Final answer:
By the 1870s, most African Americans were bound to a labor system known as sharecropping, where they worked land in return for a portion of the crops, keeping them in a cycle of debt and dependency to landowners.
Step-by-step explanation:
By the 1870s, most African Americans were relegated to a system of sharecropping, an arrangement whereby they agreed to work a small piece of land in return for a fixed share of the crop. Sharecropping was a labor system that evolved in the South during the Reconstruction era, following the end of the Civil War. In this system, freed slaves and poor whites would rent small plots of land from landowners, in exchange for a portion of their crop yield, usually one-half. This practice often led to a cycle of debt and dependency, as landowners manipulated this system to maintain economic dominance over former slaves, effectively inhibiting their social and economic mobility.
The plantation economy of the South had been disrupted by the war, and in the post-war period, a desperate need for agricultural labor emerged. Former slaves, who sought employment and means of livelihood, had few options and were often coerced into signing contracts with their former masters. The crop-lien system worked greatly to the advantage of landowners, locking sharecroppers into a perpetual cycle of debt. High interest rates and unfair crop assessments by landlords meant sharecroppers could rarely save enough to purchase their own land or overcome their debts. Additionally, Black Codes and other restrictive legal measures further suppressed the economic freedom of African Americans, binding them to the land and to the will of landowners.