The Untouchables live a life of poverty and it is believed that if someone from another caste, even including the Shudra, were to touch an Untouchable, they would become polluted. Although the Shudra are harshly discriminated against, the Untouchables are seen as lower lifeforms and a disgrace to Indian society.
After the Civil War, former slaves sought jobs, and planters sought laborers. The absence of cash or an independent credit system led to the creation of sharecropping.
