Question

which of the following statements accurately describes the sharecropping system?
a. as the years went on, sharecropping became a less oppressive system.
b. most sharecropping families prospered and soon owned land of their own.
c. sharecroppers rented land and split the crops with the plantation owner.
d. a far higher percentage of white than black farmers in the south rented land rather than owned it.
e. every census from 1880 to 1940 counted more black than white sharecroppers.

Explanation:

• Option a is incorrect: Sharecropping remained an oppressive, exploitative system over time, trapping many in debt cycles.
• Option b is incorrect: Most sharecroppers struggled with debt and poverty, rarely gaining land ownership.
• Option c is correct: This is the core definition of sharecropping—farmers rent land from a plantation owner and split the harvested crops as payment.
• Option d is incorrect: A higher percentage of Black farmers in the South were sharecroppers (landless) compared to white farmers.
• Option e is incorrect: White sharecroppers outnumbered Black sharecroppers in most censuses from 1880 to 1940 in the South.

Answer:

c. Sharecroppers rented land and split the crops with the plantation owner.