1865: The 13th Amendment is passed, abolishing slavery except in the case of imprisonment.  In that same year, the sharecropping system is developed in the South, ensuring the continuation of cotton production and cheap labor.  Mississippi Statute requires African Americans to enter into a labor contract with white farmers or risk arrest.

1887: Dawes Act is passed, breaking up communally held tribal land and requiring Native people to privately own parcels of land.

Actions for Self-Determination:

• 1866: Bridget “Biddy” Mason becomes the first African American woman to own land in California after petitioning for her freedom in court. 
• 1886: A coalition of anarchist, socialist and communist workers organize the first May Day and call for the eight-hour work day.
• 1931: Alabama Sharecroppers Union fights for higher wages and prices. 
• 1933: Japanese and Mexican berry pickers and communist Dorothy Ray Healey organize in El Monte, California. 
• 1969: Fannie Lou Hamer, daughter of sharecroppers, founds the Freedom Farm Cooperative in Mississippi. 
• 1971: 1,200 prisoners at Attica Prison declare, “We are men. We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten and driven as such.” The rebellion raised nationwide awareness of the brutality and racism of the prison system.
  
• 1992: In response to NAFTA and the privatization of ejidos (communally held lands) in Mexico, the Zapatista National Liberation Army occupies towns and ranches, declares autonomy of numerous indigenous municipalities, and begins to create a network of self-sufficiency. 

Discussion Questions:

• How was the sharecropping system a continuation of the power structures during slavery? How did it provide new sources of agency and self-determination?
• How was emancipation used to stoke racial divisions between poor whites and blacks?

Additional Resources:

• Analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and the intentions of the Civil War [Teaching Activity]
• Zapatista context and organizing principles [Workshop Guide]

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