Freedmans Bureau, Forty Acres and a Mule, Cowboy and how it shaped American identity - Essay Example

The freedman's Bureau began as an organization funded by the War Department. Some successes of these organizations included assuring Black American's legal rights, rights to an education, and rights to worship as they pleased in churches of their own. Blacks were also provided with assistance in their search for lost family members. Initially the Freedman's Bureau had it's own court where Blacks were assured legal representation and fair decisions by the courts. They were also provided with assistance in obtaining fair labor contracts.

Failures of organizations, such as the Freedman's Bureau, were mainly caused by lack of funding. Initial funding was provided by the War Department but when access to those funds ended the organizations relied on donations from northern charities. These organizations were hampered by the apathy of the southern governments. Most southerners were not to keen about the idea of providing assistance to the black communities or former slaves.Where did ideas such as the "Forty Acres and a Mule" originate How are those ideas viewed todayAfter the Civil War, and during reconstruction of the southern states, there was debate about what to do with the confiscated lands and the number of ex-slaves who had nothing except their freedom.

Ideas floated about as to what to do. It was suggested that the former slaves be given a portion of the land that they had worked all their lives. In Georgia, South Carolina (forty acres each in GA and SC) and Mississippi tracts of land were given to the ex-slaves. The former slaves were successful at farming and marketing their harvests. The cause of the former slaves was debated in Congress and the idea of "Forty Acres and a Mule" was not popular. The idea of confiscating land for redistribution was hugely unpopular in Congress and many felt would it would set a bad precedent for future arguments about property rights.

Although the Freedman's Bureau advocated for the rights of the former slaves, most became sharecroppers that got a portion of the harvest. Most former slaves remained poor.The "Forty Acres and a Mule" idea fuels present day thought about reparations to the descendants of slaves and former slaves. In 1969 the "Black Manifesto" was published. It demanded monitory compensation (reparations) from predominantly white churches go to the descendants of former slaves. Some churches prior to that did raise fund to funds to benefit African Americans.

Reparations debate tapered off after about the same time the Civil Rights movement slowed. But, legislators did pass the Equal Rights Amendments of 1964-65 that ended many "Jim Crow" laws.How did Northern Carpetbaggers exploit the vulnerabilities of the SouthernersCarpetbaggers were Northerners who headed south after the Civil War to make money. They used carpets as cheap luggage (thus the name Carpetbaggers). These Carpetbaggers moved south, attained political power (mostly as Republicans) and exploited the Southerners.

Carpetbaggers initially worked with the newly freed Black peoples to establish schools etc.. That changed as Union soldiers moved south, bought up land, and managed large tracts of land using the labor of former slaves. Southern Blacks did benefit to some extent by the arrival of the Carpetbagger because these Northerners believed in public education and created schools and colleges/universities for the benefit of all. Explain the myth of the cowboy and how it shaped American identityThe myth of the cowboy has shaped American identity by representing westward expansion, "perennial rebirth" (Dye,