Question

read the information in the box:
excerpt from a sharecropping contract
... dawson agrees to pay for the supplies ... out of the first cotton picked and saved on
said land from the crop of said year, and to deliver said cotton of the first picking to the said
solid south ... the proceeds to be applied to payment of said supply bill, which is to be fully
paid on or before the 1st day of january, 1880. ...
—sharecropping contract between dawson, a formerly enslaved person,
and the plantation company solid south
based on the information, which conclusion can best be reached?
a sharecropping allowed formerly enslaved people to
have control over what they produced.
b sharecropping was an easy way for formerly
enslaved people to purchase farm equipment.
c the sharecropping system kept many formerly
enslaved people dependent upon landowners.
d the sharecropping system helped many formerly
enslaved people earn enough profits to buy their own land.

Explanation:

• Analyze Option A: The contract shows Dawson has to deliver cotton to Solid South, so he doesn't have full control over production, eliminating A.
• Analyze Option B: The contract focuses on paying for supplies, not easily purchasing farm equipment, so B is incorrect.
• Analyze Option C: The contract requires Dawson to use his crop to pay the landowner (Solid South) for supplies, creating a dependency as he relies on the landowner for supplies and has to fulfill this payment, supporting that sharecropping kept formerly enslaved people dependent on landowners.
• Analyze Option D: The contract is about paying a supply bill, not earning profits to buy land, so D is wrong.

Answer:

C. The sharecropping system kept many formerly enslaved people dependent upon landowners.