Freedmen's Bureau

Impacting nearly every aspect of life in the post–Civil War South, the Freedmen's Bureau played a critical role during a major era of social reconstruction in American history. On March 3, 1865, [Page 388]Congress passed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, authorizing the creation of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. From June 1865 to December 1868, the Freedmen's Bureau served as the primary authority responsible for overseeing the transition of slaves from bondage to freedom. Among the Bureau's main responsibilities were the provision of food, clothing, medical assistance, and social services to freedmen and White refugees. Yet it was the Bureau's goal of increasing access to education for the newly freed Black population—a goal that was a direct challenge to White interests—that would solidify its legacy in the history of educational reform and dissent.

At the time of its inception, opinions regarding the Freedmen's Bureau were decidedly mixed. Its supporters argued that the Bureau would serve as an ideal means for providing much-needed assistance to the ex-slaves, and for centralizing the efforts of northern aid societies, investors, private agencies, and others who possessed an interest in Black freedom. Others were generally supportive, but expressed concern about its potential to become a tool for those who wished to exploit the defeated South. In opposition were southern Whites of all classes, who expressed open hostility to the Bureau's progressive ideals and sought to undermine its progress. In particular, they viewed the promotion of education for Blacks—one of the Bureau's most critical functions—as particularly objectionable.

In the end, southern Whites' concerns regarding the challenges posed by an educated Black populace to Whites' desires to maintain the existing social order were well founded. With the assistance of countless northern aid and missionary societies, the Freedmen's Bureau would facilitate the education of thousands of former slaves, creating more than 1,000 elementary and normal schools, and several colleges in the process. Today, many historians note the Bureau's role in assisting Blacks to obtain an education as its most transformational and enduring legacy.