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May 14th, 1871

Dear diary,

I have been at a loss these past few weeks without the help of my slaves. I sorely miss having enough hands to harvest all the cotton around here. Without them, I don’t believe I will be able to bring in a bumper crop like in past years. I invested a lot of money into those slaves and here the government has just taken all that money away with the 13th amendment setting them all free.

What thankless creatures, the lot of them! Here a man pours his heart and soul into the welfare of men, women and children and what does he get in return? Empty cabins and fields! They simply left with no regrets and no apology-not even gratitude for all I have done for them. They betrayed me! If I hadn’t a better mind, I would wrestle up some blacks and teach them a lesson with the rest of them!

I don’t quite know what I will do. I have far too much work for myself and my family to handle. It seems I’ll have to pay my workers but really, I don’t even know if can do that with my Confederate money being worthless. I guess I’ll have to do the work myself which just seems a nearly impossible task.

All I have left is my land! At least I have that. I feel that I will end up doing what many of my friends have already begun. It is a new system called sharecropping. Freemen would work my land; they would receive a portion of the crop for their labors. That may be the answer to my problems.

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Read the notes and highlight (or underline) how freedmen were affected by Reconstruction.

Complete the provided worksheet and turn it in when you are finished. This will be graded!

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Read the attached text. After reading, answer the questions on your graphic organizer.