Congress creates the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands to aid formerly enslaved people with food, schools, labor contracts, and land.
At a Glance
- Date
- 3 March 1865
- Location
- Washington, D.C.
- Key people
- Oliver Otis Howard
- Category
- Emancipation & Reconstruction
- Source
- Freedmen's Bureau Act, March 3, 1865 · National Archives
What It Meant Then
It was the federal government's first major social-welfare agency, built for emancipation.
What It Means Now
The Bureau's schools seeded many HBCUs before it was dismantled in 1872.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “The Freedmen's Bureau Is Established.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-freedmens-bureau-is-established/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). The Freedmen's Bureau Is Established. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-freedmens-bureau-is-established/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “The Freedmen's Bureau Is Established.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-freedmens-bureau-is-established/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.