Question

Formerly enslaved people had difficulty becoming economically independent because

Answer 1

Other people tried to oppress them and re-enslave them, or get as close as possible to it. For example, the Black Codes were made so former slaves (Freedmen) could be used for free labor and be convicted of a crime so easily.

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Answer 2

The system of sharecropping kept formerly enslaved persons economically dependent. In other words. the south had difficulty improving their economic condition because the system of sharecropping kept them in a cycle of poverty.