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The '''Freedmen's Bureau''' (officially the '''Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands'''), 1865-68, was a controversial federal agency created by Congress and President [[Abraham Lincoln]] in March 1865 to help aid distressed refugees of the [[American Civil War]]. During [[Reconstruction]] it became primarily an agency to help the [[Freedmen]] (freed slaves) in the South.  It was part of the Department of War, and headed by General [[Oliver O. Howard]]. Fully operational from June 1865 through December 1868, it was denounced by Democrats and was disbanded by President [[Andrew Johnson]], who was strongly against any attempt to help the freed slaves.

The '''Freedmen's Bureau''' (officially the '''Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands'''), 1865–68, was a controversial federal agency created by Congress and President [[Abraham Lincoln]] in March 1865 to help aid distressed refugees of the [[American Civil War]]. During [[Reconstruction]] it became primarily an agency to help the [[Freedmen]] (freed slaves) in the South.  It was part of the Department of War, and headed by General [[Oliver O. Howard]]. Fully operational from June 1865 through December 1868, it was denounced by Democrats and was disbanded by President [[Andrew Johnson]], who was strongly against any attempt to help the freed slaves.

==Overview==

==Overview==

In 1865, the Bureau's main role was providing emergency food, housing and medical aid to refugees in the war-ravaged South, both black and white. It also helped reunite families divided by slave sales. By late 1865, it focused its work on helping the Freedmen adjust to new conditions.  Its main job became setting up work opportunities and supervising labor contracts.  It soon became, in effect, a military court that handled legal issues regarding the Freedmen.  By 1866, it was providing a base for political mobilization; many officials became [[carpetbaggers]] and as republican activists entered southern politics. Conservative whites resented the Bureau, which became a major issue in the election of 1866. The [[Radical Republicans]] won that election and blocked efforts of President Johnson to abolish the agency.

In 1865, the Bureau's main role was providing emergency food, housing and medical aid to refugees in the war-ravaged South, both black and white. It also helped reunite families divided by slave sales. By late 1865, it focused its work on helping the Freedmen adjust to new conditions.  Its main job became setting up work opportunities and supervising labor contracts.  It soon became, in effect, a military court that handled legal issues regarding the Freedmen.  By 1866, it was providing a base for political mobilization; many officials became [[carpetbaggers]] and as republican activists entered southern politics. Conservative whites resented the Bureau, which became a major issue in the election of 1866. The [[Radical Republicans]] won that election and blocked efforts of President Johnson to abolish the agency.

Most agents were northern white army veterans. George T. Ruby, a northerner who served first with the Army in Louisiana and moved to Texas in 1866, was one of only a handful of African-American agents. His organizational experience and travels throughout Texas gave him the necessary skills to later become one of only two blacks to serve in the Texas legislature during Reconstruction. <ref>Crouch 1992</ref>

Most agents were northern white army veterans. George T. Ruby, a northerner who served first with the Army in Louisiana and moved to Texas in 1866, was one of only a handful of African-American agents. His organizational experience and travels throughout Texas gave him the necessary skills to later become one of only two blacks to serve in the Texas legislature during Reconstruction.<ref>Crouch 1992</ref>

Regarding the overall administration, one historian concluded that, Howard had a "loose way of interpreting the law to fit his needs....He frequently was too ready to follow the spirit rather than the letter of the law."<ref>Carpenter 154</ref>  Howard's  loose interpretation of the legislation creating the Bureau allowed it to help blacks in many creative ways. For example, in spending $5 million for schools between 1865 and 1871, he used money that was supposed to go for repairs toward construction of new school buildings; money allocated for rent was used to pay teachers.  Bureau agents sometimes falsely suggested to Freedmen that the plantation lands of their former owners would be divided up and given to them if they voted Republican.  

Regarding the overall administration, one historian concluded that, Howard had a "loose way of interpreting the law to fit his needs....He frequently was too ready to follow the spirit rather than the letter of the law."<ref>Carpenter 154</ref>  Howard's  loose interpretation of the legislation creating the Bureau allowed it to help blacks in many creative ways. For example, in spending $5 million for schools between 1865 and 1871, he used money that was supposed to go for repairs toward construction of new school buildings; money allocated for rent was used to pay teachers.  Bureau agents sometimes falsely suggested to Freedmen that the plantation lands of their former owners would be divided up and given to them if they voted Republican.  

At the state level, Bureau officials tried to be fair to both freedmen and employers. Although some of their subordinate agents were unscrupulous or incompetent, the majority of local Bureau agents were hindered in carrying out their duties by the opposition of anti-black elements, the lack of a military presence to enforce their authority, and an excessive amount of paperwork <ref>Cimbala 1992</ref>.

At the state level, Bureau officials tried to be fair to both freedmen and employers. Although some of their subordinate agents were unscrupulous or incompetent, the majority of local Bureau agents were hindered in carrying out their duties by the opposition of anti-black elements, the lack of a military presence to enforce their authority, and an excessive amount of paperwork.<ref>Cimbala 1992</ref>

== Achievements ==

== Achievements ==

=== Day-to-day duties ===

=== Day-to-day duties ===

The Bureau helped solve everyday problems of the refugees, who had no money, no land and no jobs. It provided clothing, food, medicine, communication with family members, and arranged for farm jobs with white landowners.  The Bureau gave out about 15 million rations of food to blacks<ref>Goldhaber 1992</ref>.

The Bureau helped solve everyday problems of the refugees, who had no money, no land and no jobs. It provided clothing, food, medicine, communication with family members, and arranged for farm jobs with white landowners.  The Bureau gave out about 15 million rations of food to blacks.<ref>Goldhaber 1992</ref>  

With the threat of epidemics a serious matter in the refugee camps. the Bureau emphasized the importance of its medical facilities. It gave medical care to over one million people, but that was only a fraction of the need.<ref>Pearson 2002</ref>

With the threat of epidemics a serious matter in the refugee camps. the Bureau emphasized the importance of its medical facilities. It gave medical care to over one million people, but that was only a fraction of the need.<ref>Pearson 2002</ref>

=== Gender roles ===

=== Gender roles ===

Freedmen's Bureau agents at first complained that freedwomen were not working in the fields as they had during slavery. They attempted to make freedwomen work by insisting that their husbands sign contracts obligating the whole family to work on cotton.  The Bureau did allow some exceptions such as certain married women with employed husbands and some "worthy" women who had been widowed or abandoned and had large families of small children and thus could not work. "Unworthy" women, meaning the unruly and especially prostitutes, were the ones usually subjected to punishment for vagrancy. <ref>Farmer-Kaiser, 2004</ref>   

Freedmen's Bureau agents at first complained that freedwomen were not working in the fields as they had during slavery. They attempted to make freedwomen work by insisting that their husbands sign contracts obligating the whole family to work on cotton.  The Bureau did allow some exceptions such as certain married women with employed husbands and some "worthy" women who had been widowed or abandoned and had large families of small children and thus could not work. "Unworthy" women, meaning the unruly and especially prostitutes, were the ones usually subjected to punishment for vagrancy.<ref>Farmer-Kaiser, 2004</ref>   

Under slavery, marriages were informal; slavery disrupted many families as did wartime chaos.  Many Freedmen attempted to find their spouses and children, and the Bureau agents became a reference bureau, allowing illiterate Freedmen to contact each other.  The Bureau had an informal regional communications system that allowed agents to send inquiries and provide answers. It sometimes provided transportation to reunite families. Freedmen and freedwomen turned to the Bureau for assistance in resolving issues of abandonment and divorce.  

Under slavery, marriages were informal; slavery disrupted many families as did wartime chaos.  Many Freedmen attempted to find their spouses and children, and the Bureau agents became a reference bureau, allowing illiterate Freedmen to contact each other.  The Bureau had an informal regional communications system that allowed agents to send inquiries and provide answers. It sometimes provided transportation to reunite families. Freedmen and freedwomen turned to the Bureau for assistance in resolving issues of abandonment and divorce.  

=== Education ===

=== Education ===

[[Image:Freedmen richmond sewing women.jpg|thumb|250px|Women sewing at the Freedmen's Union Industrial School, Richmond, Virginia]]

[[Image:Freedmen richmond sewing women.jpg|thumb|250px|Women sewing at the Freedmen's Union Industrial School, Richmond, Virginia]]

The Bureau stressed the long-term goal of building schools and promoting illiteracy. (It had been illegal to teach slaves to read, but some could do so.) George Ruby, an African American, served as teacher and school administrator and as a traveling inspector for the Bureau, observing local conditions, aiding in the establishment of black schools, and evaluating the performance of Bureau field officers. His efforts met with enthusiasm for education on the part of blacks and bitter opposition, including physical violence, from many planters and other whites. The [[Ku Klux Klan]] often threatened the northern white women who were teaching in these schools, trying to coerce them to go back to the North.<ref>Crouch 1997</ref> Overall the Bureau spent $5 million to set up schools for blacks. By the end of 1865, more than 90,000 former slaves were enrolled as students in public schools. Attendance rates at the new schools for freedmen rose to 80% by 1868.  A leading educator was Brigadier General [[Samuel Chapman Armstrong]]; as an agent of the Bureau he created and led Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia.  

The Bureau stressed the long-term goal of building schools and promoting illiteracy. (It had been illegal to teach slaves to read, but some could do so.) George Ruby, an African American, served as teacher and school administrator and as a traveling inspector for the Bureau, observing local conditions, aiding in the establishment of black schools, and evaluating the performance of Bureau field officers. His efforts met with enthusiasm for education on the part of blacks and bitter opposition, including physical violence, from many planters and other whites. The [[Ku Klux Klan]] often threatened the northern white women who were teaching in these schools, trying to coerce them to go back to the North.<ref>Crouch 1997</ref> Overall the Bureau spent $5 million to set up schools for blacks. By the end of 1865, more than 90,000 former slaves were enrolled as students in public schools. Attendance rates at the new schools for freedmen rose to 80% by 1868.  A leading educator was Brigadier General [[Samuel Chapman Armstrong]]; as an agent of the Bureau he created and led Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia.  

* Morris, Robert C. ''Reading, 'Riting, and Reconstruction: The Education of Freedmen in the South, 1861-1870'' 1981.

* Morris, Robert C. ''Reading, 'Riting, and Reconstruction: The Education of Freedmen in the South, 1861-1870'' 1981.

* Richardson, Joe M. ''Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and Southern Blacks, 1861-1890'' U of Georgia Press, 1986

* Richardson, Joe M. ''Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and Southern Blacks, 1861-1890'' U of Georgia Press, 1986

* Span, Christopher M. "'I Must Learn Now or Not at All': Social and Cultural Capital in the Educational Initiatives of Formerly Enslaved African Americans in Mississippi, 1862-1869," ''The Journal of African American History'', 2002  pp 196-222

* Span, Christopher M. "'I Must Learn Now or Not at All': Social and Cultural Capital in the Educational Initiatives of Formerly Enslaved African Americans in Mississippi, 1862-1869," ''The Journal of African American History'', 2002  pp 196–222

* Williams, Heather Andrea; "'Clothing Themselves in Intelligence': The Freedpeople, Schooling, and Northern Teachers, 1861-1871" ''The Journal of African American History'' 2002. pp 372+.

* Williams, Heather Andrea; "'Clothing Themselves in Intelligence': The Freedpeople, Schooling, and Northern Teachers, 1861-1871" ''The Journal of African American History'' 2002. pp 372+.

* Williams, Heather Andrea. ''Self-Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom'' U of North Carolina Press, 2006  

* Williams, Heather Andrea. ''Self-Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom'' U of North Carolina Press, 2006  

=== Specialized studies ===

=== Specialized studies ===

* Bethel, Elizabeth . "The Freedmen's Bureau in Alabama," ''Journal of Southern History'' Vol. 14, No. 1, Feb., 1948  pp. 49-92 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4642%28194802%2914%3A1%3C49%3ATFBIA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23 online at JSTOR]  

* Bethel, Elizabeth . "The Freedmen's Bureau in Alabama," ''Journal of Southern History'' Vol. 14, No. 1, Feb., 1948  pp.&nbsp;49–92 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4642%28194802%2914%3A1%3C49%3ATFBIA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23 online at JSTOR]  

* Cimbala, Paul A. "On the Front Line of Freedom: Freedmen's Bureau Officers and Agents in Reconstruction Georgia, 1865-1868". ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 1992 76(3): 577-611. Issn: 0016-8297.  

* Cimbala, Paul A. "On the Front Line of Freedom: Freedmen's Bureau Officers and Agents in Reconstruction Georgia, 1865-1868". ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 1992 76(3): 577-611. Issn: 0016-8297.  

* Cimbala, Paul A. ''Under the Guardianship of the Nation: the Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865-1870'' U. of Georgia Press, 1997.   

* Cimbala, Paul A. ''Under the Guardianship of the Nation: the Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865-1870'' U. of Georgia Press, 1997.   

* Crouch, Barry. ''The Freedmen's Bureau and Black Texans'' (1992)

* Crouch, Barry. ''The Freedmen's Bureau and Black Texans'' (1992)

* Crouch; Barry A. "The 'Chords of Love': Legalizing Black Marital and Family Rights in Postwar Texas" ''The Journal of Negro History'', Vol. 79, 1994   

* Crouch; Barry A. "The 'Chords of Love': Legalizing Black Marital and Family Rights in Postwar Texas" ''The Journal of Negro History'', Vol. 79, 1994   

* Durrill, Wayne K. "Political Legitimacy and Local Courts: 'Politicks at Such a Rage' in a Southern Community during Reconstruction" in ''Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 70 #3, 2004 pp 577-617

* Durrill, Wayne K. "Political Legitimacy and Local Courts: 'Politicks at Such a Rage' in a Southern Community during Reconstruction" in ''Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 70 #3, 2004 pp 577–617

* Farmer-Kaiser, Mary. "’Are They Not in Some Sorts Vagrants?’ Gender and the Efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau to Combat Vagrancy in the Reconstruction South”  ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2004 88(1): 25-49. Issn: 0016-8297  

* Farmer-Kaiser, Mary. "’Are They Not in Some Sorts Vagrants?’ Gender and the Efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau to Combat Vagrancy in the Reconstruction South”  ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2004 88(1): 25-49. Issn: 0016-8297  

* Finley, Randy. ''From Slavery to Uncertain Future: the Freedmen's Bureau in Arkansas, 1865-1869'' U. of Arkansas Press, 1996.  

* Finley, Randy. ''From Slavery to Uncertain Future: the Freedmen's Bureau in Arkansas, 1865-1869'' U. of Arkansas Press, 1996.  

* Richter, William L. ''Overreached on All Sides: The Freedmen's Bureau Administrators in Texas, 1865-1868'' 1991.

* Richter, William L. ''Overreached on All Sides: The Freedmen's Bureau Administrators in Texas, 1865-1868'' 1991.

* Oubre, Claude F. ''Forty Acres and a Mule''. Louisiana State University Press. 1978.

* Oubre, Claude F. ''Forty Acres and a Mule''. Louisiana State University Press. 1978.

* Rodrigue, John C. "Labor Militancy and Black Grassroots Political Mobilization in the Louisiana Sugar Region, 1865-1868" in ''Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 67 #1, 2001 pp 115-45 online at JSTOR

* Rodrigue, John C. "Labor Militancy and Black Grassroots Political Mobilization in the Louisiana Sugar Region, 1865-1868" in ''Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 67 #1, 2001 pp 115–45 online at JSTOR

* Schwalm, Leslie A. "'Sweet Dreams of Freedom': Freedwomen's Reconstruction of Life and Labor in Lowcountry South Carolina'' ''Journal of Women's History'', Vol. 9 #1, 1997 pp 9-32

* Schwalm, Leslie A. "'Sweet Dreams of Freedom': Freedwomen's Reconstruction of Life and Labor in Lowcountry South Carolina'' ''Journal of Women's History'', Vol. 9 #1, 1997 pp 9-32

* Smith, Solomon K. "The Freedmen's Bureau in Shreveport: the Struggle for Control of the Red River District" ''Louisiana History'' 2000 41(4): 435-465. Issn: 0024-6816  

* Smith, Solomon K. "The Freedmen's Bureau in Shreveport: the Struggle for Control of the Red River District" ''Louisiana History'' 2000 41(4): 435-465. Issn: 0024-6816  

=== Primary sources ===

=== Primary sources ===

* Berlin, Ira, ed. ''Free at Last: A Documentary History of Slavery, Freedom, and the Civil War'' (1995)

* Berlin, Ira, ed. ''Free at Last: A Documentary History of Slavery, Freedom, and the Civil War'' (1995)

* [http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/freedmen/freedmen.html ''Minutes of the Freedmen's Convention, Held in the City of Raleigh, [North Carolina] ...October, 1866'']

* [http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/freedmen/freedmen.html ''Minutes of the Freedmen's Convention, Held in the City of Raleigh, &#91;North Carolina&#93; ...October, 1866'']

* [http://freedmensbureau.com/ Freedmen's Bureau Online]

* [http://freedmensbureau.com/ Freedmen's Bureau Online]

* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/aap:@field(SUBJ+@band(Freedmen+)) Reports and Speeches]

* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/aap:@field(SUBJ+@band(Freedmen+)) Reports and Speeches]

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[[category:United States History]]

[[Category:United States History]]