How did prejudice against African Americans persist after slavery ended? How did this impact African Americans’ ability to succeed as freedmen in America?

After the abolition of slavery, former slaves had to integrate into society as free men and women. One of the common jobs that former slaves took up was sharecropping, in which a farmer would get a portion of the crops they harvested for a landowner. In this informational text, the author explores the difficulties for blacks and whites to adjust to the time period following the Civil War.

As you read, take notes on how sharecroppers were treated by landowners.

Associated Explainer

"An illustrated depiction of black people picking cotton, 1913" by Jerome H. Farbar is in the public domain.

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[1]When slavery ended in 1865, 4 million enslaved people were given their freedom. People who were born into slavery, like Houston Hartsfield Holloway, found that this important change also created a challenge. In his autobiography, Holloway wrote that he and other former slaves “did not know how to be free” and that “white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them.” His words reflect the difficulties of Reconstruction, a time period that came after the Civil War.

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