Freedman’s Bureau. The close of the Civil War found the Negroes of the South free, but homeless and penniless. In 1865, Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau to help the Negroes. The Bureau furnished supplies to destitute Negroes, supervised the contracts between freedmen and their employers, and protected their rights. It also sought to help them in many other ways. General Oliver O. Howard became commissioner in charge of the Bureau. An assistant commissioner was loacated in each of the former Confederate States.
In 1866, Congress greatly extended the Bureau’s powers. The Freedmen’s Bureau continued its work until 1872, spending over $17,000,000 (17 million) dollars. The Democrats in the South strongly criticized it. They charged that agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau worked in the interests of the Republican party and set the Negroes up against their former masters. – John D. Hicks
