This passage is from the testimony of Henry Adams, a former enslaved man who testified before the Senate in 1880 about the treatment he encountered after emancipation.

Question

This passage is describing the proposition for a
contract.
The man I belonged to told me it was best to stay with him. He said, "The bad white men was mad with the Negroes because they were free and they would kill you all for fun." He said, stay where we are living and we could get protection from our old masters.

He said, "The colored people could never protect themselves among the white people. So you had all better stay with the white people who raised you and make contracts with them to work by the year for one-fifth of all you make. And next year you can get one-third, and the next you maybe

Answer 1

could get half of what you earn." He assured us that this would be the best arrangement, as we would have a roof over our heads and food to eat while also securing our safety in a world that had turned tumultuous and dangerous for freedmen.

His proposal, though seemingly reasonable, highlighted the precarious situation that many formerly enslaved individuals found themselves in during the Reconstruction era. Many were still reliant on their former enslavers for protection and livelihood, fearing the violence that some white individuals were instigating against African Americans. The offer to work for a share of the profits reflected a new form of dependency that was reminiscent of the old plantation system, trapping many in a cycle of poverty and exploitation even after gaining their freedom.

As we weighed this proposition, we were deeply aware of the risks involved in navigating a society that had not fully embraced our emancipation. Trusting those who had once owned us was fraught with complexity, yet we lacked the means to pursue independent lives. The notion of making contracts with our former masters seemed the only viable path forward in an environment fraught with uncertainty and danger.