HIST 2057 Chapter : The New South
Document Summary
Before, the plantation owners owned the land and the labor so they made more money. The end of slavery should have theoretically given labor ownership to the freed slaves. They should have had the power to say that they wouldn"t have worked for less than a certain amount. leave their arrangement. The debts just grow and grow and they never make any. Instead, a series of pseudo of free market arrangements occurred between landowners and workers. Made it difficult for the freed slaves to earn money and prosper. Sharecropping: the workers who agreed to farm the land get a share of the crop. Once the crop is sold, they get their share of the wages. Great for the landowner because they maintain control of what is grown and when. The landowners always know theyre going to get a profit. In good years, the sharecroppers will get paid.
