Slavery and Sharecropping: A Historical Analysis

What was the primary purpose of the 13th Amendment?

• To create a federal income tax

• To abolish slavery in the United States

• To grant voting rights to all citizens

• To establish a new economic system

What was the main economic activity in the South before the Civil War?

• Manufacturing

• Mining

• Agriculture, especially cotton production

• Fishing

Who was Frederick Douglass?

• A plantation owner

• A Civil War general

• A Southern politician

• A former slave who escaped to freedom

What was Sherman's Field Order No. 15 intended to do?

• Distribute land to newly freed black citizens

• Establish a new currency

• Rebuild Southern infrastructure

• Create new labor laws

Why did many freed slaves refuse to sign labor contracts after the Civil War?

• They were planning to move to the North

• They preferred to work in factories

• They wanted to return to Africa

• They were waiting for land grants from the government

What was a significant consequence of the rise of sharecropping?

• Immediate wealth for all sharecroppers

• Economic dependency and debt for black sharecroppers

• Increased industrialization in the South

• Abolition of all forms of labor contracts

What was one way sharecroppers were economically exploited?

• They were paid high wages

• They were given free land

• They were allowed to sell their crops freely

• They were charged high interest rates on credit

How did sharecropping differ from slavery in terms of living arrangements?

• Sharecroppers lived in the same quarters as before

• Sharecroppers lived in communal housing

• Sharecroppers lived in urban areas

• Sharecroppers had scattered living quarters, indicating some autonomy

What was a long-term implication of the sharecropping system for black laborers?

• Complete economic independence

• Continued struggle for rights and freedom

• Immediate wealth and prosperity

• Total eradication of racial discrimination

What was a key difference between slavery and sharecropping?

• Sharecroppers were not allowed to farm

• Sharecroppers had some control over their time and labor

• Sharecroppers were considered chattel

• Sharecroppers had no autonomy at all