Reconstruction: The Freedmen's Bureau
The American Civil war hardly fought by a great amount of soldiers in order to get African American slaves the freedom they deserved. A mass amount of lives were lost leading up to the Union victory which set millions of slaves free. The south was in ruins after they fought a defensive war and Reconstruction was introduced. With Lincoln in charge, many people looked forward to the future after the long Civil War. The first step was encouraging people to abandon the Confederacy and to come back into the union. This is where the complications started to be revealed. During the reconstruction period, the freedmen had big hopes now that they had their freedom. After president Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency. Johnson
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One obvious success was the unification of the union. In addition to the re-unification, Freedmen’s Bureau was another success during the Reconstruction. This bureau was created in 1865 to help the poor white farmers and the former slaves after the Civil War. The organization provided food, medical aid, housing, schools, and much more to these people in need (“Freedmen’s Bureau”). Congress had intended the bureau to only be in effect for one year, but this was so beneficial that they extended the life of the program. The Freedmen’s Bureau gained a lot of support around the country, to president Johnson’s dislike. Some of the biggest successes of the Reconstruction were the passing of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in 1865 and officially abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1866 and required states to extend an equal citizenship to the African Americans and all of the people who were born in the United States. This virtually overruled the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case who said that African Americans could not be considered citizens. Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870. This amendment gave the millions of African Americans the right to vote. This, however, did not give the voting rights to women and it did not guarantee the right to hold office or prevent states from limiting the voting rights of Africans (Boyer). These beneficial reforms and amendments helped to exemplify the positive legacies that came out of the
One obvious success was the unification of the union. In addition to the re-unification, Freedmen’s Bureau was another success during the Reconstruction. This bureau was created in 1865 to help the poor white farmers and the former slaves after the Civil War. The organization provided food, medical aid, housing, schools, and much more to these people in need (“Freedmen’s Bureau”). Congress had intended the bureau to only be in effect for one year, but this was so beneficial that they extended the life of the program. The Freedmen’s Bureau gained a lot of support around the country, to president Johnson’s dislike. Some of the biggest successes of the Reconstruction were the passing of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in 1865 and officially abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1866 and required states to extend an equal citizenship to the African Americans and all of the people who were born in the United States. This virtually overruled the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case who said that African Americans could not be considered citizens. Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870. This amendment gave the millions of African Americans the right to vote. This, however, did not give the voting rights to women and it did not guarantee the right to hold office or prevent states from limiting the voting rights of Africans (Boyer). These beneficial reforms and amendments helped to exemplify the positive legacies that came out of the