A New System of Farm Labor
Adapted from Texas History, McGraw-Hill
A New System of Farm Labor
Suggested Instructional Activity:
Sentence Strips Summaries
Possible group response prompts after reading:
•
Physical geographic factors that impacted sharecroppers and tenant farmers included ___. They
impacted them by ___.
•
Economic factors that impacted sharecroppers and tenant farmers included ___. They impacted
them by ___.
•
Social factors that impacted sharecroppers and tenant farmers included ___. They impacted them
by ___.
•
After group response, have students write individually from the perspective
of a sharecropper or tenant farmer by answering this question: How
confident are you that can financially provide for your family and its future
generations?
•
I am [extremely/somewhat/not] [hopeful/confident/discouraged/worried] about my ability to
provide for my family as a [sharecropper/tenant farmer] because of ____. I believe that the future
for my children and grandchildren looks like ___ because of ___.
Arlington ISD Classroom Use Only
A New System of Farm Labor
Adapted from Texas History, McGraw-Hill
THE CIVIL WAR BRINGS CHANGE
Before the Civil War, large cotton plantations relied on the labor
of enslaved African Americans. The Civil War brought an end to
slavery and the use of unpaid farm labor. Enslaved labor had to
be replaced by a new labor system.
Vast plantations were broken up into smaller farms that were
either sold or rented. Former subsistence farmers who grew
enough food to support their families became cotton farmers
instead, lured by the expected profits of a reliable cash crop.
FARMS ARE RENTED
Many people, including formerly enslaved
African Americans, became tenant
farmers. Landowners rented land to
tenants, who supplied their own tools and
supplies and paid rent in the form of a
portion of the cotton crop they grew.
Some tenant farmers had no tools or
supplies. Landowners provided these
farmers with tools and seeds in exchange for a larger portion of the crop. These tenant farmers were
called sharecroppers. They and landowners each received one-half the value of the crop.
Arlington ISD Classroom Use Only
A New System of Farm Labor
Adapted from Texas History, McGraw-Hill
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
EFFECTS
People of many ethnic and racial backgrounds
worked as tenant farmers, including Europeans,
Mexicans, and African Americans. Some African
American farmers owned their own land, but most
were sharecroppers. Most were extremely poor.
The tenant system allowed them to exchange
labor for goods.
Growing cotton required hard work from the entire family. The children of many tenant farmers and
sharecroppers worked the fields from a very young age. By the time they became teenagers, children
were doing the same amount of work as adults.
CHALLENGES OF TENANT
FARMING
For a while, many people saw the tenant system as
a way to become landowners themselves. They
hoped to one day make enough money to buy a
farm of their own. However, the realities of tenant
farming often made it impossible to realize this
dream.
Landowners typically charged unfair prices for
seed, supplies, and rent, and loaned money at high interest rates. Most tenants became trapped in an
endless cycle of debt. Other difficulties, including drought, insects, and foreign competition also hurt
tenant farmers financially.
Arlington ISD Classroom Use Only
A New System of Farm Labor
Adapted from Texas History, McGraw-Hill
Based on what you’ve read about farming after the Civil War, write from the perspective of a poor
sharecropper or tenant farmer by answering this question:
How confident are you that can financially provide for your family and its future generations?
Use the sentence stems below to help you organize your thoughts. Choose one word from each of the
brackets. Use facts from the reading, including environmental, economic, and social factors.
I am [extremely/somewhat/not] [hopeful/confident/discourage/worried] about my ability to provide
for my family as a [sharecropper/tenant farmer] because of ____. I believe that the future for my
children and grandchildren looks like ___ because of ___.
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Arlington ISD Classroom Use Only