Sharecropping - Many freed slaves remained on their plantations and worked as sharecroppers. In this arrangement landowners (former plantation owners) also had no money to hire workers so what they would do is allow a freed slave to work the land and give a portion of the harvest to the landowner. The portion was usually quite high and it was difficult for the freeman to save enough to to sell on his own. In theory a sharecropper could save enough money to buy some mules and eventually rent the land but this was rare.<span>Tenant Farming - Some sharecroppers actually made enough to begin renting the land. This was known as tenant farming. Certainly this was better than 'cropping but they still struggled to make ends meet.</span>
