Following the Civil War, many African American farmers in the South entered into sharecropping contracts with white landowners. Which of the following best describes the primary economic consequence of this system for the majority of sharecroppers?
- AThey successfully accumulated enough savings to buy land and establish independent family farms within a few years.
- BThey received regular cash wages and standard labor benefits that allowed them to relocate to northern industrial cities.
- They became trapped in a cycle of debt peonage due to high interest rates on credit and unfair accounting practices by landowners.Answer
- DThey were granted ownership of the land they cultivated through federal Reconstruction programs.
Answer
Sharecroppers typically became trapped in a cycle of debt peonage because they had to purchase supplies on credit at inflated prices and high interest rates from the landowners, resulting in debt that exceeded the value of their share of the crop.
The correct answer is correct because sharecropping contracts required laborers to buy food, clothing, and farming supplies on credit from the landowner's store. Due to high interest rates, inflated prices, and crop failures, the debt owed to the landowner at the end of the season almost always exceeded the value of the sharecropper's portion of the harvest, trapping them in a continuous cycle of debt peonage.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Sharecropping and Debt Peonage
Estimated Time:45s