Apentix/AP US History/Unit 5: Period 5 (1844-1877)/Question
AP US Historyhardmcq1 pt

Which of the following best explains why sharecropping left most freedmen economically dependent?

A.Freedmen usually owned no land or tools, so they rented parcels for a share of the crop and ran up debts at planters' and merchants' stores under crop liens
B.Federal land grants gave freedmen farms but forbade them from selling cotton
C.The Freedmen's Bureau confiscated the tools freedmen needed to farm
D.Sharecropping required workers to pay cash rent that few could afford

Explanation

Core Concept

The credit system charged against the next harvest, and falling cotton prices made debts hard to clear. The result was a cycle of debt that tied families to the land without ownership.

Correct Answer

AFreedmen usually owned no land or tools, so they rented parcels for a share of the crop and ran up debts at planters' and merchants' stores under crop liens

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