Did sharecroppers own their land? Sharecropping is a type of farming in which
families rent small plots of land from a landowner in return for a portion of their crop, to be given to the landowner at the end of each year
.
Under a sharecropping system, the landowner provided a share of land to be worked by the sharecropper, and usually provided other necessities such as
housing, tools, seed, or working animals
. Local merchants usually provided food and other supplies to the sharecropper on credit.
Charges for the land, supplies, and housing were deducted from the sharecroppers’ portion of the harvest
, often leaving them with substantial debt to the landowners in bad years.
What are sharecroppers and how did they differ from landowners? A sharecropper is a laborer who works the land for the farmer who owns it, in exchange for a share of value of the crop. A landowner is a holder of the land, and holders of slaves that they own.
Sharecropping was bad because
it increased the amount of debt that poor people owed the plantation owners
. Sharecropping was similar to slavery because after a while, the sharecroppers owed so much money to the plantation owners they had to give them all of the money they made from cotton.
It was also commonly used, and abused,
by plantation owners on plantations to force field slaves to work long hours with physical punishments if they didn’t complete their tasks
. Because of these complaints, sharecropping was adopted by the Bureau instead of gang-labor.
Theoretically beneficial to both
laborers and landowners
, the sharecropping system typically left workers in deep debt to their landlords and creditors from one harvest season to the next.
Sharecropping is when the owner of the land rents it to someone in exchange for part of their crop. And if there is a bad year and there is no crop, the owner doesn’t take a hit on thier profits, and the sharecropper is in debt to the owner. It’s a big difference with slavery because
slaves can’t own property
.
Tenant farmers usually received between two-thirds and three-quarters of the harvest, minus deductions for living expenses. Sharecroppers, however, received only half the crop, from which landowners deducted rent and any credit (with interest) for supplies provided for the family’s subsistence.
What was probably true about contracts between landowners and sharecroppers?
The landowner was more likely to gain from the contract
.
What usually happened to sharecroppers who did not make enough money from their crops to pay expenses?
They had to stay on the land until they could pay
.
Approximately two-thirds of all sharecroppers were white, and one third were black
. Though both groups were at the bottom of the social ladder, sharecroppers began to organize for better working rights, and the integrated Southern Tenant Farmers Union began to gain power in the 1930s.
Different types of sharecropping have been practiced worldwide for centuries, but
in the rural South, it was typically practiced by formerly enslaved people
.
What did the sharecropper have to do in order to use the plantation owner’s land, farming tools, and mules? sharecropper had to
haul logs and repair the owner’s fence when ordered
.
How did the system of sharecropping affect landowners and laborers in the South?
The system did not provide landowners with enough profits because laborers often took sizable cuts
. The system typically drove laborers off the farms they had worked when they were enslaved and left landowners without workers.
The life of a sharecropper was difficult
. Even in the best of situations, sharecropping families lived in a house and on land that was not their own. At any time, they could be evicted by their landlord. In the worst situations, tenants could be forced to pay exorbitant fees and split profits in an unfair way.
Up-Front Payments. The requirement of little or no up-front cash for land purchase provided the major advantage for farmers in the sharecropping arrangement. The
lack of the initial up-front payment
, however, also created disadvantages for the landowner who waited for payment until crops were harvested and then sold.
Instead of cultivating land in gangs supervised by overseers,
landowners divided plantations into 20 to 50 acre plots suitable for farming by a single family
. In exchange for land, a cabin, and supplies, sharecrossers agreed to raise a cash crop (usually cotton) and to give half the crop to their landlord.
Sharecropping was a system of agriculture instituted in the American South during the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War. It essentially
replaced the plantation system which had relied on the stolen labor of enslaved people and effectively created a new system of bondage
.
Why was it challenging for a sharecropper to succeed? B.
Most began with nothing and had to borrow throughout the year, causing them to become deeply in debt
. Many could not read their contracts and would end up being taken advantage of.
What are the farmers who do not own any land called?
Landless farmers
are basically farmers who do not own the land they are farming.
Unfortunately, the price of cotton began a long period of decline in the late 1860s, and many of those
White yeomen who had staked their future on cotton production
lost their farms. When they did, they frequently became tenant farmers or sharecroppers.
What was one long-term consequence of the sharecropping system?
Agricultural workers organized labor unions
. Many former slaves became trapped in a cycle of debt.
Charges for the supplies were deducted from the sharecroppers’ portion of the harvest, leaving them with substantial debt to landowners in bad years. Sharecroppers would become caught in continual debt, especially
during weak harvests or periods of low prices
, such as when cotton prices fell in the 1880s and ’90s.
What was possible for a sharecropper who made money during a growing season? All of the above.
using money to rent land
. Finding another landowner to sharecrop for.
Sharecropping is thus often known as enslavement by another name, or debt bondage
. Some sharecroppers, if they had successful harvests and managed to accumulate enough cash, could become tenant farmers, which was considered a higher status.
The difference between tenant farmers and sharecroppers is that
sharecroppers did not own anything needed for farming the land, which they also did not own
. Tenant farmers may own a home near the land and also own all their own seeds, fertilizer, tools, and beasts of burden.
