To address this issue of refugees Congress created the Freedman 's Bureau an agency of social uplift. This was the first time the US government gave assistance to needy. So a part of reconstruction was to give the freed former slaves a hand up. The Freedman 's Bureau provided food and medical services, built schools and even some colleges. The Bureau also negotiated employment contracts between freedmen and former masters. Part of what Congress had done to punish the former slave owners was to confiscate some of their lands. The Freedmen 's Bureau also managed these confiscated
To address this issue of refugees Congress created the Freedman 's Bureau an agency of social uplift. This was the first time the US government gave assistance to needy. So a part of reconstruction was to give the freed former slaves a hand up. The Freedman 's Bureau provided food and medical services, built schools and even some colleges. The Bureau also negotiated employment contracts between freedmen and former masters. Part of what Congress had done to punish the former slave owners was to confiscate some of their lands. The Freedmen 's Bureau also managed these confiscated