3
InstructionMultiple Choice

Politics in the New State

Question 3 • OK-Oklahoma History

Why was sharecropping so common in the Cotton Belt?

Answer
A
It was a successful system that allowed tenant farmers to quickly acquire their own farms.
B
Labor shortages in the region promoted this system.
C
Unable to purchase their own land, many former slaves became sharecroppers.
D
Immigrants who were used to similar systems in Europe found comfort in this system, which provided them the opportunity to own plots of land.

Explanation

After the Civil War, most formerly enslaved people were not given land and lacked the money to buy farms. Sharecropping let them farm land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crop, so it became widespread in the Cotton Belt. Choice C correctly describes why many former slaves entered the system; sharecropping usually kept farmers in debt rather than helping them quickly acquire their own farms.

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