The system of share cropping developed in the south after civil war because

he system of sharecropping developed in the South after the Civil War primarily due to the combination of economic, agricultural, and social changes that occurred during and after the conflict. Here are the logical steps explaining why sharecropping became prevalent:

1. Emancipation of Slaves: With the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War, millions of former slaves found themselves free but without land, jobs, or money. They needed work to earn a living and to feed their families.

2. Destruction of Southern Economy: The Civil War devastated the Southern economy. Plantation owners had lost their slave labor, and their lands were often ruined or neglected due to the war. They lacked the capital to pay wages to workers or to invest in the rejuvenation of their lands.

3. Agricultural Focus: The Southern economy was still largely agrarian, and there was a need to continue producing crops, especially cotton, which was a significant cash crop.

4. Availability of Land: While plantation owners had land, they often could not afford to hire labor to work it. Former slaves and poor whites, on the other hand, needed employment but did not have access to land they could farm independently.

5. Sharecropping Arrangements: Sharecropping emerged as a compromise. Landowners provided land, housing, and sometimes tools and seed, to sharecroppers (who were usually the former slaves and poor whites). In return, the sharecroppers would give a share (often about half) of the harvested crops to the landowner. This allowed the landowner to continue agricultural production without upfront cash and provided the sharecroppers with a means to work and support their families.

6. Lack of Alternatives: The lack of better economic opportunities in the post-war South meant that many former slaves and poor whites were forced into sharecropping. They had no money to buy land and few skills other than farming.

7. Persistence of Racial and Social Hierarchies: Sharecropping maintained the racial and social hierarchies that benefitted the landowning class. It often resulted in a cycle of debt for sharecroppers, as they had to rely on credit from the landowner for day-to-day necessities and could become bound to the land through debt.