Freedmen's Bureau Analysis

The period of time following the Civil War, referred to as reconstruction, introduced momentous shifts in America and instituted a new and highly significant set of challenges. In 1864, after the Union victory that ended the war, slaves were freed under president Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. While Lincoln did not technically make emancipation one of his stated war goals, his objective to preserve the Union was accompanied informally by his desire to free the slaves. Approximately four million slaves were freed following the Civil War, which caused a huge rupture in the southern states, who relied mainly on a plantation economy. In an attempt to preserve the south and minimize the effects of emancipation on the southern economy, Congress enacted the Freedman’s Bureau; an administration that set out to assist newly freed slaves and impoverished whites in the south. It was under the Freedman’s Bureau that reconstruction succeeded in many ways while being faced with divisional challenges. The Freedmen’s Bureau, established by the War Department on March 3, 1865, proved itself to be a beneficial yet flawed service to African-Americans during the reconstruction era. It was intended to be a …show more content…
According to W. E. B. Du Bois, “The greatest success of the Freedmen 's Bureau lay in the planting of the free school among Negroes, and the idea of free elementary education among all classes in the South.” During its years of operation, the Freedmen’s Bureau fed millions of impoverished people, built provided much needed medical aid, negotiated labor contracts for ex-slaves, legalized marriages for ex-slaves, and assisted black veterans. The bureau also was vital in building and founding process of thousands of schools for blacks, including colleges such as Howard University, Fisk University, and Hampton