they had no way to feed children and animals
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Sharecropping was unfair to former slaves because it often trapped them in a cycle of debt and poverty. They were typically given small plots of land to farm in exchange for a large portion of their harvest, but were required to purchase supplies on credit from the landowner, leading to a constant state of debt. This system also restricted their mobility and economic advancement, perpetuating the conditions of oppression and exploitation that many had sought to escape after emancipation.
The system where freed slaves worked on someone else's land is called sharecropping. Under this system, former slaves worked on land owned by a different individual in exchange for a share of the crop produced.
Sharecropping itself is not illegal, but the exploitative practices often associated with it can be illegal, such as unfair land rental agreements or poor labor conditions. Some countries have laws regulating agricultural arrangements like sharecropping to protect the rights of tenants and prevent exploitation.
sharecropping
Sharecropping was a legal practice after the Civil War because it provided a way for former slaves and poor whites to work the land without having to own it. Landowners would allow tenants to use their land in exchange for a percentage of the crops grown. This system perpetuated a cycle of debt and poverty for the sharecroppers.
After the Civil War, planters offered freed slaves work in exchange for a small portion of the crops they grew on the plantations. This system, known as sharecropping, allowed former slaves to live on and work the land, but often resulted in debt and continued economic hardships for many.