Even though sharecroppers rented their land, they could usually

Sharecroppers rented their land but they usually owned a share of the crop and could sell it to address their economic needs. Despite this fact, the arrangement was unfair and often landowners manipulated the financial ledgers to keep sharecroppers perpetually indebted. It was also very difficult to renegotiate these arrangements and landowners were able to keep a tractable workforce in this manner.