Unit 9 - Activities - Dialogues
From Slave to Sharecropper:
Life after the Civil War
Cast:
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Jack Lawson — white landowner
Henry Farley — former slave
Betty — Henry’s wife
John — Henry’s son
Evan Treman — poor white man
Billy — Evan’s son
Setting:
After the Civil War, former slaves expected life suddenly to become much
better. Their cry was “forty acres and a mule.” They believed that after all the
injustices they had suffered, the government should provide land for them. The
government did not provide anything but freedom, and former slaves were forced
to make a new life for themselves in a country that was still deciding how it would
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treat these new citizens. To make matters more confusing, these former slaves
needed to find a new place for themselves in a changing society. Many landowners
in Texas had ample land but no one to work the land after their slaves were set free.
Meanwhile, many former slaves were jobless with few skills beyond agriculture. In
addition, many poor white men were also illiterate and quickly found themselves in
the same situation as many former slaves. The solution was a sharecropping
system.
Scene 1
Narrator 1:
Sharecropping was a system of farm tenancy in which
landowners would bring in workers to work the land. This
system was similar to the plantation system because
landowners would oversee the work, while men who could not
afford their own land worked in the fields for them.
Narrator 2:
The workers would bring their families to live on the
land, and the landowner would provide housing and
equipment for working the land. He then would credit
their living expenses. He would keep a tally of the debt
the family owed.
Narrator 1:
In return, the worker would provide his labor; and at the
end of each harvest, the worker would receive a share of
the crops he produced. He would settle his debt to the
landowner with the money he received from his share of
the crop.
Narrator 2:
This was a new system for many of the farmers;
however, it was similar to slave labor and many former
were treated much as they had been as slaves. Moreover,
many poor whites felt as if they were treated as slaves.
Nevertheless, it was a job and a chance at a new life in a
time when opportunities were few for former slaves and
poor whites.
Jack Lawson:
Mr. Farley, do you accept the terms of our agreement?
Henry Farley:
Let me get this straight, sir. I’ll work your land for you,
and I’ll get one-fourth the yield of the crop. In return,
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you’ll give my family shelter, provide the mules, plows,
and seeds for me to work the land, and give some
advance money so I can buy what my family needs?
What’s the catch?
Mr. Lawson:
Well, no catch, except I’ll expect you pay me back that
advance money, with interest of course.
Henry:
I know I’m not a learned man and I can’t read and write,
but that seems very strange to me. Why do you want to
help us former slaves?
Mr. Lawson:
I have 640 acres of land, and I can’t work it myself. I
need someone, and you’ve got the skills needed. You
worked on plantations before; you know the crops.
You’ve just got to pay me back for my generosity.
Henry:
little.
That might be awhile, sir, seeing as my family has very
Mr. Lawson:
I see. Does your boy here have much clothing?
John:
No, sir. Only this and one more set of pants.
Mr. Lawson:
Well, I can see to it that we get him some proper clothing,
on my credit of course. Does your wife have cooking
supplies?
Betty:
Only a beaten-up pot.
Mr. Lawson:
I’ll get you some things as well and have my wife go to
the store to pick up some food for you. I’ll just keep a
tally of the money you owe me; and when it comes time
to harvest, we’ll settle up what you owe.
Henry:
Thank you, sir. I am thankful that we can consider you a
boss and friend, rather than someone who will beat us
and demand too much. You can guarantee I will work
hard, and I will make you proud. Now that I am working
to earn my own way, I promise I’ll be working harder. It
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really is something to be able to work for yourself and
your own gains.
Mr. Lawson:
That it is. Though I do expect you to work in the field
early in the morning, from 5 a.m. until dark, with only a
short break for lunch. We need to make the most of each
day. I will be watching you closely.
Henry:
I will work hard, sir. Though I do request that my wife
only work out in the fields when necessary, and my boy
must go to school. Is there a school near here? I do not
want him to be uneducated like me.
Mr. Lawson:
There is a school a few miles down the road. A few of the
other sharecroppers send their boys there. I’d rather he
help you and your wife to work the land; but since you
are not a slave, you can do as you wish. Just remember, I
still expect the same results from you. I don’t want
complaining about not having enough help. We still need
to produce the same amount of crops.
Narrator 1:
Landowners found it difficult to let go of old slave
traditions. Although former slaves were now free to
exercise control over their own lives, they still kept a
tight hold on their workers through rigid supervision.
Nevertheless, former slaves saw sharecropping as a
steppingstone to making some money and eventually the
chance to own their own land.
Betty:
Henry, dear, are you sure this is what we should be
doing?
Henry:
Absolutely, once we work Mr. Lawson’s land for a few
years, we’ll have saved up enough money to buy some
land of our own, and then we’ll really be able to control
our own lives. John will be able to attend school, you’ll
be able to focus on our family, and everything I work for
will come back directly to us. All we have to do is
survive this for a few years and save money each time we
get our share from the harvest.
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Betty:
I don’t trust Mr. Lawson. How do we know he will be
fair, especially since you can’t read or write?
Henry:
We just have to hope. It seems clear. Just pay him back
for what he gives us in the first place.
Betty:
We have to pay him back with interest. How do we know
how much extra we have to pay him? He could just take
everything!
Henry:
I’ll just work harder and produce more, then.
Betty:
He’ll still get three-fourths of it. The more you produce,
the more he gets.
Henry:
At least you don’t have to work or live in fear, and John
can go to school.
Betty:
That is true, but this is not my dream of freedom. I didn’t
want to live in some white man’s control any longer.
Henry:
But it’s not just us anymore. The poor white man also is a
sharecropper. We’re now the same social status! No
longer the lowest of the low!
Narrator 2:
It was true that many poor whites were now the same
status as the former slave, though many found the
conditions just as horrible.
Scene 2
Narrator 1:
Often poor white families would find themselves
working alongside former slaves. Often this caused
tensions because white men had trouble adjusting to the
new status of former slaves.
Narrator 2:
Unfortunately, poor whites could do little about their
situation because they were trapped in the same system
and caught in a cycle of debt.
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Henry:
Come, John. We’re going to meet our neighbors. Mr.
Evan Treman works for Mr. Lawson as well, and I think
he’s got a young boy about your age.
John:
Pa, I don’t know if I want to be friends with a white boy.
After all the white man did to us, I don’t think I can
forgive him. How do I know this boy won’t treat me the
same?
Henry:
We’re free now, John. We have to live the rest of our
lives alongside the white man, so you might as well make
friends with the ones your age. The ones my age might
still not like us, but who knows what will happen by the
time you become an adult.
Betty:
You can’t expect attitudes to change immediately, but it
sure would be nice if Mr. Treman and his family would
treat us properly and with a little respect.
John:
At least I hope his son will be nice to me.
Narrator 1:
The former slaves trekked across Mr. Lawson’s land to
the home of Mr. Treman and his family.
Henry:
(knocks on the door) Good afternoon, Mr. Treman!
Mr. Evan Treman:
Can I help you?
Henry:
Yes, sir. We’re your neighbors! We just moved in there
across the field. I’ll be working Mr. Lawson’s land with
you.
Evan:
I see.
Henry:
I heard you have a young son, too. Perhaps the boys will
be attending school together?
Evan:
Yes, my boy Billy attends school down the road. You’ll
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be sending your boy there, too?
Betty:
We’re so happy that our boy now has the chance to be
educated. Our freedom means he has the chance at a
great life.
Evan:
Yes, I suppose. I’m having a little trouble adjusting to
working side by side with you. You’ll have to excuse me.
Henry:
Well, I suppose we can understand. I only hope we can
work together.
Evan:
We shall see. It looks like my boy has taken to yours
there. Billy?
Billy:
Yes, Papa?
Evan:
Come back, here. You don’t know that boy.
Billy:
Papa, finally there’s someone my age here!
Evan:
He used to be a slave. Suddenly now he’s your equal.
Doesn’t that make you mad?
Betty:
Excuse me, Mr. Treman; but just because my boy has a
different color skin, doesn’t mean he isn’t worth being a
friend.
Billy:
Papa, he seems really nice!
Evan:
The war may have ended; and you may be free, but that
doesn’t mean I have to treat you as my equal.
Henry:
Actually, by law it does.
Evan:
Suddenly I’ve been pushed to the bottom of the social
ladder, where I used to at least be one up above you, How
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do you think that makes me feel? My government tells
me that I’m worth the same as a slave?
John:
We’re not slaves anymore!
Evan:
No, but now that you’re free you’ve taken away my
hopes of a good life. Because you’re now fighting for the
same jobs I am and are living at the same status, I will
have a harder time trying to make a better life. You will
work for cheaper, so naturally anyone will hire you first.
Henry:
We’re doing the same job!
Evan:
It won’t be long before Mr. Lawson realizes he can get
away with more and make a better profit by hiring men
like you. Then where will I be? So excuse me if I’m not
willing to be your best friend.
Narrator 2:
Despite the end of slavery, most former slaves found that
racism was still alive, and many whites would not accept
their new status.
Scene 3
Narrator 1:
Former slaves’ hopes of making a better life and earning
enough money to buy their own land became a dream
rather than a reality.
Narrator 2:
Because of their ability to abuse the system and to keep
the sharecroppers in constant debt, landowners were able
to keep their cheap help year after year. Rarely did
sharecroppers ever save enough to strike out on their
own.
Betty:
Henry, dear. I’m really worried. We’ve been here four
years working for Mr. Lawson and haven’t saved a
penny! Our debt is even greater now than it was when we
first started.
Henry:
I know, but we have no other choice. Hopefully, this
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year’s crop will be profitable enough that we can pay
back more of our debt.
Betty:
I’m sure Mr. Lawson isn’t completely honest. He charges
us high interest, and how do we know he’s doing the
accounting properly? He could be fudging the numbers
for all we know.
Henry:
I was thinking that, too. Especially since each year we
seem to owe him more than what we make from the
harvest. It’s awful convenient for him that we have to
stay because we owe him money. It’s put us into a cycle
of constant debt.
Betty:
I heard from the wives at some of the local farms that
their husbands were having the same problem. It’s like
slavery all over again. This time they’re controlling our
lives by controlling our debt!
Henry:
Nevertheless, there’s nothing we can do. So much for our
chance at a better life.
Betty:
I was so happy when slavery was finally abolished, but
now we’re faced with another version. My only hope is
that someday John will see a life where he has a chance
to make something of himself.
Narrator 1:
Landowners unable to give up the idea of slaveholding
continued to run the sharecropping system, ensuring that
former slaves and poor whites were in a cycle of constant
debt, which assured the landowners a continuous labor
supply.
Narrator 2:
Through dishonest accounting, landowners kept former
slaves from realizing their dream of true freedom.
Slavery transformed into an impoverished life where they
were trapped in an unending abyss of debt to a new type
of master.
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Epilogue:
Sharecropping was widespread throughout the South after the Civil War
because of the abundance of land and poor laborers to work it. Because of attitudes
toward freed slaves in addition to desires for white supremacy, landowners kept
their workers trapped in the sharecropping system by charging too much and fixing
prices. As industry grew in the United States, oil, railroading, and sawmilling
provided alternate opportunities for these poor workers; but they often found
similar circumstances with small salaries and company stores requiring ridiculous
sums. Cities occasionally offered more diverse work opportunities, so former
slaves scattered across the United States. However, they encountered many of the
same attitudes they did in the South. Finally, when America entered World War II,
many poor workers joined the military, and others found jobs in shipyards and the
defense industries. This finally gave many poor workers the chance to break out of
the system.
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Name: _______________________________
Date: __________
From Slave to Sharecropper:
Life after the Civil War
Discussion Questions:
1. Who worked as sharecroppers?
2. How did landowners ensure they would have workers?
3. What were the attitudes toward former slaves?
4. Did life improve for the former slaves?
5. What new opportunities did former slaves have?
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