The Rise and Decline of the Freedmans Bureau

Black political activity during the Reconstruction after the Civil War came from the experience of after war slavery or what was called servitude . A strong sense of community grew out of shared racial oppression and contributed to the formation of a political stand for the black freedman . Even though this formation was important it really did not become very strong after the Civil War . Emancipation was confusing to most blacks and the wartime dis didn 't help the uncertain situation . Freedmen moved very cautiously to explore what changes were happening in their

lives . They were more interested in individual measures to enhance their freedom and avoided becoming politically active . One of the freedmen 's first desires was to leave anything having to do with slavery behind . They wanted to define their new status different than the slavery they had known . What many blacks did first after becoming free was to leave the plantation that had enslaved them . Some looked for family and other headed for towns and cities , but most wanted to leave . Autonomy was a key issue that arose out of emancipation . At first the freedmen hoped their needs would be met by the federal government . Inspired by wartime confiscation of planters land , and the promise of the Freedmen 's Bureau , the former slaves waited for their forty acres and a mule

The Freedmen 's Bureau was a temporary agency set up to aid the former slaves by providing relief , education , legal help , and assistance in gaining land or employment and came from the Reconstruction period . The problem of how to reconstruct the Union after the South 's military defeat was won of the most difficult challenges faced by American policymakers . The Constitution didn 't provide any guidelines . The farmers had not anticipated a division of the country into warring sections . Emancipation was a major force for the Northern war aims , but the problem became larger when questions arose on how far the federal government should go to secure freedom and civil rights for former slaves . The debate that followed led to a major political crisis Advocates of a minimal Reconstruction policy favored quick restoration of the Union with no protection for the freed slaves beyond the prohibition of slavery . Proponents of a more radical policy wanted readmission of the southern states to be dependent on guarantees that loyal men would displace the Confederate higher ups in position of power and that blacks would gain some of the basic rights of American citizenship . The White House wanted the lesser approach and congress endorsed the more radical approach of Reconstruction (Divine , Breen Fredrickson Williams , 1987 ,

. 457

The tension between the President and Congress on how to reconstruct the Union began during the war . Lincoln never had a plan for bringing the states back together , but he did take some initiatives that indicated a more lenient and forgiving policy towards Southerners who gave up the struggle and denounced slavery . Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 that...