A Civil War ravages the country, leaving millions of former enslaved African Americans and poor white Southerners lost in transition. With the southern states left in shambles, Congress created the Freedmen's Bureau to help these people transition into civilization. The bureau's goals were to provide healthcare, education, clothing, and food to the poor and freedmen in the south. The bureau fought against Southern pushback, lack of funds, and support, but still managed to enact some of its provisions. Continue reading to see how the Freedmen's Bureau impacted freedmen!
Freedmen's Bureau Definition
The three main goals of the Freedmen's Bureau was to provide clothing, food, healthcare and education. After the Civil War, millions of former enslaved Africans were left without support to help them navigate their new freedom; the Freedmen's Bureau offered food, medical, legal aid, and housing to poor whites and former enslaved Africans. The bureau essentially became one of America's first social welfare programs. Its goals provided stability and reassurance, but the programs often hit a wall due to insufficient funding and the delicate political sphere.
Fig. 1 - The Freedmen's Bureau political cartoon 1866
Did you know?
In the first year after the Civil War, the bureau handed out over 13 million rations, 2/3 going to African Americans1
Freedmen's Bureau Act
1865
Before the end of the Civil War, Congress passed "An act to establish a bureau for the relief of Freedmen and refugees".2 The parameters of the Freedmen's Bureau stated that they were to operate throughout the rest of the Civil War and one year afterward. The initial act stated the bureau's provisions included: establishing schools, supervising contracts between freedmen and plantation owners, and managing abandoned lands.
1866
With the provisions of the Freedmen's Bureau running out, Illinois senator Lyman Trumbull wished to expand the act by removing the deadline and including formerly enslaved people throughout the country instead of just the former Confederacy. The new bill also provided military governors power to enforce the provisions of the Freedmen's Bureau. However, the new provisions of the 1866 bill were highly contested, and the Senate took three weeks to debate. Though Congress approved the bill, President Andrew Johnson vetoed it only six days later.
Freedmen's Bureau's Purpose
Martin Abbott simplifies the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau in the quote below. The bureau was created to achieve fundamental rights for millions of enslaved African Americans in a short time frame.
Reduced to its' simplest terms, the aim of the Freedmen's Bureau was to offer a shortcut to civilization for the South's four million freedmen. If its mission was successful, the meaning of liberty would be greatly enriched for those who were coming forth from bondage."
- Martin Abbott, "Free land, free labor, and the Freedmen's Bureau 1956
The bureau acted as a welfare agency to help enslaved Africans transition from enslavement to freedom. The bureau provided food, housing, and other necessities to former enslaved Africans and poor white Southerners. Yet, one of the most critical services offered by the bureau was securing labour contracts.
| Responsibilities of the Freedmen's Bureau: |
| Negotiate labour contracts between plantation owners and freedmen |
| Offer various aid (food, rations, medical) to the poor |
| Maintain jurisdiction over any cases involving freedmen |
| Opening schools and offering education to freedmen |
Example Work Contract from the Freedmen's Bureau 1866
Bureau R. F. & A. L.Office Asst. Comr. State OfficeAugusta, Ga.March 13, 1866
State of GeorgiaWilkes County
The Labourers on their part agree to work faithfully and diligently on the Plantation of the said Clark Anderson & Co. for six days in the week and to do all necessary work usually done on a plantation on the Sabbath, during this year 1866 commencing with this date and ending 1st January 1867, that we will be respectful and obedient to said Clark Anderson & Co. or their agents, and that we will in all respects endeavour to promote their interests, and we further bind ourselves to treat with humanity and kindness the stock entrusted to our care and will be responsible for such stock as die throughout inhumanity or carelessness and we further agree to deduct for time lost by our own fault one dollar per day during the Spring and two dollars during cotton-picking season, also that the Father & Mother should pay for board of children, also for lost time by protracted sickness and we further agree to have deducted from our respective wages the expense of medical attendance and supplies during sickness.3
Notice the language (bolded) that is used in this labour contract. It alludes to the slavery construct in place before the Civil War. The words "respect" and "obedient" are used about the freedmen's behaviour toward the plantation owners.
Did you know?
The Freedman's Bureau's labour contracts are known to be some of the earliest documents that record former enslaved persons by their new, chosen surnames.
The Freedman's Bureau was highly concerned with labour agreements and believed that the regulation of these written contracts were vital to help facilitate the future hiring of freedmen. Many freedmen were fearful to work for former enslaved persons owners, and the economy was in a state of confusion after the abolition of slavery, both of these contextual elements increased the need for these labour contracts. Around 8,000 contracts were signed in South Carolina, and almost 130,000 freedmen signed under labour contracts during 1865 to 1866. Freedmen under these written contracts, "who worked for wages, were generally paid between $8 and $12 per month and were responsible for supplying their own rations".4
Did you know?
Fisk University was named after General Clinton B. Fisk, who was in Tennessee's Freedmen's Bureau!
Freedmen's Bureau Significance
Though the Freedmen's Bureau contended with inadequate funding, it tremendously impacted African American education; the bureau established numerous public schools that offered all levels of education.
Fig. 2 - Chase Hall of Fisk University, 1910
For example, Fisk University is one of the most well-known universities participating in the bureau's push for education. Though the bureau faced setbacks, it educated roughly 200,000 students in only 4,000 schools by 1870.5 The American Missionary Association supported its educational efforts and wanted equal rights for all races. The Freedmen's Bureau's most critical accomplishment was the establishment of educational opportunities for African Americans.
Fisk University
John Ogden, Erastus Milo Cravath, and Edward P Smith founded Fisk School in Nashville shortly after the Civil War. The school was set up in former Union Army barracks located in Nashville, Tennessee, where the first students attended classes in 1866.
Did you know?
In the post-Civil War South, Fisk University was one of the first US institutions that offered a liberal arts education to former enslaved persons.
There was no formal age range as students from seven to seventy attended the school. The university's mission was to be open to everyone regardless of race or gender. One of the most prominent features of the university was the Fisk Jubilee Singers (pictured below). The singers traveled the country raising money to get Fisk University out of debt.
Fig. 3 - Jubilee Singers, Fisk University between 1870-1880
Fisk University was the first historically Black university to have accreditation by the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) in 1930. The university was also approved by the Association of American Universities in 1993. These accomplishments show how Fisk University was vital in the development in education of African Americans.
Did you know?
Fisk University is the oldest institution for higher learning located in Nashville.
Freedmen's Bureau Abolished
Though the Freedmen's Bureau offered positive goals and changes to freedmen, the inevitability of the organization's demise could be seen from its' inception. Several historians argue the bureau's effectiveness due to its tumultuous history. The bureau lacked money and support and faced extreme pushback from white Southerners. Due to this lack, the bureau could not execute all of its provisions. It could also not offer long-term protection to African Americans after the bureau was disbanded.
Fig. 4 - Freedmen's School, James Plantation, North Carolina
Pushback from white Southerners ultimately abolished the bureau. On 30 June, 1872, Congress buckled under white Southerners' pressure and dismantled the bureau. Yet, the programs offered by the bureau introduced the need for social welfare programs. Though short-lived, the bureau provided a period of equality and hope for freedmen.
The Freedman's Bureau - Key takeaways
- The Freedmen's Bureau was created in 1865 in response to millions of former enslaved Africans left without support after the Civil War.
- Responsibilities of the Freedmen's Bureau were:
- Negotiate labor contracts between plantation owners and freedmen
- Offer various aid (food, medical, and rations) to the poor
- Maintain jurisdiction over any cases involving freedmen
- Opening schools and offering education to freedmen
- The Freedmen's Bureau came against numerous setbacks such as lack of funds, support, and pushback from white Southerners. However, their most significant contributions were to education. The bureau educated nearly 200,000 students in 4,000 schools like Fisk University.
- Pushback from white Southerners ultimately abolished the bureau. In 1872 Congress buckled under pressure and dismantled the bureau.
References
- Randy Finley, (1996). From Slavery to Uncertain Freedom.
- Senate Historical Office, Freedmen's Bureau acts of 1865 and 1866.
- Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia 1865-1869, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
- Records of the Field Offices for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872 (NARA Micropublication M1910).
- The Freedmen's Bureau and the Education of the Freedmen, Amanda Cantu.
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