Virtual Tour | School Visits | Museums | Home Page

Planter's House Complex

The Planter's House

The plantation system depended upon slave labor. Although the large land holdings were still referred to as plantations in the 1890s, the plantation system was dead. Most planters lost their fortunes in the Civil War, and there was little cash or credit anywhere in the south. The freedmen went from slavery to freedom without cash, property, or credit. The only thing marketable that former slaves had was their willingness and ability to work. Planters had land but they had no labor tow work the land and no cash with which to pay laborers. The result was the sharecropping and tenant systems.

A sharecropper and his family were hired to farm twenty to forty acres of land. The land owner provided a house, tools, seed, credit for living expenses, and sometimes a mule for plowing. The sharecropper provided only the labor. Wages were paid with a share of the crop--usually half--less living expenses.

 

The Tenant's House

A tenant farmer was a little better off than a sharecropper. He owned a team and some farming equipment, rented land from the farm owner, and paid rent to the land owner. Most often the landlord received one-third of the cotton crop as rent, but there were an endless variety of arrangements.

 

 

Glossary of Terms Page | PDF version Glossary | Top

About Us | Museum Shop | Programs | Plan Visit | School Visits | Sitemap | Suggestions | Home | Museum Studies

Copyright© 2001 Baylor® University. All rights reserved. Trademark information.
Please send comments to Historic_Village@baylor.edu. Updated Aug. 23, 2001.