Lingering Tension

ID: 1256 ~ Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University ~ Creator: National Archives
This file appears in: Cotton
Lingering Tension

Following the Civil War, a new hierarchy of cotton farmers developed as a result of the increase in the number of people who wanted to farm and the lack of farmland available. Unable to afford their own land, African Americans often had to surrender large portions of their crop each season to a landowner as tenants and sharecroppers.

This file appears in: Cotton

By Amanda Sawyer
For nearly half a century, cotton reigned as king of Waco's economy, establishing the once small frontier town as a thriving urban center known throughout the country. The area later named Waco held a long history of agricultural pursuits…