Why was the sharecropping system so hard to overcome?
1 Answer
Dec 4, 2016
People were so caught up in the system that it was nearly impossible to exit.
Explanation:
This is a great question. The sharecropping system went in a circular fashion, so much so that people were caught up in it for life. Take a look at this diagram to see why.
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In this diagram, you can see a couple of things:
- The sharecropper is already giving the landowner half of his crop. He can only sell the other half of the crop.
- The sharecropper needs to buy all his necessities from the landowner, who usually charged him at sky-high rates. This would have further cut into his cash.
- The landowner treated the sharecropper unfairly, charging the sharecropper more than he needs to pay. Until the sharecropper pays off this debt, **he needs to keep working, which is why the system is so difficult to overcome. **
