Question

What was the major reason for the cycle of debt and poverty most sharecroppers experienced despite their hard work?
A. Sharecroppers and landowners lacked the equipment and fertilizer to make profit
B. Sharecroppers has to buy everything from the landowners who charged exorbitant prices
C. There was not enough land available for the number of people who wanted to be sharecroppers
D. Landowners never made enough money to cover the costs of a sharecropping operation

Answer 1

The answer is B, I’m assuming this question is on the reconstruction in the south after the civil war (though b can also work if this question is about the feudal system in Europe) during the reconstruction, many freed slaves were left without land or money and were forced to work on the same plantations they worked as slaves. Plantation owners would rent the land to sharecroppers along with the equipment, and because the freed slaves had no means to find other work, they could be exploited by being charged large amounts for the land and machines they rented