USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -By the early 1870s, the system known as sharecropping had come to dominate agriculture across the South. Under this system, families would rent small plots of land, or shares, to work themselves; in return, they would give a portion of their crop to the landowner at the end of the harvest season.

Detailed explanation-2: -With a sharecropping contract, poor farmers were granted access to farm small plots of land. Instead of paying rent in cash, they were required to give a portion of the crop yield, called shares, back to the landowner.

Detailed explanation-3: -American sharecroppers worked a section of the plantation independently, usually growing cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar, and other cash crops, and receiving half of the parcel’s output. Sharecroppers also often received their farming tools and all other goods from the landowner they were contracted with.

Detailed explanation-4: -After the Civil War, former slaves sought jobs, and planters sought laborers. The absence of cash or an independent credit system led to the creation of sharecropping.