Sharecropping Contract
In this sharecropping contract, farmer Thomas J. Ross agrees to employ Freedmen to plant and raise a crop on his Rosstown Plantation in Shelby County, Tennessee.
![A black and white image of two cotton sharecroppers in a field.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/8b32081v.jpg?h=40282f03&itok=vNvAN43D)
South Carolina Freedpeople Demand Education
Read an excerpt of the resolution passed at an 1865 convention of freedmen in South Carolina that demanded, among other rights, education.
![A black and white image of African American schoolchildren in Liberty County, circa 1890.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Copy_of_m-11013.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=BZqbljCV)
South Carolina Freedpeople Demand Education (en español)
In Spanish, read an excerpt of the resolution passed at an 1865 convention of freedmen in South Carolina that demanded, among other rights, education.
![A black and white image of African American schoolchildren in Liberty County, circa 1890.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Copy_of_m-11013.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=BZqbljCV)
Excerpt from Mississippi Black Codes (1865)
The Mississippi Black Codes attempt to codify expectations of freedpeople around topics such as intermarriage and labor laws.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Mississippi Black Codes (1865) (en español)
In Spanish, the Mississippi Black Codes attempt to codify expectations of freedpeople around topics such as intermarriage and labor laws.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
South Carolina "Red Shirts" Battle Plan (1876)
Read an excerpt of the battle plan developed by the “Red Shirts,” a Democratic Party paramilitary group that emerged in South Carolina in the late 19th century.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
South Carolina “Red Shirts” Battle Plan (1876) (en español)
In Spanish, read an excerpt of the battle plan developed by the “Red Shirts,” a Democratic Party paramilitary group that emerged in South Carolina in the late 19th century.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
A Teacher Describes Violence and Intimidation (1875)
J. L. Edmonds, an African American schoolteacher, gave this account of the murder and intimidation before the 1875 election in Clay County, Mississippi.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)