Read the excerpt describing the largest group of white
southerners
Based on the excerpt, the reader can conclude that
yeoman farmers
O had a hard time making a living.
O lived much the same as enslaved workers.
O moved to better land from season to season.
O often moved up the social ladder as they gained
wealth
Yeoman farmers were by far the largest group of white
southerners, making up about 75 percent of the white
population. These were independent farmers who often
lived from season to season. Many were subsistence
farmers, who literally lived off the land with almost no
cash money. What they needed, they grew or made or
got by trading their own goods or homemade products.
Overseers (persons hired to manage slaves on a day-
to-day basis) were usually considered part of this class.
Some of the "better off" yeoman farmers did have a few
slaves, but the majority scrambled just to eke out a
living