B) 1865
The U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands opened in 1865. It was also known as the Freedmen's Bureau. The agency was started to help formerly enslaved Black people and poor white people in the South after the Civil War. About 4 million enslaved people gained their freedom after the war. However, the war also hurt many communities and destroyed Southern businesses that depended on enslaved people. The Freedmen's Bureau gave people food, housing and health care. It started schools, offered legal help and tried to give land to formerly enslaved people. However, the Freedmen's Bureau wasn't fully successful. Many white people in the South were against it, and the government finally closed it in 1872.
Creation of the Freedmen's Bureau
Lawmakers created the Freedmen's Bureau on March 3, 1865. Two months later, the Civil War ended. The Freedman's Bureau was not meant to be around forever. Rather, it was designed to last just the length of the war and one year afterward.
Opposition to the Freedmen's Bureau
The period after the Civil War was called Reconstruction. It was a difficult time in America. The nation struggled with how to repair the South and help the 4 million formerly enslaved people live as free men and women. Until that point, the government had never helped a huge population like this. It did not have the workers it needed to successfully run a program as large as the Freedmen's Bureau.
From the start, many people did not like the Freedmen's Bureau, including many white Southerners. Another person who opposed the Bureau was President Andrew Johnson. He became president in April 1865 after Abraham Lincoln was killed. Johnson did what he could to hurt the Bureau. He forgave many former Confederates and gave them back their land. He also got rid of Bureau workers he thought were too kind to Black people.
The Freedmen's Bureau's Successes and Failures
The Freedmen's Bureau was organized into districts in the South. Some districts achieved more than others. The Bureau never had enough money or people. It never had more than 900 agents, or workers. Whites attacked and made fun of them, including white terror groups like the Ku Klux Klan. These groups felt the agents were interfering in local matters by trying to help Black people. Some agents were bad, but others were hardworking and brave and made a big difference.
The Freedmen's Bureau fed millions of people. It built hospitals and provided health care. It also tried to get businesses to treat formerly enslaved people fairly. The Freedmen's Bureau built thousands of schools and helped to start Black colleges like Howard University.
The Bureau also tried to give land to formerly enslaved people, but did not have much success. The land had been owned by Southerners but was abandoned or taken by the government. In the end, it was eventually given back to its original white owners. As a result, Black folks had little opportunity to own land.
The Freedmen's Bureau's Demise
In the summer of 1872, Congress shut down the Freedmen's Bureau. Since that time, historians have argued whether the agency was successful. Many Southerns opposed it, and the Bureau did not have enough money. As a result, it could not do everything it had planned. However, the Bureau was important in another way. It was the first time the government had become involved in feeding and housing many people and making sure they were treated fairly. The book "The Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction" says that the agency "helped awaken Americans to the promise of freedom." For a time, the agency showed many citizens what equal rights and freedom really meant.
When was the Freedmen's Bureau established?
*
A) 1861
B) 1865
C) 1872
D) 1880
1 answer
1 answer