Sharecropping?

Question

what is sharecropping and how did it sprout up in the south after the civil war?

Answer 1

Okay, so after the civil war the big plantation owners had a ton of land and no slaves to work it.  There were also a lot of uneducated freed slaves who needed work.  Sharecropping was a system in which the freed slaves would trade their labor plus the labor of their families to live on the plantation and use the plantation's tools.  Often, the plantation owners made pretty unreasonable requests-- such as paying a lot of money in advance that the workers wouldn't be able to pay back.  This created a cycle in which the sharecroppers were constantly indebted to the plantation owners.

Prior to the civil war, sharecroppers weren't necessary--slaves were available.  However, after the civil war, plantation owners needed someone to work their land.