Question

why did sharecropping and tenant farming develop during reconstruction? a southern landowners wanted to contribute to the work of the freedmen’s bureau. b southern landowners still wanted to grow cash crops such as cotton and needed labor. c southern landowners wanted to grow new fruit crops in place of cotton and needed labor. d southern landowners wanted to move out of the south and needed someone to work their land.

Explanation:

• Option A: The Freedmen’s Bureau aimed to help freed slaves, and landowners’ motivation for sharecropping/tenant farming was not to assist it. Eliminate A.
• Option B: After the Civil War, Southern landowners still relied on cash crops like cotton. With slavery ended, sharecropping and tenant farming provided labor (freed slaves or poor whites) to grow these crops. This matches the historical context.
• Option C: There was no major shift to fruit crops; cotton remained dominant. Eliminate C.
• Option D: Landowners wanted to retain their land and profit from it, not move out. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. Southern landowners still wanted to grow cash crops such as cotton and needed labor.