Reconstruction: The Freedmen's Bureau

The Freedmen Bureau was the federal institution in control of those terrains given to blacks and now they had to take it back. Under the administration of O. O. Howard the bureau functions were to "establish schools, provide aide to the poor and aged, settle disputes between whites and blacks and among freedpeople, and secure for former slave and white Unionist equal treatment before court," (Foner 483). The Bureau did not have enough agents to put in action the task appointed to it in the south. The Freedmen Bureau was dissolved after five years living the black man on its own.

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.

The Radical Republicans, and the rest of Congress, were the ones who passed most of the bills for Reconstruction, because of their ability to override the president with their majority. They expanded the Freedmen's Bureau, which did show some progress in the helping of former slaves and poor white men. The Freedmen’s Bureau set up hospitals, schools, and also gave out supplies. This achieved the enablement of former slaves having the right to free education. Later on, however, the Freedmen’s Bureau became neglected, and was often forgotten or overlooked. The Freedmen’s Bureau is accurately described in this following statement, “This auspicious beginning belied the great disappointments that lay ahead,” (CITE TEXTBOOK).

They helped provide education for the freed African Americans. According to the Virginia Historical Society, they say, “they used their authority over former confederate properties to provide buildings for schools.” The Freedman’s Bureau wanted to make sure that African Americans had a proper education because they were deprived of education while they were growing up. The Virginia Historical Society says, “the Freedman’s Bureau, missionary associations, and African Americans themselves funded the schools; many of the mostly white, female teachers came from the south with the missionary associations.” The Bureau wanted this to be successful and with the help of the missionary associations and the African Americas to fund the schools, it would make it a reality. The Freedman’s Bureau did everything that they could to make sure the African

The creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau suggests a great deal about the South during the Reconstruction era of the United States. The Bureau was created to help emancipated slaves and refugees have some kind of access to land. Along with access to land, the Bureau itself was “empowered to distributes clothing, food, and fuel” to those who have become free men. In my opinion, I believe the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau answered the question of citizenship in the sense that freedmen should be considered citizens right off the bat. Back then, owning property was a huge part of citizenship. By providing help with access to land, freedmen had the chance to become an equal citizen.

2) Freedman’s Bureau: Congress created this in March of 1865 in order to provide help for thousands of poor black and white southerners uprooted by the fighting. They were educated in Freedman Schools, housed, and fed. “Plenty to eat, nothing to do” (pg. 404)

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

America was in disarray following the events of the Civil War. Southern economy was in shambles while congress was struggling to find a middle ground between the radical republicans and Lincoln’s lenient policies. Many Southerners faced the aftermath of uprooting their society and their way of life while thousands of newly freed slaves struggled to find a way to support themselves. The country needed a strong leader, however on the 14th of April, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theatre in Washington (Farmer). Without the man that had once held the nation together, the country now faced an enormous obstacle; reconstructing American economics, politics and social life.

The Reconstruction of the United States was a time of political controversy following the civil war. Throughout 1863-1877 several plans were put into place in an effort to unify the confederate states back into the union. Part of this process was to give newly freed slaves rights as free men. Some parts of the plan were successful and others were a complete disaster.

A dominant downfall to the Emancipation Proclamation was the small amount of opportunities that were available for African American workers. Though the law allowed African Americans to join the work force, it did not create jobs for them to obtain. This led these newly freed men to resort to the same type of labor they performed before gaining freedom. Most African American men returned to hard

As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout its lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, and all of them have had their own objectives and plans for the future. As history has taken its course, though, almost all of these “revolutionary movements” have come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a violent period that defined the defeated South’s status in the Union and the meaning of freedom for ex-slaves. Though, like many things in life, it did come to an end, and the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure.

One of the first promising step that the government took towards making the transition from slavery to freedom easier for the freedmen was by creating the Freedmen’s Bureau. The original purpose of the bureau was to provide things like protection, advice, and economic, social, and educational services (Goldfield, The American Journey, vol. 2, 356). Because of the bureau the literacy rate among black southerners was able to rise from 10 percent to 30 percent within a decade fallowing the end of the Civil War (Goldfield, 357). At first this seemed to make the transition easier, however when the bureau fell apart in 1872 the former slaves in the south started to have a harder time receiving the proper education that they deserved. When the 15th

"In 1865, the federal government established the Freedmen's Bureau, which provided temporary relief for newly free slaves, managed abandoned and confiscated property, helped to reunite families, provided medical supplies and food rations, and established institutions such as hospitals, schools, and orphanages" (Segal, 2016, p. 32 cited Trattner, 1999). Even though this social policy was developed, it was still a struggle to practice rights given by the government. Several rejected freed slaves and exercised racial theories. They experienced officials sabotaging opportunities. Land was taken away, free men and women were taken advantage of by former masters by increasing cost of agriculture to the point where debt was never going to be

After the civil war ended many regions cities and towns that relied on plantation-based economy were destroyed. This left millions of former slaves and refugees deprived of many necessities including shelter, food, cloths, and especially jobs. The Government needed to help so they established the Bureau in the War Department in 1865 to help with the social reconstruction of the affected areas. Freedman's Bureau quickly addressed the issues that they faced by issuing food and clothing, operating hospitals, locating family members, promoting education, providing employment, providing legal representation, settling them into abandoned or confiscated land, and helping minority soldiers and their families secure back pay and pensions (http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau/). Freedman's Bureau accomplished many of its goals including the establishment of many schools and colleges. Many believed that the bureau should be temporary so that former slaves do not become dependent on the federal agency. They thought that if they gained all of their rights quickly then many of the issues would be solved, however do to the high hostility between the former slaves and the southerners long term support from the Bureau was ultimately needed. Before everything could be amended the Bureau began to lose their authority as their soldiers were called west. They also lost support from both northern and southern politicians. Due to these factors, operations for the Freedman's Bureau ceased in 1872

Although Jim Crow Laws caused a lot of pain and anguish for the African Americans, the government still did many things that helped improve the lives of black citizens. For example; the formation of Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau helped African Americans gain access to rights they were denied during slavery. (Document 2) Through the Freedman’s Bureau, black citizens of the United States gained rights to