Authored by Cassidy Simpson

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established on March 3, 1865 and is typically referred to simply as the Freedmen’s Bureau. The purpose of this Bureau was to oversee what was happening regarding freedmen and refugees in the southern states. The Bureau was also in charge of abandoned and confiscated lands in these states, the District of Columbia, and Indian Territory (The Freedmen’s Bureau Online n.d.). While the Bureau was successful during its lifetime, it only existed for seven years and was disbanded in 1872. The Commissioner was Major General Oliver Otis Howard the whole time and much of the staff was military personnel (Fleischman, Tyson, & Oldroyd 2014, 5). Some of their jobs included ensuring justice, supervising labor contracts, protecting Black people and their property, and supporting them in creating schools. Many white Texans did not support the efforts of the Bureau, so they were working with limited resources (Harper 2020). Even so, they were able to open 66 schools in Texas and many African Americans were educated because of it (ARIS Staff 2022).

This artifact was received by the Texas Assistant Commissioner in 1866 or 1867. A large part of the basis of the Bureau was to ensure that former enslaved people were able to get what they needed as freedmen. The statement being used as an artifact is an example of this. Two men, James Earle and Walter Wonnis, are complaining on behalf of everyone who was working on one plantation belonging to J.G. McNeel in 1866. McNeel tried to charge the men for boarding their wives and children, but the wives worked as well, and he did not feed the children. Without the Bureau, complaints may not have been heard because of the deep racism that existed in the former Confederate states (Texas Assistant Commissioner n.d.). After Reconstruction ended, the United States was still deeply segregated and would continue to be for many decades. However, with the support of the Freedmen’s Bureau, many former enslaved Black people were able to receive an education and earn wages to support themselves and their families. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a very important agency in the United States and helped countless people.

References

ARIS Staff. 2022. “Freedmen’s Bureau Records and the History of African American Education in Texas.” Texas State Library and Archives Commission . Accessed March 6, 2023, from https://www.tsl.texas.gov/outofthestacks/freedmens-bureau-records-and-the-history-of-african-american-education-in-texas/

Fleischman, Richard, Tyson, Thomas, & Oldroyd, David. 2014. “The U.S. Freedmen’s Bureau in Post-Civil War Reconstruction.” Accounting Historians Journal, 41(2), 75–109. https://doi-org.jerome.stjohns.edu/10.2308/0148-4184.41.2.75

Harper, Jr., Cecil. 2020. “Freedmen’s Bureau.” Texas State Historical Association. Accessed March 6, 2023, from https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/freedmens-bureau

Texas Assistant Commissioner, Letters Received, Entered in Register 1, S, 1866–67, Part 2 | Smithsonian Digital Volunteers. (n.d.). Accessed March 5, 2023, from https://transcription.si.edu/project/48669

The Freedmen’s Bureau Online. n.d. Accessed March 5, 2023, from https://www.freedmensbureau.com/