sharecropping
A system of farming in the southern U.S. where a person is provided with land, credit for seed, tools, living quarters, and food, in exchange for a portion of their crops at the end of the growing season.
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop produced on the land. Under this system, the tenant typically provides labor and the landowner provides seed, tools, and housing. At the end of the harvest season, the crop is divided between the landowner and the tenant, usually in a 50-50 split.
This system emerged in the southern United States after the Civil War as a replacement for the plantation system that relied on slave labor. In the sharecropping system, African American farmers and poor white farmers were able to access land that they otherwise could not afford.
However, sharecropping often resulted in debt bondage for the tenant, as they were typically required to purchase supplies from the landowner at inflated prices and were unable to earn enough to pay off their debts. Additionally, the landowners often had the final say regarding crop choices and management decisions, leaving the tenant with little autonomy.
Although the system of sharecropping ended with the rise of mechanized farming and agricultural subsidies, its legacy can be seen in the continued racial and economic inequalities in the southern United States.
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