Richland Cotton Plantation Store, Mississippi, c. 1868.

Richland Cotton Plantation Store,
Mississippi, ca. 1868.
(The Amistad Foundation, Simpson Collection)

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After the Civil War, country stores offered a variety of goods shipped from the North.

Farmers and sharecroppers often could not afford to make a purchase except "on credit" at exorbitant interest rates.

Widespread use of credit increased debt and poverty among rural Southerners during the Reconstruction era.
Copyright 2003
A New Birth of Freedom: Reconstruction During the Civil War he Meaning of Freedom: Black and White Responses to Slavery From Free Labor to Slave Labor Rights and Power: The Politics of Reconstruction Introduction The Ending of Reconstruction Epilogue: The Unfinished Revolution Additional Resources Credits for this Exhibit