Tenant Farming and Sharecropping in the Post-Civil War South – Object #9

Children of Sam Nichols, Arkansas tenant farmer

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<p>Two young boys stand in front of a house that appears to be a state of disrepair. One boy is holding a rifle and wearing a straw hat.</p>

The sons of Sam Nichols, a tenant farmer, stand in front of his home in rural Arkansas, October 1935.

Questions:

What is the first thing you notice about this photograph?  

What do you think the people who live here do for a living?  How does this affect their lives? What details do you notice about the two boys?  

What are some questions you have about the photograph?  

Citations

United States Resettlement Administration, Shahn, Ben, photographer. Children of Sam Nichols, Arkansas tenant farmer. October 1935.  Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.