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The Freedmen's Bureau During The Civil War

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When the Union defeated the Confederates in the Civil War in 1865, millions of slaves gained freedom but left areas of the South a wreck and destroyed their plantation-based economy. Shortly before the Civil War ended, Congress established The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, more commonly known as The Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a government organization that was created to help poor Southerners and to make the transition of being a slave to a free person easier. The bureau was intended to last the duration of the war and then one year after so they’ll help you for the time being and then you’re on your own. The Freedmen’s Bureau did just about everything that you could have imagined, they provided food, clothing, housing and medical aid, established schools and offered other legal assistance. …show more content…

One person who opposed the bureau was Andrew Jackson, who was the President at the time. When Congress introduced a bill to extend the bureau’s term and give it new legal powers, Jackson vetoes it. He stated that the bill was unconstitutional and gave preference to one group of people over another which was true, but the bureau helped the people who needed it while the other group was still standing strong. Jackson, along with the white southerners were opposed to giving the black slaves rights. Congress later override the president’s veto decision and passes the bill anyways. Despite passing the bill, The Freedmen’s Bureau wasn’t able to reach its full potential because the president was still not for

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