What is the difference between a sharecropper and a tenant farmer?

A sharecropper is a farmer who works on land owned by someone else and pays for the use of that land by sharing a portion of the crop produced with the landowner, often leading to cycles of debt. In contrast, a tenant farmer also rents land from a landowner but typically pays a fixed cash rent or a specified amount of crops, allowing for more independence in their farming practices. While both arrangements involve working on someone else's land, sharecropping is generally more exploitative and tied to the historical context of post-Civil War America.