Name
Changes in Farming
By Cathy Pearl
After the Civil War,
farming in this country
changed. There were no
longer slaves to pick crops
or work on the farms. Much
of the South had been
destroyed by the war. This
part of the country would
have to start over again.
The war left many of the
plantations ruined. But this
wouldn't last forever. Crops could be replanted. Buildings could be
rebuilt. Many planters had held on to their land. Others worked their
way out of debt and gained their land back.
But the main question most planters worried about was who would
work the land. People did not want to stand in the hot sun and pick
cotton. Workers would start the job. Then they would disappear to
find better jobs that paid more.
Working on a plantation did not pay a lot of money. A person
working on the railroad could earn $1.75 a day. Working on the
plantation might only pay fifty cents a day. Women who worked in
the fields were paid even less.
There were many former slaves who needed work. They could not
afford to buy their own land. Many of the plantations now needed
these workers back. Because of these needs, farming changed in the
South.
There were different arrangements that owners made with the people
who would work for them. One of these was called sharecropping. A
family would become sharecroppers on a plantation owner's land.
They would work the land for the farmer by picking crops. For
payment, they would get some of the crop at the end of the season.
Sharecropping was not a great way to make a living. The workers
could be punished for missing one day of work. The owners were not
always trustworthy. At the end of the season, some would throw the
workers off the land without paying them.
Other owners would charge the family for rent and other costs during
the year. When the crop came in, it wouldn't be enough to feed the
family and pay off the debt. The family wasn't allowed to leave until
the debt was paid. Because of this, the workers were stuck on the
plantation.
Other former slaves and poor whites became tenant farmers. They
also did not own the land they farmed on. Tenant farmers did pay to
rent the land. This would be like renting a house today. The tenant
farmer chose what to grow and when to work. While not a great job, it
was better than being a sharecropper.
After the war, many farmers stopped growing crops for food. They
grew crops that they could sell. This would be crops like tobacco or
cotton. Much of the food that the South needed was now bought from
other parts of the country.
With this need for food and items from other parts of the country,
more stores began to open in the South. These stores would sell to
people on credit. A person who buys on credit promises to pay the
money at a later time.
Many farmers would buy items on credit, planning to pay the money
back when they sold their crop. But the crop wouldn't be good or
wouldn't sell for as much money as the farmer thought. Then they
wouldn't have enough money to pay back the store. In order to get the
money, the owner of the store would take away items that the farmer
owned. Many people lost everything.
Farming changed after the war. Some farmers were helped and others
were hurt. Many families would be caught in poverty for the rest of
their lives.
Name
Changes in Farming
6. What would happen if a farmer couldn't pay a store owner
back?
A. Nothing
B. The store owner would take some items that the farmers
owned.
C. The store gave the farmer more credit to buy things.
Questions
1. What job paid more?
A. Working on a plantation
B. Working as a slave
C. Working on a railroad
2. How were sharecroppers paid?
A. In cash
B. In credit
C. With some of the crop at the end of the season
3. Tenant farmers and sharecroppers owned the land they worked
on.
A. True
B. False
4. A person who buys on credit promises to do what?
5. What did many farmers grow after the war?
Should farmers have lost their property when they couldn't pay back
store owners? Explain.
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Do you think sharecropping was different from slavery? Explain your
answer.