Summary: After the end of the Civil War, the limited economic opportunities for freedmen led many to become sharecroppers working for former enslavers. In this lesson, students critically evaluate their classroom textbook’s account of sharecropping by comparing it to a sharecropping contract from 1882.
Overarching Questions:
- CIVICS: How well does the government balance individual rights and the common good, including the need to maintain order, safety and a healthy environment, during this time period?
- ECONOMICS: What is the proper role of government in the economy? (Especially with regard to economic crises, national defense/security, health and safety of the people, and economic development and practices.)
NJ Student Learning Standards for Social Studies:
- 6.1.12.CivicsDP.5.a: Analyze the effectiveness of governmental policies and of actions by groups and individuals to address discrimination against new immigrants, Native Americans, and African Americans
- 6.1.12.EconEM.5.a: Assess the impact of governmental efforts to regulate industrial and financial systems in order to provide economic stability
- 6.1.12.EconNE.5.a: Compare and contrast economic developments and long-term effects of the Civil War on the economics of the North and the South
- 6.1.12.HistoryUP.5.a: Using primary sources, relate varying immigrants’ experiences to gender, race, ethnicity, or occupation
Link to Lesson: Sharecropping | Digital Inquiry Group