History Of The Freedmen's Bureau

Another important characteristic of the Reconstruction after the civil war was the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Its responsibilities according to Foner (2014) were related with social work, “ Bureau agents were supposed to establish schools, provide aid to the poor and aged, settle disputes between whites and blacks and among the freedpeople, and secure for former slaves and white Unionists equal treatment before the courts” (p. 562) . Still, the Bureau lasted only until 1870, but made many achievements helping the black community.

Following the Civil War, America was in shambles. There were many groups with strong, conflicting ideas of how things should be. However, most groups had one idea in common: reducing the rights of African Americans as much as possible. Freed slaves had very little freedom under the law, were treated like a lesser species by those around them, and faced dangerous environments everywhere they went. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation may have legally freed slaves, but African Americans were barely more than paid slaves.

The Union went on to win the Civil War, maintain the union and abolish slavery. Problem solved right? Well, not quite. In fact, America’s problems had only just begun.  After the Civil War, the country needed to be reconstructed for a few reasons. First of all, much of the Confederate land was now wrecked, with farms and plantations burned down and crops destroyed. People were using now illegitimate confederate money and local governments were in disarray. Former confederates needed to be effectively incorporated back into the Union. Most importantly, slaves were now freedmen and needed to be integrated back into society. The United States was a “new nation,” that, for the first time was “wholly free” (Foner 477). But with the abolishment of slavery, “What is the true definition of freedom?” became a central question in the nation. Black people in America after the war were facing intense scrutiny, racist ideologies and bigotry that was still very prevalent throughout the country. In 1865, Congressman James A. Garfield asked, “Is it the bare privilege of not being chained? If this is all, then freedom is a bitter mockery, a cruel delusion” (Foner 477). Was freedom simply just the absence of slavery, or did it give other rights to former slaves?

Regardless of the many disparagements, the Freedmen's Bureau helped African-Americans achieve the rights that they were deprived of during slavery. The Freedmen's Bureau aided the African-American group of people in establishing schools and churches. Underneath slavery, African-Americans had been deprived of the right to education and religion. The Freemen's Bureau kept an eye on the civil authorities just in cases it involved African-Americans, moreover, the Freedmen's Bureau directed its own court of law during the time it was illegal for a black to testify in courts in the South. The labor structure of the South had to be completely restructured after the war, with that the ex-slave owners tried to fool its former slaves into signing contracts with the same terms as the slavery system. The Freedmen's Bureau represented the African-Americans in convey unbiased contracts for labor and property. Liberty presented African-Americans the opportunities to start a family, moreover, the Freedmen's Bureau aide African-Americans in locating their lost relatives and arbitrated local

The newly freed men became scapegoats for the defeat of the South. The former slaves were a reminder of how much everything had changed after the war. Instead of working in the fields under white masters, they now competed for jobs with poor white farmers. The way that white southerners distinguished themselves from the freedmen was by the terrorism of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK). By joining the KKK a white southerner could take action backed by a large organization without fear of repercussions. At anytime the KKK could come to your door and hassle, berate, or even hang you simply because you were now free and had committed some tiny infraction. The testimony of Harriet Postle is a prime example that no freed person was safe. Her family committed no crime yet the KKK still burst down their door, and severely beat Mrs. Postle. The fact that she was around eight months pregnant didn’t deter the KKK from abusing her. Harriet Postle stated in her testimony that the KKK, “beat my head against the side of the house till I had no sense hardly left.” Now the freedmen lived in their own homes without a master, but any Klansman could come in and do what they pleased. Before the Civil War black men and women had no fear of the Klan because they didn’t exist. Now the newly freed person had the Klan breathing down their back along with the inability to assemble or go where they pleased.

After the Civil War, Congress and the president set up a new government agency to help former freedmen. This new government agency was called by the name of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen 's Bureau also was an agency to help former slaves adjust to freedom after the 13th Amendment ended slavery. Their purpose for running this agency was to give out clothes, foods, and medicines, which reduced the death rate of many African Americans. They also did many other things like create schools for African Americans, like Atlanta University,

The Reconstruction Period which may also be known as the Radical Reconstruction took place from 1865 to 1877 (Foner, 439). Throughout this time a coherent definition for Freedom was not yet established leading to many disadvantages mainly to the African American communities. During this time political, social and economic issues affected the South. Therefore, regaining order in the Confederate state became important to the Union. By 1865 Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau which brought a successful outcome, but was not sufficient to cure all established problems. According to Eric Foner the Freedmen’s Bureau was seen as a government experiment with the idea of establishing a sense of equality between social interactions. Not only

From this website I gained information on a huge purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau which was to help the several blacks as well as whites to make a rapid transition from slavery to a time period where there is nothing but freedom. The bureau was helped ran by the War Department. The Bureau had a very strong military force behind it backing it up. The military force had very big responsibilities, which included stopping problems that were happening due to racial equality. Their main job was to enforce. The components of the Bureau lacked strong enforcement. So, therefore it soon began to fall apart years

This meant that a lot of people would have to find homes, jobs, and education. When the reconstruction era began, steps were taken to completely abolish slavery so that all states readmitted to the Union supported slavery any longer (so even more former slaves were in need of basic necessities). To help with this, Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau, established in 1865 (just one year after the civil war, and in the first year of reconstruction), was specifically designed to help the many former African American slaves in the South in the aftermath of the civil war. They helped them to find new homes, and helped them to find new jobs, as well as helping to provide education to the former slaves (for example, the Morehouse College was opened in 1867 to help former slaves become Protestant ministers and

It intended to help former slaves after the Civil War, by providing food, medical care, clothing and education for refugees and freedmen. Many northern abolitionists risked their lives to help the southern freedmen receiving the name of carpetbaggers. It was given to them by white southern Democrats as northerners who moved to the South after the civil war. Although the Freedmen’s Bureau was seen as a good idea for the Northern, the Southern saw it differently, they said that they had “plenty to eat and nothing to do.” On December 1865, the 13th amendment was passed in where slavery was abolished and involuntary service. Johnson's plan quickly carried out and as a result, many Confederates were elected in the South and the commencing black codes. Black codes were discriminatory laws passed throughout the South to give whites power over blacks; this codes restricted freed Slaves prohibiting, for example, traveling without permits and marrying whites. The purposes of this codes were to guarantee a stable labor supply for emancipated blacks and to force many blacks to become sharecroppers. Because of this codes, the freed slaves didn't feel like they were free. When asked how it felt to be free to a slave the answer was, "I don’t know," when he say what he thinks he said, "I’ll be free when I can do anything a white man can do." When formal slaves became freed slaves, they said: "Freedom burned in the heart long before freedom was

The freedmen’s bureau was a government agency founded during the Reconstruction to help former slaves. The freedmen’s Bureau benefited the African Americans lives because they got knowledge from the colored schools that the government made for them. (Document 1) Most teachers were volunteers, often women, from the North. The bureau also created colleges for the former slaves like Howard. Most Africans who graduated became teachers themselves. The freedmen’s bureau also provided Food and Clothing for most former slaves. The government also provided medical care to over one million people. The bureau also helped poor whites. The African Americans were also benefited by the 13th Amendment. The 13th amendment was an 1865 amendment to the United States constitution that bans slavery throughout the nation. This benefitted the slaves because the amendment banned slavery for good. (Document 2) This shows the African American’s were benefitted by the

Even though documents like the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments officially declared most slaves free, and guaranteed slaves certain rights, all freedmen were treated poorly. So, how did the life of Freedmen change socially, economically, and politically during Reconstruction and the New South Era (1865-1896)? Personally I believe that the life of freedmen did change politically, but not socially or economically. According to documents A, B, and E, the life of a freedman did change politically because were given the right to vote and were elected into office, unlike before, as slaves. According to document C, the life of a freedman did not change socially because they were still treated poorly and not seen as equals to whites.

When the Union defeated the Confederates in the Civil War in 1865, millions of slaves gained freedom but left areas of the South a wreck and destroyed their plantation-based economy. Shortly before the Civil War ended, Congress established The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, more commonly known as The Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a government organization that was created to help poor Southerners and to make the transition of being a slave to a free person easier. The bureau was intended to last the duration of the war and then one year after so they’ll help you for the time being and then you’re on your own. The Freedmen’s Bureau did just about everything that you could have imagined, they provided food, clothing, housing and medical aid, established schools and offered other legal assistance.

The Reconstruction efforts in the South targeting social reform worked at first, but evidently led to a segregated South. The attempt for social reform involved new amendments and Freedmen’s Bureau, which caused the opposition to black rights. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. The creation of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 intended to give African Americans equal rights. It stated that anyone born in the United States was a citizen and prohibited states from making and enforcing laws that deprived people of their rights. States were not allowed to strip citizens of their liberty or property without cause. (Doc F). Lincoln recognised the plight in which the freedmen were in, so he proposed the establishment of a Freedmen 's Bureau. This agency provided educational, social, and economic services to the African Americans. Many northern whites who traveled to the South with the Union army were astonished to see that many former slaves craved literacy. Many teachers who went South where white women, but by 1870, teachers both white and black were flooding South to teach former slaves. While many were delighted with the African Americans’ newfound freedom, opposition to black rights never fully

The Freedman's bureau was a government agency that helped in the aid of freed slaves in the south. The agency, formed by Abraham Lincoln helped distribute food, clothing and shelter. It also opened schools for former slaves. Although this helped a lot of people, Andrew Johnson wasn't interested in former slaves. In fact, he was even a previous slave owner himself.