Describe how the lives of African Americans were affected by the Civil War.

(paragraph form as it is an exam style question)

The lives of African Americans changed drastically. Although it was a great thing for them to be free, most did not have any other skills. Generations of slavery did not set up the population for success as a whole. A lot of the population went back, even to their original masters, for work. This began what is known as sharecropping. They were allowed to live on and work the land. In exchange, they owned a very small portion of the land and could keep a very small portion of the crop. Although this was much better than being a slave, most African Americans working as sharecroppers did not know better and were often taken advantage of.