Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

Definition

This is another name for the Freedmen's Bureau. It was established by Congress in 1865 with the aim of helping former black slaves and poor whites in South after Civil War.

Analogy

Think about it like a social worker who steps into help when families are going through tough times - providing food, shelter, medical aid etc., but also teaching them how to stand on their own feet again.

Related terms

Reconstruction Acts: Series of laws enacted during Reconstruction Era that laid out process for readmitting Confederate states into Union.

14th Amendment: Constitutional amendment adopted in 1868 that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in United States—including former enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.”

15th Amendment: Constitutional amendment ratified in 1870 that prohibited governments from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.