Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Sharecroppers were people who farmed land that belonged to someone else. The sharecropper grows, harvests, and uses the crops he grows on the the land that the owner lends him, and in return, the owner gets a share of the crop. The sharecropper pays rent with a portion of the crop he raises and who brings little besides his family labor. Sharecroppers never made much profit but it was enough to provide for their family and put food on the table.

Tenant farmers were considered a step up from sharecroppers. Tenant farmers usually owned equipment and/or farm animals; however, the landowner provided the house and land. At the end of the year, these farmers paid the owners cash or a share of a crop.