Sharecropping Essays - Crops, Land Tenure, Landowners,

Sharecropping Sharecropping Sharecropping appeared in the Southeastern United States, including Appalachia, after the Civil War as a way to continue post-slavery white supremacy over African Americans, but it ultimately included poor whites as well. It was a way to avoid the now illegal possession of slaves while at the same time keeping workers for labor in a subordinate manner. Although former slaves and their descendants composed the majority of sharecroppers, the poor whites joined the blacks in their struggles against the landowners by the end of the sharecropping era. Sharecropping by definition is the working of a piece of land by a tenant in exchange for a portion, usually half, of the crops or the revenue that they bring in for the landowner. In return for the work on the land, the landowners supply the tenants and their families with living accommodations, seeds and fertilizer, tools, and food that can be bought in a commissary, charging fairly high interest rates to the tenants. These rates create an environment of debt and poverty that the sharecroppers have trouble escaping from. When they receive their portion of the money from the crops, the debts that they have procured comes out of their half of the money. Often this leaves the sharecropper with virtually nothing. Between the debt and the hard working conditions, a second form of slavery is created. It was not slavery with a person literally being owned but one of holding a person because they have no choice to go elsewhere. The landowners were the dominant persons in society while the workers were still on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Although we no longer have sharecropping today, many of the issues surrounding sharecropping still exist (racism, poverty amongst African American, etc.). We (Americans) continue to battle these problems and seek solutions but it seems that these problems aren't something people in today's society want to face. It is much easier to pretend they don't exist. I might not see a resolution in my lifetime but is may become my children's dilemma to solve. History Essays

Berth and Birth Commonly Confused Words

Berth and Birth Commonly Confused Words The noun berth refers to a place to sleep (usually on a train or ship), a place for a boat to moor, or a persons place or position on a team. As a verb, berth means to bring something (usually a ship) into a place where it can stay. The noun birth refers to the arrival of a baby (that is, the emergence of an infant from its mothers body) or to the beginning of something. As a verb, birth means to be born or to give rise to something. Examples At night, the seats pulled together to form the lower berth. The upper swung down on hinges from the wall. The upper berth contained the blankets, linens, mattresses, and pillows for both beds.(Rudolph L. Daniels, Trains Across the Continent: North American Railroad History. Indiana University Press, 2000)When a ship arrives at the port, the planners must decide where to berth the ship for the unloading and loading of containers.[Curt Siodmak] found an assignment at Paramount Pictures rewriting the script for a Dorothy Lamour sarong saga. He then found a berth at Universal Pictures, which specialized in horror movies.(Lee Server, Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers. Facts on File, 2002)An outdooring is the first African rite of passage. It always begins at dawn, eight days after the childs birth, and gives family and friends a chance to see and welcome the newest soul.(Maya Angelou, All Gods Children Need Traveling Shoes. Random House, 1986)The fact is that women can grow and birth a child independently of the father. Sadly, an increasing number of women in our modern societies are compelled to do exactly that.(Aviva Jill Romm, The Natural Pregnancy Book. Celestial Arts, 2011) Idiom Alert: "Give (Someone or Something) a Wide Berth" [This idiom means] to keep well away from or avoid (someone or something): I always give the park a wide berth when Im out at night. [A nautical idiom―a berth is the amount of space necessary for a sailing ship to maneuver safely.](Elizabeth McLaren Kirkpatrick and C.M. Schwarz, The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Wordsworth Editions, 1993)If Vito was impressed by his new schools academics, he gave a wide berth to its extracurricular activities and is notably absent from his sophomore and junior yearbooks.(Michael Schiavi, Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo. University of Wisconsin Press, 2011) Practice Exercises (a) In the history of invention a long time almost invariably elapses between the ____ of an idea and its realization in practice.(H. W. Dickinson and Arthur Titley, Richard Trevithick: The Engineer and the Man, 1934)(b) Give a wide _____ to nesting birds, animals with young, and wildlife that is using a water source. Feel free to watch these wild inhabitants of the desert, but do so at a respectful distance so that your presence does not disturb them.(Erik Molvar and Tamara Martin, Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, 2nd ed. Globe Pequot, 2005)(c) McDowell helped me walk back to the ships sick bay, a small _____ walled in with panels of strong canvas.(Paul Dowswell, Powder Monkey: Adventures of a Young Sailor. Bloomsbury, 2005) Answers to Practice Exercises (a) In the history of invention a long time almost invariably elapses between the  birth  of an idea and its realization in practice.(H. W. Dickinson and Arthur Titley,  Richard Trevithick: The Engineer and the Man, 1934)(b) Give a wide  berth  to nesting birds, animals with young, and wildlife that is using a water source. Feel free to watch these wild inhabitants of the desert, but do so at a respectful distance so that your presence does not disturb them.(Erik Molvar and Tamara Martin,  Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, 2nd ed. Globe Pequot, 2005)(c) McDowell helped me walk back to the ships sick bay, a small  berth  walled in with panels of strong canvas.(Paul Dowswell,  Powder Monkey: Adventures of a Young Sailor. Bloomsbury, 2005)