Sharecropping After The Civil War

In the 1960s, after the abolishment of slavery with the 13th amendment, slaves were free to live their lives as they so chose. Freed slaves and others in the south after the civil war needed to find a new way of living. Slaves were not paid for their labor, however, they were given food and shelter by their owner. Freed slaves had to figure out how to get those necessities on their own. Since slaves were used to working with crops, they looked to sharecropping as their means of work.
Sharecropping is a system where a freedman would grow crops on someone else’s land and the farmer would give a portion of the crops to the owner as payment. It seemed like a reasonable way for everyone in the south to be profitable. Freed slaves would use their skills to make money, while landowners use some of the crops to make money without working. Unfortunately, the system had its faults.
Some freed slaves found themselves negotiating with the same people who used to owned them. This also meant they had to focus on growing cotton. Sharecropping resembled slavery. Also, many of those involved faced debt. Owners ended up working on the farm themselves. Many lost their land too.
This is a key part of the 1860s, because America realized that a serious plan for reconstruction after the civil war was needed. People in the south in-particular needed help
It was tough finding a job due to an increase in immigration and employee discrimination. People like Terrence Powderly recognized these issues. He funded the Knights of Labor. This was a labor union that included a broad range of workers. People within the union didn’t have to be masters in their line of work. Also, many underrepresented workers like women and African-Americans were a part of this group. The only demographic that wasn’t affiliated with the union was Chinese immigrants. This was considered to be an independent