Sharecropping
By: Aline Lira
Sharecropping took place after the abolition of slavery. There were many conflicts between landowners trying to keep up with their land. It was no longer as easy for landowners to make money since they didn't have slaves to do the work for them anymore. Former slaves had many problems as well. When they were slaves they had somewhere to stay, something to eat, as well as a job but now they had to start from scratch. It was also very hard for them to get a job keeping the fact that they were uneducated. Having many problems between both of them they came up with sharecropping. With sharecropping freed slaves would pay plantation owners rent for the portion of land given by the owner. The sharecroppers (freed slaves) would also have to give the landowners half of the earnings on the crops grown on their land. Sharecroppers had the opportunity to buy food and clothing on credit from the landowner's store. At the end of the year most sharecroppers would realize they spent more money than what they had actually earned. To finish paying the debt sharecroppers would give the landowners a higher share of earnings on the crops. Even though sharecropping would benefit the landowners more than the sharecroppers it gave them a better life than not having anything.