Freedmen: a formerly enslaved person that has been released from slavery.
“...we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them." - Houston Hartsfield Holloway; Library of Congress - The Freedmen
From 1861 - 1865, the United States fought what is still the bloodiest war in the nation’s history on its own soil, that ultimately saw the Union prevail and retake control of the Confederacy. In the midst of the Civil War, the Union issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 at the direction of Abraham Lincoln, demanding the Confederacy release of all slaves in United States territories. It is believed that millions of slaves were set free following the Emancipation Proclamation. However, most of these now freedmen had spent their entire lives in slavery which meant they had no resources or means to support themselves as newly freed people.
The United States Congress recognized this issue and in 1865 set in motion an act to create the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, otherwise known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Bureau took on many responsibilities including: drawing labor contracts to ensure fair employment of Black individuals in addition to allowing those that served in the war to take out federal bonds to purchase land or start businesses. The Bureau provided temporary housing, food, and medical care to freedmen while they worked towards obtaining jobs and purchasing land. They legalized and conducted marital ceremonies for Black couples, and kept records that have become invaluable to freedmen descendants in tracing their genealogy and solidifying their identity.
Perhaps their most important contribution was in education. By 1870, the Bureau had established over 1,000 schools in Southern states, and hundreds of thousands of Black children and adults enrolled and learned to read and write. It greatly increased literacy in these populations and allowed many individuals to purchase land and start businesses.
The Bureau was able to make a lot of progress in the few years after it was established, but inevitably many factors began working against them. While President Andrew Johnson shared a lot of similar philosophies to his predecessor, Abraham Lincoln, he was much keener on reinstating the Southern states into the Union. He appointed military governors in each Southern state and occupied them with Union army members. Once they successfully elected and ratified the 14th Amendment, which gave citizenship to all persons born in the United States, the Confederate governors were reinstated. Because of this, it was only a matter of time before they started writing legislation override the 14th Amendment in favor of White supremacy.
The laws enacted during this period became known as the Black Codes. Their sole purpose was to take away the freedoms and limit the influence of Black individuals. They included revoking their rights to vote, receive fair wages, gather for worship, receive fair treatment under the law, bear arms, and learning to read and write. It forced many freedmen to return to working for wealthy White landowners in subhuman conditions.
Public support for the Freedmen’s Bureau in Union began to lessen by 1870, as the South's desire to govern themselves independently of federal aid, grew. The Bureau was officially closed by Congress in 1872,
“I believe there are many battles yet to be fought in the interest of human rights. … There are wrongs that must be righted, noble deeds that must be done.” - Oliver Otis Howard, commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau, 1872
Though the Freedmen’s Bureau lost its funding before being able to provide the equity that freedmen needed to be successful in a hostile society, it did established the groundwork for future government-funded social work programs with goals to provide equal opportunity to marginalized communities. For example, the Transitional Living Program (TLP) for young adults aging out of foster care; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for young parents without food security; and the Street Outreach Program (SOP) for young adults living on the streets or in high-risk areas.
Sources:
Library of Congress - The Freedmen
Family Search - The Importance of Freedmen’s Bureau Records
U.S. Senate Archives - Freedmen’s Bureau Acts of 1865 & 1866
UVA Miller Center - Andrew Johnson: Domestic Affairs
Constitutional Rights Foundation -- Southern Black Codes
The Henry Ford Museum - Freedmen’s Bureau
National Academies Press - Investing in the Health of Young Adults
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