The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, popularly known as the Freedmen's Bureau or (mistakenly) the Freedman's Bureau, was an agency of the ... government of the United States that was formed to aid distressed refugees of the The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as the U.S., the Union, the North, or the Yankees; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as the Confederate States of America, the CSA, the Confederacy... United States Civil War, including former slaves and poor white farmers. The Bureau also controlled confiscated lands or property in the former National Motto Deo Vindice ( Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Official language English de facto nationwide Various European and Native American languages regionallyweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861– May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861– April 9, 1865 Danville, Virginia April 3– April 10, 1865fo realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll... Confederate States, some border states, ... District of Columbia and Indian Territory in 1836 Indian Territory in 1891 Indian Territory, also known as Indian Country, Indian territory or the Indian territories, was the land set aside within the United States for the use of Native Americans (Indians). The general borders were set by the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834. It... Indian Territory. The Bureau was established on March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). There are 303 days remaining. Events 1431 - Eugenius IV becomes Pope. 1791 - The United States Mint is created by the U.S. Congress. 1820 - The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise. 1845... March 3, 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. Events January 31 - American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief. February - The Only known month in History without a Full moon. February 17 - American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union... 1865 by the The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. It is established by Article One of the Constitution of the United States, which also deliniates its structure and powers. Congress is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of... United States Congress and administered by the The United States Department of War was the military department of the United States governments executive branch from 1789 until 1949, when it became part of the United States Department of Defense. It was headed by the United States Secretary of War. It was also known as the War... United States Department of War, and headed by Union general Portrait of Oliver O. Howard by Mathew Brady, ca. 1860 General Oliver Otis Howard (1830 – 1909) was a one-armed American Civil War veteran who was involved in the post-Civil War battles against the Western Indian tribes. His most famous campaign was against the Nez Perce tribe, with... Oliver O. Howard

Its main purpose was to help the newly-freed former slaves acquire some of the things that they had previously been denied, such as at least a rudimentary education and an opportunity to learn jobs skills outside manual labor. Not wanting to face this new potential competition, it was probably the least popular of all In the history of the United States, Reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the southern states of the defeated Confederacy, which had seceded from the United States, were reintegrated into the Union. Laws and legislation Abraham Lincoln had endorsed a lenient plan for reconstruction, but the... Reconstruction measures among Whites is a broad term used to describe people of ethnic European, Middle Eastern, and North African descent, especially those with fair skin. The term Caucasian is sometimes used with much the same meaning in the USA although people elsewhere would more likely understand the use of the word Caucasian... white The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. There is some overlap with The Southwest and the Mid-Atlantic States. As defined... Southerners, and was one of the first to be abolished.

The Bureau was an important institution of the Reconstruction period. And it was the only organization that truly sought to improve the lives of blacks through the entire South. Unfortunately, the Bureau never was able to achieve its full potential due to budget cuts and limited jurisdiction. That didn’t stop Howard from trying though. His loose interpretation of the legislation creating the Bureau allowed it to help blacks in many ways that were never thought possible. The Freedmen’s Bureau was very helpful to many blacks in the poverty-stricken South. Indeed, no other organization would exist that would do as much for African-Americans for more than 50 years.

The Freedmen's Bureau was fully operational only from June 1865 through December 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). Events January 3 - Meiji Emperor declares Meiji Restoration, his own restoration to full power, against the supporters of the Tokugawa Shogunate. January 10 - Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu declares emperors declaration illegal and attacks Kyoto. Pro-Emperor forces drive... 1868 and was disbanded in Events January - April January 2 - Brigham Young, is arrested for bigamy (25 wives). February 20 - In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens. March 1 - Yellowstone National Park is established as the worlds first national park March 5 - George Westinghouse patents the air brake. March 5 - The... 1872.

Achievements

Education

The most widely recognized among the achievements of the Freedmen’s Bureau are its accomplishments in the field of education. The Bureau spent five million dollars to set up schools for blacks. By the end of 1865, more than 90,000 former slaves were enrolled as students in public schools. Even more amazingly, attendance rates at the new schools for freedmen were between 79 and 82 percent (by contrast, attendance at State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13.3%) Population (2000)  - Population 18,976,457 (3rd)  - Density 155... New York State white schools averaged 43 percent). By 1870, there were more than 1,000 schools for freedmen in the South. J. W. Alvord, an inspector for the bureau, wrote that the freedmen "have the natural thirst for knowledge," aspire to "power and influence … coupled with learning," and are excited by "the special study of books." Among the former slaves, both children and adults indulged in this new opportunity to learn. One attendee was a 105 year old man named Cupid who "feared he was almost too old to learn." However, he was soon "working diligently at the alphabet."

Land distribution

The Freedmen’s Bureau also played a considerable role in securing land for freed blacks. Howard was a strong promoter of this cause. He advised Bureau agents to invest their own money to lease farms to freedmen and suggested subdividing farms and building homes for freedmen willing to work for wages. One way the Bureau helped blacks get a stake in the land was to prevent them from being defrauded. For instance, after the black troops had received their paychecks, a group of 260 of them decided to buy a 10,690 acre (43 km²) farm in State nickname: Magnolia State Other U.S. States Capital Jackson Largest city Jackson Governor Haley Barbour Official languages English Area 125,546 km² (32nd)  - Land 121,606 km²  - Water 3,940 km² (3%) Population (2000)  - Population 2,697,243 (31st)  - Density 23.42 /km... Mississippi. The Bureau immediately sent a special inspector to oversee the transaction. He soon found that the current treasurer who had been appointed by the group was incompetent and corrupt. The Bureau recommended that this man be removed, and engineered a sound financial plan to protect the farm, which included an agent from the Bureau who would supervise the financial transactions on the farm in order to protect the freedmen from fraud. Howard also created a $52,000 trust fund for freedmen, which would be used to purchase land and resell the sites to blacks. One of the purchases made with these funds was a 375 acre (1.5 km²) tract of land near Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Washington D.C. The land was divided up into 359 lots and sold to freedmen for $225 each. Many other similar purchases were engineered, which provided homes for countless former slaves.

Day-to-day duties

One of the more important, but rarely emphasized motives of the Bureau was to pursue everyday problems of the freedmen and poor whites. These problems usually had to do with various needs for clothing, food, medicine, and other such aids. The Bureau gave out 15 million rations of food to blacks. Also, the Bureau set up a system where planters could borrow rations in order to feed freedmen they employed. Though the Bureau set aside $350,000 for this service, only $35,000 was borrowed. The Bureau attempted to strengthen existing medical care facilities as well as expand services into rural areas through newly established clinics. The Bureau succeeded in giving medical care to over one million people.

Church establishment

The freedmen also sought the Bureau's aid in establishing This article is about the Christian buildings of worship. For other uses of the word, see Church (disambiguation). The Memorial Church at Stanford University. A church building is a building used in Christian worship. See also altar, altar rails, confessional, dome, nave, pew, pulpit, sanctuary, lych gate. Etymology The word... churches. After the war, freedmen had limited options for religious services because blacks were not given a formal religion in the South. Whites resisted sharing their churches with the freedmen. This led to the Bureau’s role in making sure churches were to be built, and for the space to be used by the freedmen. The Bureau was still able to put the freedmen in contact with Northern aid societies even without any funds. This led to the collection of funds for land, buildings, teachers' salaries, and basic necessities such as books and furniture.

Rebuilding family structures

Under slavery, a stable and healthy family structure was very scarce. However, a countless number of freed slaves attempted to find their relatives at the end of the war. However, success was almost impossible to achieve. The Freedmen's Bureau agents did their best to help freedmen reunite with their relatives and establish families in accordance with the regulations provided by white America. The Bureau assigned its agents to investigate leads to the possible locations of family members and spouses. On occasion, it sometimes provided transportation to reunite families. The Bureau had very little money due to the inadequate legislation that had created it. Also, it was believed the responsibility to provide such services fell upon local authorities. Freedmen and freedwomen turned to the Bureau for assistance in fixing domestic problems such as Abandonment (French abandonnement, from abandonner, to abandon, relinquish; abandonner was originally equivalent to mettrea bandon, to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another, bandon being from Low Latin bandum, bannum, order, decree, ban), in law, the relinquishment of an interest, claim, privilege or possession. Its signification varies according to... abandonment and Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody and distribution of property. Divorce is... divorce. Most cases brought before the Bureau had very little information to start the investigation with. Although its efforts were noble, the Freedmen's Bureau could do little to reverse the Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups and societies. It concerns itself with the social rules and processes that bind and separate people not only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, and institutions. Sociology is interested in our behavior as social beings; thus the... sociological effects of slavery and had almost no funds or staff to support successful investigations to locate loved ones.

Violence and justice

The issue of violence and justice were not originally main concerns of the Freedmen's Bureau. However, local authorities refused and failed in dealing with these two issues and this forced the Bureau to pick up any cases that were not taken by the courts. After the war had ended, many Southern whites resented both their Northern occupiers and the newly freed blacks. With civil outlets closed, the local Freedmen's Bureau office became a place where victims could go. The Bureau received letters from both blacks and whites complaining of attacks, mistreatment, and other criminal actions. In dealing with these claims, the Bureau had little real power, and though it did the best it could, the cases never were usually never addressed by the local authorities.

External links

• Elaine C. Everly, "Freedmen's Bureau Records: An Overview," Prologue, Summer 1997 (http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/summer_1997_freedmens_bureau_records.html)
• About.com: The Freedmen's Bureau (http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/reconstruction/a/freedmensbureau.htm)