Freedman's Bureau: The Freedmen's Bureau Was Founded Thesis

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Freedman's Bureau: The Freedmen's Bureau was founded by the U.S. Congress in 1865 and its purpose was to help African-Americans make the difficult transition from slavery to freedom (Wormser, 2002, p. 1).[footnoteRef:1] Thesis: The Freedman's Bureau had enormous responsibilities which it carried out very well given the roadblocks and challenges it faced. Among those responsibilities was the supervision "and management of all abandoned lands, and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen…" (Wormser, p. 1). [1: Wormser, Richard. "The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow / Freedmen's Bureau (1865-72)." KCET. Retrieved December 30, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org. ]

The Freemen's Bureau was asked to accomplish some difficult tasks -- especially in the South, where most people did not want to give any rights to blacks -- to basically give a helping hand to freed blacks and ease them into society without rancor or violence. The Bureau was to introduce "…a system of free labor" which entailed providing oversight for about 3,000 schools for freed blacks (Wormser, p. 1). Also, the Bureau was designed for the purpose of settling disputes and for enforcing contracts between Caucasian landlords and recently freed black citizens. In 1866 Congress renewed the Bureau but President Andrew Johnson, a conservative -- who was "…opposed to having the federal government secure black rights" -- vetoed the revised legislation (Wormser, p. 1). There were enough votes in Congress to override Jackson's veto.

The enormous responsibilities handed to the Freemen's Bureau were generally handled with efficiency.

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This is true notwithstanding the fact that Congress underfunded the Bureau, and the fact that President Johnson pardoned Southern landowners for their cruelty to slaves, which gave the impression that Johnson sided more with slavery than with freedom. As to the legacy of the Bureau, it failed to bring blacks and Caucasians together in the South but it did establish colleges and universities (such as Howard University and the Hampton Institute).

The Dred Scott Case: The Dred Scott case has become famous because he was among the first slaves to sue the federal government for his freedom. Thesis: While Scott seemed to have a solid legal case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled -- in a narrow, bigoted decision -- that no person of African ancestry (slaves and freed slaves) could sue the government because black people "…could never become citizens of the United States" and hence they could not sue in federal court (KCET, 2008).[footnoteRef:2] The fact that it took ten years for the Supreme Court to rule that Scott had no standing even though he had lived in Illinois and Wisconsin for sufficient time to claim his freedom. [2: KCET. "Dred Scott's fight for freedom / 1846-1857." Retrieved December 30, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org. 2008.]

The Dred Scott case in American history was not only proof of the man's inhumanity towards their fellow men in early America's legal context, it proved that the highest court in the land was prejudiced against.....

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