Without their own land, African Americans could not grow crops to sell or feed their families. Economic necessity forced many former slaves to sign labor contracts with planters. Landowners would divide their land and give them a few acres, tools, and seed. When they got enough money to purchase their own land, tenant farmers bought their supplies on credit from planters who inflated the prices. They had to buy their supplies from their planters because they couldn't get them from anywhere else.

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