Text of the Bill
An Act to Establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there is hereby established in the War Department, to continue during the present war of rebellion, and for one year thereafter, a bureau of refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands, to which shall be committed, as hereinafter provided, the supervision and management of all abandoned lands, and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel states, or from any district of country within the territory embraced in the operations of the army, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the head of the bureau and approved by the President. The said bureau shall be under the management and control of a commissioner to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose compensation shall be three thousand dollars per annum, and such number of clerks as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of War, not exceeding one chief clerk, two of the fourth class, two of the third class, and five of the first class. And the commissioner and all persons appointed under this act, shall, before entering upon their duties, take the oath of office prescribed in an act entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office, and for other purposes," approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the commissioner and the chief clerk shall, before entering upon their duties, give bonds to the treasurer of the United States, the former in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and the latter in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their duties respectively, with securities to be approved as sufficient by the Attorney-General, which bonds shall be filed in the office of the first comptroller of the treasury, to be by him put in suit for the benefit of any injured party upon any breach of the conditions thereof.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War may direct such issues of provisions, clothing, and fuel, as he may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen and their wives and children, under such rules and regulations as he may direct.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President may, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an assistant commissioner for each of the states declared to be in insurrection, not exceeding ten in number, who shall, under the direction of the commissioner, aid in the execution of the provisions of this act; and he shall give a bond to the Treasurer of the United States, in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, in the form and manner prescribed in the first section of this act. Each of said commissioners shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars in full compensation for all his services. And any military officer may be detailed and assigned to duty under this act without increase of pay or allowances. The commissioner shall, before the commencement of each regular session of congress, make full report of his proceedings with exhibits of the state of his accounts to the President, who shall communicate the same to congress, and shall also make special reports whenever required to do so by the President or either house of congress; and the assistant commissioners shall make quarterly reports of their proceedings to the commissioner, and also such other special reports as from time to time may be required.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner, under the direction of the President, shall have authority to set apart, for the use of loyal refugees and freedmen, such tracts of land within the insurrectionary states as shall have been abandoned, or to which the United States shall have acquired title by confiscation or sale, or otherwise, and to every male citizen, whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid, there shall be assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the person to whom it was so assigned shall be protected in the use and enjoyment of the land for the term of three years at an annual rent not exceeding six per centum upon the value of such land, as it was appraised by the state authorities in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, for the purpose of taxation, and in case no such appraisal can be found, then the rental shall be based upon the estimated value of the land in said year, to be ascertained in such manner as the commissioner may by regulation prescribe. At the end of said term, or at any time during said term, the occupants of any parcels so assigned may purchase the land and receive such title thereto as the United States can convey, upon paying therefor the value of the land, as ascertained and fixed for the purpose of determining the annual rent aforesaid.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.
APPROVED, March 3, 1865.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
The noun “parcel” generally refers to a fragment or portion of a larger whole. In this context, “parcels” refers to the pieces of land being assigned through the Freedmen’s Bureau.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
Since Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau within the War Department, the president as commander in chief, the Secretary of War, and the armed forces were largely responsible for assisting the commissioners in their work. This assistance fell under the purview of any military officer’s normal duties, which is why Congress states that no additional pay or allowances will be granted.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
Section 2 of the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill specifies the broad range of powers that the Secretary of War has regarding logistical aspects of the bureau’s work. Congress included this provision to clarify that the bureau would exist not only under the direction of the War Department but also under the leadership of the Secretary of War, a decision made after multiple meetings and debates over which Executive department would supervise it.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
This act, approved on July 2nd, 1862, requires every elected or appointed official, except for the president, to “subscribe the following oath or affirmation: ‘I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof [...]I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic [...] that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.’” This oath has changed over the years, but the essential goal has remained the same: elected officials must affirm their commitment to upholding the Constitution and faithfully perform their duties.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
Edwin Stanton served as Secretary of War from 1862 to 1868 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. An effective manager and advisor to President Lincoln, Stanton greatly aided the Union war effort. Stanton had an adversarial relationship with President Johnson due to his strong opposition to Johnson’s lenient Reconstruction policies. He eventually supported Republican efforts to oust Johnson from office in 1868. Stanton retired that year and was summarily appointed to the United States Supreme Court; however, he died before he could take that office.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
Congress passed the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill on March 3, 1865. The next day, President Lincoln gave his second inaugural address, in which he presented a vision of a country reunited by shared values, a country that had grown stronger through its struggles. As a Republican and abolitionist, Lincoln approved of the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau. However, after his assassination just a month later, federal efforts to protect the freed slaves came under the supervision of Andrew Johnson, a southern Democrat who had opposed the bureau’s creation in the first place.
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— Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor
To preemptively ward off attempts to delegitimize or disempower the Freedmen’s Bureau, Republican lawmakers included Section 5. This sentence gives the aims of the Freedmen’s Bureau priority over any other piece of legislation that might clash with the bill or block any of its measures.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
Congress intended to finance and support the Freedmen’s Bureau for one year after the end of the Civil War. However, due to the persistence of bigotry in Southern states through the Southern “black codes” and opposition from President Johnson, Congress passed another Freedmen’s Bureau Bill on July 3rd, 1866, and overrode President Johnson’s veto on July 16th. This second act extended the duration and power of the bureau, distributing more land to ex-slaves, providing schools for children, and allowing military courts to ensure these rights were provided. Congress extended the bureau’s lifespan again in 1868. It was eventually closed in June of 1872.
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— Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor
Section 4 of the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill addresses two problems at once. First, there was the problem of providing properties where freedmen—many of whom owned no land—a place to live. Second, there was the question of what to do with the numerous tracts of “abandoned lands” across the South, results of the Civil War. The solution, as set forth in the bill, is to rent forty-acre lots of abandoned land to each male freedman at a rate of six percent of its value. The bill stipulates that, after three years, the renters will have the opportunity to purchase and own the land. In reality, freedmen were more commonly given employment on the lands of white landowners rather than receiving and working land of their own.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
In March of 1865, the Civil War was in its fifth and final year. As Lincoln noted in his “Second Inaugural Address,” with a Union victory in sight, the Union must shift its focus to reintegrating the rebel states. However, since the war was based on fundamental disagreements regarding the institution of slavery, reunification was fraught with perils. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment in January, 1865, the Union sought to provide the newly freed slaves with the basic necessities to survive in a reunited nation. The establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau aimed to do just that.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
The name of the Freedmen’s Bureau suggests that its primary focus was on freedmen, or former slaves who had been emancipated. However, the inclusion of “refugees,” or those displaced during war, provides for slaves who escaped their bondage in the Union border states where slavery still existed. Since a Constitutional amendment had yet to abolish slavery in the entire nation, the inclusion of refugees in the scope of the Freedmen’s Bureau ensures that all ex-slaves will be provided for.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
The United States Department of War was formed by Congress on August 7th, 1789, and placed under the direction of the president, as commander in chief. Conceived as a civilian agency that would administer the army under the president and the secretary of war, the department stood until September 18th, 1947, when it was split into the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force, which joined the Department of the Navy to become the United States Department of Defense.
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— Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor
Pursuant to this clause, assistant commissioners were assigned to the Southern states, mostly during June and July of 1865. Despite the clause limiting them to “ten in number,” thirteen assistant commissioners were assigned, including one for Washington, D.C., which had not been stipulated in the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill.
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— Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor
The treasurer of the United States during the time of the Freedmen’s Bureau was Francis E. Spinner, who served in the role from 1861 to 1875. A progressively minded Republican, Spinner was best known for offering federal employment to women, whom he hired as clerks—an unprecedented but pivotal and lasting move.
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— Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor
A “bond” is a variety of financial security. It functions as a mark of indebtedness. The issuer of the bond stands in debt to the holder of the bond. In many situations, a bond represents an investment with interest, such that the buyer of the bond receives regular payouts for having funded the issuer. In this case, the purpose of the bond is to function as collateral. The commissioner and clerk of the Freedmen’s Bureau must each issue an expensive bond to the federal government, worth $50,000 and $10,000, respectively. If either official breaks his contract, he must pay the cost of the bond. If the officials finish their service, their bonds are returned. These bonds are thus designed to bind the bureau’s top employees to the federal government.
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— Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor
The first and only commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau was Oliver O. Howard, who had serves as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War. His record during the war was marked by numerous defeats but devoted service and a sterling reputation for ethical behavior—he was nicknamed “the Christian General.” He proved more effectual in his years as commissioner, expanding the powers of the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide food, education, and medical care to freedmen. It was the first instance in US history when the federal government operated as a force for such broad social welfare. Howard and President Johnson clashed bitterly. Howard chafed under Johnson’s attempts to reign in the Bureau, answering instead to his fellow Radical Republicans in Congress. Johnson was furious at Howard’s attempts to establish his own authority, far beyond the reckoning of the oval office.