Main Idea Why It Matters Now As the South rebuilt, millions of newly freed African Americans worked to improve their lives. Many important African-American institutions, including colleges, began during Reconstruction.

What are details about sharecropping in the South during Reconstruction? landowner provided land, seed, housing farmer shared crop with landowner farmer bought goods on credit farmer stayed in debt SHARECROPPING

How did freedom help strengthen African-American families? How were African Americans educated during Reconstruction? What were the main reasons African Americans wanted their own land?

1)How did freedom help strengthen African- American families? Freedmen could marry legally. They could try to locate lost family members. 2) How were African Americans educated during Reconstruction? In freedmen’s schools; classes were held in cities and in rural areas 3) What were the main reasons African Americans wanted their own land? They believed it was their right to own land and wanted to become economically independent and take care of their families

Many African Americans left plantations and started to travel They were in search of lost family members, economic opportunities and more freedom

Ex-slaves could now legally marry and family ties strengthened

Most slaves went to school to learn to read and write Adults and children flocked to Freedman’s Schools

Many northern charities funded these schools

Radical Republicans believed that civil rights meant little without economic independence…. Congress tried to give African American Men “40 Acres and a Mule” Johnson…. Had land returned to owners.

40 Acres and a Mule – One acre comprises 4,840 square yards, 43,560 square feet.

CONTRACT SYSTEM – a person that did not own land could contract to work the land for someone else who owned it

Without their own property, many ex- slaves returned to work on plantations They were paid for their labor

Ex-slaves could now chose the best contracts for jobs Very low wages were paid – some were cheated out of wages and benefits

The drawbacks to this system made many turn to sharecropping

Slavery is over! You are free!

You are a freed slave. However, you have nothing but the clothes on your back. You have no marketable skills except for raising crops. No bank will give you a loan because you have no collateral and no credit. (Oh yeah, and because you are a freed slave in the south.) However you do have a family to feed. What do you do? Where do you go? How do you and your family survive?

Family Freed slaves and their families were looking for a way to survive. How big was your family? Roll the dice 2 times and put the total on the first line.

Sharecropper You head back to the plantation you were just freed from to look for work. You have no choice but to become a sharecropper. The landowner agrees to let you farm on his land as long as he gets half the harvest. You agree because you have no other choice.

The Landowner lets you use his land to farm but …… Sharecropper You have no tools You have no seeds You have no house You don’t have any other supplies you might need (Clothes, Food, Etc…)

Time to get your supplies from town …. Wait you still have no money! The land owner will loan you the money/supplies and let you live in his shelter (place you stayed as a slave) but you have to pay him back at the end of the year.

Supplies Look back at the number of people in your family. Each family member needs different supplies but lets say they all cost about the same. Multiply your family members by $25 for a years worth of supplies Family X 25 = Line 2

Time to plant your crops! Your whole family goes to work in the fields planting and taking care of the crops. Sure hope the weather cooperates.

Weather Role the die one time. Put your number on line 3 You will use this number later.

As the summer passes, you work with your family on the farm to raise the crops. As you work you use up your supplies and break some of the tools. Whatever you can’t repair yourself, you will have to borrow more money to replace. Role the dice one time and write the number on line 4. If you rolled an even number you had good luck and your supplies held. It will only cost you $5 per family member to finish you work. If you rolled an odd number you had bad luck. It will cost you $10 per family member to finish you work. Put your total on line 5

ADD Add line 2 and line 5 and put the total amount you borrowed on line 6.

Harvest time Your family has been working hard all year on the 20 acres you were assigned. Larger families can usually manage a larger harvest, however the weather has an effect too. The crops are fully grown and it is time to sell your harvest and pay your debt. (Hopefully you will have money left over so you won’t have to borrow so much next year.) Lets see how much you earned this year. Your crops sell for $1 a bushel. If you rolled a even number in line 3 the weather was great and your family will have a high yield on your farm land. If you rolled an odd number in line 3 the weather was poor and you will have a low yield on your farmland.

A family of 2 – 5 produces 14 bushels per acre in good weather or 10 bushels in poor weather. Your family earned $280 for good weather or $200 in poor weather A family of 6 – 9 produces 19 bushels per acre in good weather or 14 bushels in poor weather. Your family earned $380 for good weather or $280 in poor weather A family of 10 – 12 produces 25 bushels per acre in good weather or 20 bushels in poor weather. Your family earned $500 for good weather or $400 in poor weather Put the amount your family earned on line 7

Now you need to pay your debt. Half of what you earned goes to the land owner. Put half of what you earned on line 8. Take that number and subtract the total you borrowed from it and put it on line 9. To buy your own land you need to have $100 for next year. If you have it, you can start your own farm …. If you don’t, you are stuck as a sharecropper.

SHARECROPPING – a worker rented a plot of land to farm Most ex slaves turned to Sharecroping to make a living.

The landowner provided the tools, seed and housing Sharecroppers bought food and clothes on credit at the landowner’s store. They owe a lot of money at harvest time

Often a farmer had to use one year’s harvest to pay the previous year’s bill Many sharecroppers were caught in a cycle of debt, they often owed more than they made each year

African Americans faced poverty and violent racism in the South Officially slaves were given their freedom but in many regards things were still difficult in terms of living their lives

KKK – KU KLUX KLAN – a secret group with goals to restore Democratic control and keep former slaves powerless. Their goal was to oppose ALL Northern efforts of Reconstruction

The KKK attacked African Americans, burned homes and killed people Klansman scared people away from voting, Democrats increasing their power w=340&sz=70&hl=en&start=24&sig2=qAjWVKH0mPkHibkbjnllIA&um=1&tbnid=Ww_u6W9DyZ0QOM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=97&ei=AUcvRvStL5GmiQHFmP3nDA&pr ev=/images%3Fq%3Dsharecropping%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN