Question

“Articles of agreement made and entered into this 1st day of January AD 1867, between I[sham] G. Bailey of the first part and Cooper Hughs freedman and Charles Roberts freedman of the second part. . . .

“The said parties of the second part [Hughs and Roberts], have agreed and do by these presents agree and bind themselves to work for the said party [Bailey] of this first part during the year 1867, on the farm belonging to said party of the first part near Early Grove . . . upon the following terms and conditions . . . . The said Cooper Hughs freedman with his wife and one other woman, and the said Charles Roberts with his wife Hannah and one boy are to work on said farm and to cultivate forty acres in corn and twenty acres in cotton . . . and to receive for their said services one half of the cotton and one third of the corn . . . raised by them on said farm in said year 1867 and the said Charles Roberts freedman with his wife Hannah further agrees and binds themselves to do the washing and Ironing, and all other necessary house work for said I.G. Bailey and his family during said year 1867 and to receive for their said services fifty dollars in money at the expiration of said year 1867.”

Contract made by Cooper Hughs and Charles Roberts with Isham G. Bailey in Mississippi, 1867



2

Mark for Review
In your response, be sure to address all parts of the question. Use complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list alone is not acceptable.

Using the excerpt, answer (a), (b), and (c).

Briefly explain ONE cause of the development depicted in the excerpt.

Briefly explain ONE purpose of the excerpt.

Briefly explain ONE way in which the historical situation of the excerpt is significant for a historical argument about the effect of Reconstruction (1865–1877) on African Americans.

use simple words and be brief

Answer 1

(a) One cause of the development shown is the end of slavery: planters needed labor but freed people had no land or money, so both sides made crop‑sharing and labor contracts.

(b) One purpose of the excerpt was to record and legalize the work agreement so the planter and the freedmen had clear terms about what work to do and how the crops and pay would be divided.

(c) One way this is significant for arguments about Reconstruction is that it shows many African Americans, though legally free, remained economically tied to white landowners by sharecropping and low pay, which limited their real independence during Reconstruction.