What is the system of share cropping?

Sharecropping is an agricultural system where landowners provide land, tools, and seeds to tenants, who in return give a share of the crops produced to the landowner. This arrangement often emerged in the Southern United States after the Civil War, allowing formerly enslaved individuals and poor farmers to work the land. While it provided a means of livelihood, sharecropping frequently resulted in cycles of debt and poverty for the tenants, as they had to borrow money for living expenses and supplies from the landowners.