Freedpeople Describe the Meanings of Freedom
At the end of the Civil War, Northern officials were not yet sure what exactly freedom would entail for the millions of freedpeople in the South. The following first-person accounts by former slaves and free blacks describe their expectations, [...]
Tags: Emancipation, Reconstruction
Item Type: Diary/Letter
Historical Era: Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
A Freedman Seeks to Reunite His Family
After emancipation, many former slaves immediately searched for family members who had been sold away during slavery. They used whatever scant information they had and frequently placed advertisements like this in southern newspapers.
Tags: Emancipation, Reconstruction
Item Type: Advertisement
Historical Era: Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
A Committee of Freedmen on Edisto Island Reveal Their Expectations
This letter was written by a group of freedmen to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Land (known as the Freedmen’s Bureau). The freedmen were from Edisto Island, South Carolina, an area that came under Union [...]
Item Type: Diary/Letter
Historical Era: Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)