Why did the system of sharecropping make it difficult for freedmen to become economically independent?

Sharecropping made it difficult for freedmen to achieve economic independence because it often trapped them in a cycle of debt and dependency. Landowners would provide land, seeds, and tools in exchange for a share of the crop, but high rents and unfair pricing for supplies meant that many sharecroppers were unable to earn enough to pay off their debts. This system effectively tied freedmen to the land and their employers, limiting their ability to save money or invest in their own enterprises. As a result, sharecropping perpetuated poverty and restricted economic mobility for many African Americans in the post-Civil War South.