Sharecropping Research Paper

The first African Americans that were put to work in Jamestown were not treated in the way that people traditionally think of early slavery. In fact they were treated just as the indentured servants that had come from England were treated. This does not mean that they were treated with any sympathy or given easy work, but that they just were not discriminated by the color of their skin. In the beginning of the 1600s all servants had the same dream, to one day be free. In 1641, a black slave by the name of Anthony Johnson, was freed and given his own land to start his new life as an American (Johnson et al, Africans, 39). At this point in time the only things that separated people were if you were an owner or a servant and if you were a Christian or not. At some point in the mid 1700s something changed the way that the colonists saw things. All of a sudden there was no longer equal treatment of white and black slaves, the darker the color of ones skin was the worse off their life became. In 1640, three slaves tried escaping to Maryland but were unsuccessful, when they were brought upon the court two of the

In 1860 there were only 15 slave quarters compared to the 26 homes of former slaves in 1881. I noticed that the slave quarters in 1860 are different sizes. Five are very small and the other ten look the same size. In 1881, all former slave homes look the same size except for Gus Barrow’s home which looks slightly smaller. The Master’s house, service and farm buildings, and gin house is all located along the road in 1860. In 1881, the school house, church, five of the former slave homes, and the Master’s home is all located along the road.

In America, the lives of Africans did not get any easier. Once the demand for labor began increasing dramatically, more and more Africans were imported to America. Originally, white people and black people worked together in the plantations. As a result of the increase in Africans in these British colonies, less white people took jobs on plantations. Eventually, enslavement became based on race. Numerous slave codes were developed, which included denying slaves the right to be out past sunset and denying slaves the right to meet in groups of three or more. These Africans forced to live enslaved in America were treated as if they were inferior to white people. It is discouraging to think about the fact that this country, though it was long ago, once accepted this kind of social injustice.

Former slaves were not allowed any weapons or access to the town, among other things. The codes stretched the law enough so that African-Americans were even forced to be “in the service of some white person or former owner”, and could not do many things without their express permission. (Document B) These laws were put into place by white men, dependent on the African-American’s continued labor for their farms and plantations to thrive. As the slave trade had greatly enhanced the economy of the South, white landowners were not eager to give up the majority of their workforce. Although legally, former slaves were considered free, the black codes forced them to stay in place and obey unfair laws. Without the word slavery ever mentioned, the black codes represented much of the South’s attitude towards African-Americans, destroying their personal rights as

Slavery is an association of authority and respect where one individual, the plantation owner, owns another individual, the slave. The owner can command the individual to various jobs around the plantation. Slaves were brought from Africa to work in the home, babysit plantation owner 's kids, and the most popular , to work on farms. Women were more common for working in the owner 's homes and watching after the owner 's kids. Where men were more likely to work on farms picking cotton. Slavery was serious and diminishing towards the African American race. Punishment toward slaves included numerous gruesome activities such as being whipped. Slaves had no legal rights. Slaves could not own property, vote, or have control over their family. There was so much expected from slaves to keep the plantation running like it needed too. Without slaves the South would not

In 1830 slavery was originally sited in the South, where it lives in various structures. African Americans were imprisoned on diminutive farms, big plantations, in cities and towns, within homes, outside the fields, and in industry and transportation. Even if slavery had such a great series of faces, the fundamental concepts were always similar. Slaves were considered possessions, and they were possessions for the reason that they were black. Their rank as property was inflicted by aggression actual or threatened. People, black and white, lived jointly within these limits, and their lives as one took a lot of forms (Solomon, 1855).

African American slave families were faced with hardships that white families simply did not have to consider. Most notably, the African American slave family had to constantly deal with the fact that their family was subject to change. They could not reasonably plan for the future since they had no way of knowing how long they would be likely to remain on a particular property. Moreover, the family itself did not hold any autonomy with regard to maintaining the family.

There were many ways that Reconstruction tried to benefit the freed men, but only ended up making things worse. The practice of sharecropping was invented as a way for blacks to receive an income, since they only knew how to work on a plantation and were limited in job opportunities in the South.. Former slaves would work on land rented from a landlord, which sometimes belonged to their former masters. While these freedmen worked on the land, they received a share of the crop that they had farmed. Sharecroppers needed necessities while doing this work, such as food and clothing, so they had to borrow money from their landlords. This would make it hard for blacks to save money for themselves as they were always in debt from loans. Some say this

African Americans were very poor and did have very good jobs making a lot of money. This also meant they lived in very poor homes and communities. If someone got hurt or sick, getting a good doctor or medicine was not easy because they did not have the money. Patsy is a African American boy who is

Before the Civil War, African Americans were not treated fairly, but what exactly was their role? In the North and South, African Americans had different roles. In the North, slavery was illegal but African Americans still did not have the same rights as white people. African Americans (if they were free) could get jobs and have their own life but they got many disadvantages. Some of these were not getting as much money as white people in jobs, being prohibited to learn how to read or write,

With the Union victory in the Civil War in 1865, millions of slaves were given their freedom. Although these millions of slaves are now free, the rebuilding on the South during the Reconstruction introduced many obstacles. These obstacles include sharecropping, tenant farming, the “black codes”, and not to forget the lack of education and rights African Americans had at the time. Sharecropping is consisted of a slave renting land from a white man and having to give up a portion of their crops at the end of each year. The black codes were basically laws against what type of labor African Americans can be given. In the state of South Carolina, blacks were only able to work as farmers or servants; the same jobs these free people worked as slaves. After decades of slavery, blacks were still under the control of the white people due to lack of education and rights.

African Americans moved from southern farms to the North. In the North, they lived in segregated neighborhoods, faced violence, and were given the worst jobs. Conditions in the South were even worse, because state laws deprived them of civil rights and segregated them from whites (Schultz, 2014).

The sharecropping system kept freed slaves to the place they were confined to. Since they had no place to go this system seem to work however it kept freed men and women tied to the land. Soon however there were places Africans could go. This led to migrations, and some were referred as Exodusters. As it was a reference to the Biblical book of Exodus and the travel to the dry landscape of the Great Plains. One big migration was the great migration. Where many African American traveled into the cities of the North and Midwest. Although they traveled out of the south; their troubles also followed. Once in towns and cities in the north, African Americans still had discrimination. From real estate agents refusing to allow them to buy houses, to being the first to be fired when business slows. These challenges of backbreaking labor were the shackles of slaves. While the discrimination and hatred were the freedman new

Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.

The majority of the slaves were employed in agricultural areas in the South. By the mid-19th century, a large number of slaves worked in urban areas as well, and about 5% worked in more industrial occupations. The hours of the slave workers were long. The average life expectancy of African slaves was at least 12% lower than whit Americans in 1850 and the infant mortality rate was 25% higher for slaves. Oftentimes slave marriages and families dissolved due to separation. This concept is horrible when you take under consideration that family was the entire basis of African culture.