Final answer:
Sharecropping is an economic system in which farmers rent land and pay the rent with a portion of their harvest, often leading to a cycle of debt and poverty.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sharecropping emerged as an economic system in the post-Civil War South, particularly after the abolition of slavery. In this arrangement, farmers, often freed individuals, rented land from landowners and paid a portion of their harvest as rent. This practice provided a semblance of autonomy for former slaves but was marked by inherent challenges. The crop-lien system, inherent in sharecropping, meant that tenants often faced a cycle of debt and poverty.
Sharecroppers, typically agreeing to surrender half of their crops as rent, found themselves trapped in a precarious financial situation. This system perpetuated economic instability for tenant farmers, hindering their ability to break free from poverty. While sharecropping represented a departure from the overt bondage of slavery, its associated economic challenges underscored the complex and persistent struggles faced by freed individuals in the post-Civil War era South.