Question

What was the purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, and why did Johnson veto it?

Answer 1

Hint:
- The Freedmen's Bureau, commonly known as the Bureau of Refugees, Abandoned Lands, and Freedmen.
- After the American Civil War, the Freedmen's Bureau worked as a US government agency.
- The 17th President of the United States is Andrew Johnson. He served as a President from 1865 to 1869

Complete answer:
The Freedmen's Bureau was created by an act of Congress called the Freedmen's Bureau Bill in1865, during the Lincoln administration. It was founded to assist former black slaves and poor whites in the South following the American Civil War. The Freedmen's Bureau provided food, shelter, and medical assistance, as well as setting up schools and providing legal assistance. It also tried to re-establish former slaves on Confederate lands that had been seized or lost during the war.

The Bureau was met with opposition from a number of people, including many white Southerners, from the beginning. President Andrew Johnson, who took office in April 1865 after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, was another strong opponent (1809-65). Following the first bill in 1865, subsequent bills attempted to extend its lifespan and authority.

In February1866, when Congress introduced a bill to expand the bureau's term and grant it additional legal powers, Johnson vetoed the bill, stating that it violated states' rights, gave priority to one group of people over another, and would put a massive financial burden on the federal government, among other things. Congress overrode the president's veto in July of that year and passed a new version of the bill.

However, Johnson became involved in a bitter feud with Congress's Radical Republicans, who saw Johnson's Reconstruction policies as too lenient, and the Freedmen's Bureau faced the consequences as a result. Congress closed the bureau in 1872, due to opposition from white Southerners.

Note:
- The primary cause of the American Civil War was whether or not black people could be slaves in the southern states.
- The war between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that had seceded to form the Confederate States of America, from 1861 to 1865, is known as American Civil War.
- Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 to 1865 before being assassinated. He was an American statesman and a lawyer.