Final answer:
The crop-lien system was a method used in the post-Civil War South to secure agricultural loans, where farmers used future crops as collateral. High-interest rates made it difficult for borrowers to prosper, trapping many in cycles of debt.
Step-by-step explanation:
The crop-lien system was a credit arrangement prevalent in the Southern United States after the Civil War, wherein farmers could obtain agricultural loans by pledging their future crops as collateral. Unfortunately, this system was marred by high-interest rates, which often led to a cycle of debt for farmers, constraining their financial prosperity even during times of high crop yields. The correct answer to the question is B) To secure agricultural loans.
This system was an economic fixture, deeply influencing the post-Civil War reconstruction era and the Southern agricultural landscape up until the 1930s.
Sharecroppers, who comprised a significant portion of farmers in the South, were hit particularly hard by the crop lien system. As theoretically wage laborers who had to finance nearly all aspects of production, sharecroppers ended up assuming immense risks. When harvest time arrived, a rigid hierarchy determined by the Southern courts often prioritized payment to merchants, banks, and landowners over the laborers who raised the crops.