Freedmen’s Bureau Images
Two images and accompanying analysis questions that help students understand the work of the Freedman's Bureau.
Background Information:
After the Civil War, the government made new agencies to help people. One was called the Freedmen’s Bureau. It helped formerly enslaved individuals with jobs, owning land, and education. Even though slavery ended, life was still hard for African Americans. The Bureau tried to help them. It gave them important services and spoke up for their rights. But many people in the South did not like the Bureau. Some white people, like members of the Ku Klux Klan, tried to stop its work through violence and fear.
The Freedmen’s Bureau did some good things for Black people in the South. It helped them learn to read and write. But it faced many problems, too. Andrew Johnson became President after Lincoln was assassinated. Johnson was less supportive of formerly enslaved individuals. He did not support the Freedmen’s Bureau and made their work harder. By the early 1870s, the old Southern leaders were in charge again. They undid many things the Bureau had done. In 1872, the federal government stopped supporting the Bureau. Other issues took attention away from Reconstruction. People were not thinking much about helping the freed people anymore.