Sharecropping
Following
the Civil War former plantation owners from the South were left with land, but
no workers during the Reconstruction period. Following emancipation former
slaves were left homeless with few opportunities for employment because they
had been denied education. Plantation owners hired the Freedmen as sharecroppers.
There were many variations of tenancy farming, but the most common provided homes
in the former slave quarters for the sharecroppers. Each family worked a
portion of the plantation sharing the expenses and part of the harvest for
payment of services. In the beginning the owners provided mules and equipment
and charged the Freedmen for usage. Sharecroppers were left with little return
for their labor. The new system effectively tied sharecroppers to the land for
life at a poverty level.
A
false belief held by the Freedmen was the government would divide plantations
sold for taxes in 40 acre allotments to be given to Blacks along with a mule.
Unfortunately, the government never did have a plan to do this.
There
are many sites available for further research. Here are a few.www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/sharecrop/index.html
www.reference.com/browse/sharecropping
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