Question

Read the scenario.



“In the year 1872, I, Thomas Jackson, agree to work the fields of Mr. William Carter on his plantation in Coweta County. Mr. Carter will provide the land, a mule, and seeds. I will plant and harvest cotton on 10 acres. When the harvest is sold, I will receive one-third of the profits, and Mr. Carter will receive the rest. I understand that I must purchase food and supplies for my family from Mr. Carter’s store and pay any debts before receiving my share.”

Source: Adapted from a business contract in Georgia, 1870



Which statement BEST describes how the system shown in this scenario reflects Georgia’s economy during Reconstruction?



A.
Freedmen and landowners are entering into a system where workers are paid fixed wages for their labor on plantations.

B.
Freedmen and landowners are entering into a sharecropping system where profits are divided, often leaving workers in debt.

C.
Freedmen are entering into a tenant farming system where they receive land as payment and become independent farmers.

D.
Landowners are entering into a system where they are required by law to give freedmen equal shares of all profits made on the plantation.

Answer 1

B

The contract describes sharecropping: the landowner provides land, mule and seeds; the worker farms the land and gets a share of the crop (one-third), while buying supplies on credit from the owner's store and often ending up in debt. It is not fixed-wage labor (A), not independent tenant farming (C), nor a legal requirement of equal profit sharing (D).