4.4 Rise of sharecropping and the convict lease system

After the Civil War, sharecropping and convict leasing emerged as exploitative systems in Alabama. These practices kept former slaves and poor whites in cycles of debt and poverty, effectively continuing many aspects of slavery under new names.

Sharecroppers worked land for a share of crops, while convicts were leased to private companies for labor. Both systems disproportionately affected African Americans, perpetuating racial inequality and economic oppression in post-war Alabama.

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Economic Systems for Landless Farmers

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• Sharecropping emerged as a system where landless farmers worked land owned by others in exchange for a share of the crop (typically one-third to one-half)
• Tenant farming differed from sharecropping in that tenants usually owned their own tools and draft animals while sharecroppers brought only their labor
• Both sharecroppers and tenant farmers were typically required to give a portion of their crop to the landowner as rent payment
• Sharecroppers and tenant farmers often faced perpetual debt and poverty due to high interest rates, unpredictable harvests, and lack of control over crop prices

Debt and Exploitation of Farmers

• Crop lien system allowed farmers to use expected harvests as collateral for loans to buy supplies and equipment
  • Merchants provided loans at high interest rates (20-50%) and required farmers to sell crops at low prices to repay debt
  • System often trapped farmers in cycle of debt as they had to borrow against future harvests to pay for previous years' debt
• Debt peonage occurred when laborers were compelled to work to pay off debt, often becoming bound to landowner or employer indefinitely
  • Sharecroppers and tenant farmers frequently fell into debt peonage due to combination of high interest rates, low crop prices, and natural disasters (droughts, floods, pests)
  • Debt peonage disproportionately affected African Americans in the South and created a system of economic exploitation similar to slavery

Convict Leasing and Black Codes

Exploitative Labor Practices

• Convict leasing allowed states to lease out prisoners to private companies for labor
  • Predominantly African American prisoners were leased to plantations, lumber camps, railroads, and mines
  • Convicts faced brutal working conditions, malnutrition, and physical abuse with high mortality rates
  • States profited from leasing fees while companies exploited cheap labor source
• Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states to restrict African Americans' freedom and return them to plantation labor
  • Laws included vagrancy, apprenticeship, and contract labor statutes designed to control black labor and restrict mobility
  • Vagrancy laws allowed police to arrest freed people for minor infractions (unemployment, loitering) and fine or imprison them

Racial Discrimination and Segregation

• Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation and discrimination in public facilities (schools, transportation, restaurants, restrooms)
  • Laws were named after minstrel show character that mocked African Americans
  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld constitutionality of "separate but equal" accommodations
• Segregation and discrimination in education, employment, housing, and criminal justice systematically disadvantaged African Americans
  • Underfunded segregated schools, restricted access to skilled jobs and unions, redlining in housing, and biased policing and sentencing
• Combination of exploitative labor practices and legalized racial discrimination created a system of white supremacy and black oppression in the post-Civil War South