Final answer:
Scrip was a form of credit that employers used to pay workers, most notably sharecroppers, and could only be redeemed at company stores. This system perpetuated a cycle of debt and dependence within the sharecropping system, ensuring that sharecroppers remained economically subservient to landowners.
Step-by-step explanation:
Scrip was a form of credit or substitute money, often issued by employers to pay workers. It was particularly common in areas and industries where hard currency was scarce. Sharecroppers, who were tenant farmers, often received scrip from landowners. This form of payment could typically only be used at company-owned stores, which reinforced the sharecropping system by creating a cycle of debt and dependence. Sharecroppers had to buy their supplies using this scrip, which inevitably led to inflated prices and inability to seek competitive pricing elsewhere.
The use of scrip, within the crop lien system, acted similarly to high-interest loans, ensuring sharecroppers remained in perpetual debt to landowners, thus reinforcing their subservient economic position. Courts often upheld the system by prioritizing the payment hierarchy, ensuring that laborers were always the last to be paid. This method of payment prevented sharecroppers from accumulating wealth or being able to invest in their own land, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and reliance on the landlords.