The Freedman’s Bureau
& the Emergence of the KKK
Presentation by Robert Martinez
Primary Content Source: Reconstructing America by Joy Hakim
Images as cited.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/freedmans-bureau.jpg
Reconstruction
The period after the Civil War, in which
the South attempts to rebuild. In
addition, this era represents the manner
in which the southern states were to be
re-admitted back into the Union.
http://www.history2u.com/richmond_ruins.jpg
After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The
Vice-President Andrew Johnson assumes
the presidency.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/jb/civil/jb_civil_lincoln_1_e.jpg
During the first two years of
Reconstruction, President Andrew
Johnson was in control. That time is called
“presidential reconstruction.”
http://www.authentichistory.com/postcivilwar/cartoons/18660000_Andrew_Johnson_01.jpg
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1864/governor-andrew-johnson.jpg
In the beginning, things seemed to go well,
Congress had created a Freedman’s
Bureau. It was to help the newly freed
blacks. They needed food, clothing, and
shelter.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/freedmans-bureau.jpg
The Freedman’s Bureau began opening
schools. In the years of the Confederacy,
Southern states had laws making it a crime
to teach slaves to read and write. Now, as
free people, they were thirsty for
knowledge.
http://www.nathanielturner.com/images/New_Folder/fremenbur.jpg
But it’s hard to learn if you’re hungry, and
many Southerners were hungry. Their
farms were in terrible shape. The wheat
crop failed in 1865. It didn’t do much better
the next year.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/freedmans-bureau.jpg
The Freedman’s Bureau kept most people
from starving. Clothing was distributed. In
some places more of its help went to
whites than blacks.
http://www.fivay.org/freedmen2.jpg
Northern soldiers kept order. Just looking
at those blue uniforms upset many
Southerners. And some whites couldn’t
accept the idea of a society where people
were equal.
http://www.pccwrt.addr.com/images/2006_Union-Troops-Church.jpg
Thousands of Southerners left the country
for Mexico and South America. Former
Confederate General Robert E. Lee was not
pleased to see Southerners leave the
United States.
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/robert-e-lee-pictures/General-Robert-e-lee.jpg
“Virginia has need of all her sons and can
ill afford to spare you … Abandon all these
local animosities and make your sons
Americans.” – General Robert E. Lee
http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/pictures/General-Robert-E-Lee.jpg
Most Americans put the war behind them.
White Southerners were willing to be good
U.S. citizens, except when it came to
treating their black fellow citizens fairly.
http://www.hist.umn.edu/~sargent/1308/freedman%20family.jpg
Every Southern state passed laws that
discriminated against blacks. The laws
were called “black codes.” They made
blacks practically slaves again.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/bowa/bowajpg/lynch.jpg
http://www.hist.umn.edu/~sargent/1308/freedman-2.jpg
The black codes gave whites almost
unlimited power. No Southern state would
establish public schools for blacks.
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/204/recon_how_it_works.jpg
Some whites put masks over their faces
and burned black churches and schools.
They terrorized and killed blacks.
http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/kkk1.jpg
http://www.sitemason.com/files/bbJJmM/kkk_old2_f.jpg
http://www.kshs.org/cool2/graphics/kkk1.jpg
http://www.authentichistory.com/postcivilwar/artifacts/18700000c_KKK_Poster.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaman683/2503125737/
These were members of a newly formed
hate organization, the Ku Klux Klan, and
they didn’t have the courage to show their
faces. The state governments did not bring
them to justice.
http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/word/wp-content/usakkkt.jpg
President Johnson urged the Southern
states to protect the freedmen and
freedwomen’s rights. But he didn’t do
anything to see that they were protected.
http://www.theseminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/andrew-johnson.thumbnail.jpg