Many African Americans became trapped in a vicious cycle of debt after the civil war mainly because?

The cycle of debt grew out of the sharecrop movement after the Civil War. The newly freed slaves would rent a plot of land from plantation owners and were required to pay the rent with a large percentage of the crops. Additionally, the plantation owners extended credit to the African Americans, who were then required to pay down the loans through labor, but each year, the debt would keep growing, requiring them to stay at the plantation and continue to work.
Updated on Wednesday, February 01 2012 at 09:43PM EST
Collections: mastersdebtcivil warsharecroppingafrican american