Question

primary source analysis
this account comes from a published letter written by a pastor and teacher of freedmen in georgia. he discusses the conditions freedmen faced in georgia. in these excerpts, he recounts the statement of a freedman who reported that he was attacked by an employer. read the excerpts and answer the questions.

\i worked for robert hodges, four years, who lives about two and a half miles from athensville, georgia. i had my own stock, and rented land from him, agreeing to give him one-third of the corn, and one-fourth of the cotton for rent. we divided the oats by the wagon load—one-fourth to him, and three-fourths mine.\

\i went to him last friday a week ago (january 28th, 1869) for a settlement. when he read over his account he had a gallon of syrup charged to me, and i told him i had not had any syrup of him. he asked me if i disputed his word. i told him that i did not want to dispute his word, but i had not had any syrup from him. he got up very angry, and took a large hickory stick and came towards me.\

\i had a small piece of clipboard in my hand, that i had walked with. he told me to throw it down. i made no attempt to strike him, but held it up to keep off his blow. i went backwards to the door and on the edge of the porch, and he followed me. as i turned to go down the steps—there are four steps—he struck me a powerful blow on the back of my head, and i fell from the porch to the ground. i was not entirely senseless, but i was stiff and could not move. ...\

1. was the freedman most likely a sharecropper or a tenant farmer according to these excerpts? cite evidence to support your answer.

1. what led the employer to attack the freedman according to this account?

1. how does this account show the challenges that tenant farmers and sharecroppers faced?

Explanation:

Question 1

The excerpt states, "I had my own stock, and rented land from him, agreeing to give him one - third of the corn, and one - fourth of the cotton for rent. We divided the oats by the wagon load—one - fourth to him, and three - fourths to me." Sharecroppers typically provided their own tools (stock here) and paid rent with a share of the crop, which matches this description. Tenant farmers usually paid cash rent or a fixed amount of crop, not a variable share based on the wagon - load division as described.

Question 2

The freedman went to the employer (Robert Hodges) for a settlement. When the employer read the account, he accused the freedman of owing him a peck of syrup. The freedman denied owing the syrup, and when the freedman did not defer to the employer's word (said he didn't want to dispute but also didn't admit owing the syrup), the employer became angry and attacked with a hickory stick.

Question 3

The employer physically attacked the freedman over a minor (or false) accusation of owing syrup. Also, the economic arrangement (sharecropping/tenant farming) put the freedman in a vulnerable position where a dispute over a settlement led to violence, showing the power imbalance and the challenges of unfair treatment and potential abuse in this labor system.

Answer:

The freedman was most likely a sharecropper.