What was sharecrooping?

Answer 1

Sharecropping was an agricultural system that emerged in the United States, particularly in the South, after the Civil War. It involved landowners providing land, tools, and seeds to farmers, who in return would cultivate the land and share a portion of the crop yield with the landowner. This arrangement often left sharecroppers in a cycle of debt and poverty, as they had to borrow money for supplies and were frequently exploited by landowners. Sharecropping became a predominant form of labor for many African Americans during Reconstruction and beyond.