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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Learning Page: The Freedmen

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the Freedmen, who were free after the Emancipation of Slaves.
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PPT
Virginia History Series

Virginia History Series: Virginia State History Reconstruction to 1900 [Pdf]

For Students 6th - 8th
Much of Virginia was devastated after the Civil War so a period of rebuilding commenced. Follow Reconstruction through the different plans, the effects on African-Americans and the South. This slideshow has pictures,charts, and maps to...
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Lesson Plan
US National Archives

National Archives: How Effective Were the Efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Upon being freed, the formerly enslaved people had many challenges to overcome. The Freedmen's Bureau was established to assist the newly free people. Students will examine the following documents and formulate an opinion about the...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Congress and the Remaking of the South, 1865 1866

For Students 11th - 12th
This section from a chapter on "The Era of Reconstruction" describes the efforts made by Congress in 1865 and 1866 to bring to life its vision of Reconstruction and explains how the Fourteenth Amendment transformed the Constitution.
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: The Freedmen's Bureau

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore the history, successes, and failures of the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction.
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Handout
PBS

New Perspectives on the West: Oliver Otis Howard

For Students 3rd - 5th
Use this site to learn about Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909), the man who was devoted to seeing that freed slaves were given their own piece of land. Site by PBS.
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Lesson Plan
US National Archives

Docsteach: How Effective Were the Efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this activity, students will analyze documents from the War Department's Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands - better known as the Freedmen's Bureau - that Congress established on March 3, 1865, as the Civil War was...
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Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: The Freedmen's Bureau

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the goals and activities of the Freedmen's Bureau, the opposition from President Andrew Johnson, and how the Bureau was dismantled in 1872 after just seven years. Includes questions for students.
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Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: African Americans After the War

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a discussion of what life was like for African Americans after slavery ended, focusing on the Freedman's Bureau, Freedman schools, and the Ku Klux Klan.
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Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: The Freedmen's Bureau

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This collection of documents, images, and readings from the era give an overview of the work done by the Freedmen's Bureau and the racial and political struggles the agency faced during the Reconstruction Era. Includes a teaching guide.
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Primary
Other

Reconstructing the South: First Reconstruction Act, 1867

For Students 9th - 10th
The text of the first Reconstruction Act providing for the government of the former Confederate states by placing them in military districts.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Freedmen's Bureau

For Students 9th - 10th
Interesting facts about the Freedmen's Bureau established to help and protect emancipated slaves (freedmen)in 1865.
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Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: The Freedmen's Bureau

For Students 3rd - 8th
Here is a brief explanation of what the Freedmen's Bureau was and why it was established. Lists some functions of the Bureau in Texas and its members.