Use the words sharecropping and tenant farming for this!
Essential question: how did civil war and reconstruction change South Carolina and the nation?
During the Reconstruction era, the system of sharecropping and tenant farming became prevalent throughout the South, including in South Carolina. Sharecropping involved landowners renting out land to freed slaves and poor whites in exchange for a share of the crop produced. Tenant farming was similar, but tenants would pay rent in cash or another form of payment instead of sharing the crop.
These systems of agriculture drastically changed the economic and social landscape of South Carolina and the nation as a whole. Sharecropping and tenant farming perpetuated the cycle of poverty for many African Americans and poor whites, as they often remained indebted to landowners and struggled to make a profit from their labor.
Additionally, sharecropping and tenant farming contributed to the consolidation of power in the hands of wealthy landowners, further marginalizing marginalized communities and reinforcing racial and social hierarchies. This economic exploitation and social inequality were direct results of the Civil War and Reconstruction, which reshaped the South and left a lasting impact on the nation as a whole.