After the Civil War and during the Reconstruction era, many African Americans became sharecroppers, a system where they farmed land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crops. To obtain the necessary seeds and supplies for farming, they often relied on credit systems known as crop liens. This system allowed them to borrow against the expected harvest, but it also led to cycles of debt and economic hardship. Crop liens were a common practice in the South, where sharecroppers had limited access to cash and resources.