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 To begin, I learnt about the Freedmen's Bureau. This agency was formed in 1865, about two months before Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union. Following the Civil War, Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau to help freed slaves and destitute whites in the South.

The Bureau offered critical resources to communities such as food, shelter, and medical care, as well as support in the establishment of Black community schools and legal aid. They contributed to the establishment of Howard University, Fisk University, and several other institutions. The Bureau operated in 11 distinct districts, including former rebel and border states. Furthermore, all of the Bureau's offices were located in large cities.

We also learned about the Forty Acres and a Mule guarantee. This was a promise and pledge made in 1865 to allocate land to liberated Black households, with some receiving an army mule. The initiative began with Field Order No. 15.

It was also said that four hundred thousand acres which would taken from wealthier families and redistributed into sections of forty acres which would be given to pas slave families to give them a... fresh start. After months of this order being in effect, an estimated 40,000 liberated individuals lived on the redistributed land, which had been taken from affluent Confederate landowners. However, this potential quickly faded. Although the property was first dispersed, President Andrew Johnson ordered its restoration to the original owners shortly after, causing a severe setback in the Reconstruction movement.

There were other problems during rebuilding as well. For example, we covered the Ku Klux Klan, sometimes known as the KKK, and the horror they perpetrated. The Klan aspired to demolish and undo the new way of life created during the Reconstruction era. To do this, they targeted black symbols such as black schools, churches, and black-owned businesses, among others. During their tenure, almost 10% of Black parliamentarians suffered violence, with seven tragically dead. By 1870, the Klan had spread across virtually every Southern state. Many members were impoverished white Southerners, but others were attorneys, physicians, judges, and even local police officers. Even when not directly participating, many law enforcement personnel decided to ignore Klan activities, enabling the bloodshed to continue unabated. This age was marked by both development and severe problems, as seen by these presentations.