georgia in the 1910s and 1920s and also on the rise of the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement that would come to know Martin Luther King, Jr. as a leader.
Hell Put to Shame is the vehicle for an important part of American history, one that not enough people know or acknowledge.
I received an advance copy of Hell Put to Shame through NetGalley and Mariner Books in exchange for an honest and original review. All thoughts are my own.
And Earl Swift delivers a profoundly important one with his telling of the so-called ‘Murder Farm Massacre’ in Jasper County, Georgia in 1921. It isn’t easy to know that slavery didn’t end when it was outlawed after the Civil War, that countless people actively engaged in it and many more looked the other way while it happened. And it is perhaps even less easy to know that slavery in various ways still exists in America today.
But society needs to know those things. It is the only way it will ever have a chance of ending.
Swift centers the story on John S. Williams, a white farmer in Jasper County who regularly paid the bonds of poor Black men to get them out of jail, often on charges more or less invented to set up the peonage system, in exchange for working on the white owned farms until the debts are paid. Williams, and many others, concocted ways to ensure that the debts were rarely ever paid so the laborers were rarely ever freed. And they were locked up, beaten, and whipped regularly.
In the case of Williams, the slave laborers were also murdered. There is no good way to be murdered but Williams and his sons ensured that the torture of the Black men lasted until their last possible moment of life.
As in so many heinous crimes, it was only the strength and bravery of one man getting away and going to federal investigators that brought anything to light. And it was the strength and bravery of a forced participant in the murders to tell the story so clearly and forcefully that a white jury convicted a white man of murdering a Black man.
John S. Williams murdered far more than one, but it was all he was convicted of.
Swift makes good use of hundred year old court transcripts and newspaper accounts to tell this important story. He sets the scenes in ways that are reminiscent of any Hollywood produced tale of justice in the Deep South a century ago. And he adeptly uses the particular case of the ‘Murder Farm’ to illustrate what came after Reconstruction and how the racial biases of Jim Crow South made it ripe for another round of slavery that few wanted to acknowledge. He shows this through a focus both on the politics of Georgia in the 1910s and 1920s and also on the rise of the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement that would come to know Martin Luther King, Jr. as a leader.
Hell Put to Shame is the vehicle for an important part of American history, one that not enough people know or acknowledge.
I received an advance copy of Hell Put to Shame through NetGalley and Mariner Books in exchange for an honest and original review. All thoughts are my own.
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