1. Civil War, Freedmen’s Bureau, African American Benevolent Societies

2. U.S. Sanitary Commission Positive result of war First national public health group (private) Laid groundwork for state boards of health and national efforts in public health

3. Needy in Wartime Post-war destitution in north and south States appropriated funds to help disabled soldiers, widows and orphans Feds provided funds for veterans and families (even elderly)

4. Conditions at End of War Emancipation 1863 Freed slaves often moved from original homes No land or capital No provisions for earning living Major need for labor to rebuild South

5. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Freedman’s Bureau Established 1865 Substitute government in former Confederacy General Oliver O. Howard was director

6. General O.O. Howard

7. Activities of Freedmen’s Bureau Disbursed rations and other aid Supervised labor contracts/employment bureau Employed doctors and maintained hospitals Maintained civil and criminal courts

8. Helped establish schools (help of northern agencies) Helped reunite and establish families Settled disputes

9. Johnson’s Veto Vetoed on constitutional grounds, “A system for the support of indigent persons in the United States was never contemplated by the authors of the Constitution…” Thought recovery from slavery was freedman’s responsibility

10. Congress overrode Johnson’s veto, and the Bureau continued its operations to 1870 (with some functions continued to 1872) Was first federal social welfare program on a large scale, but had little impact on social welfare policies of the time

11. Educational Efforts in the South Encouraged by Freedmen’s Bureau Often financed and staffed by agencies from the north Example: Calhoun School in Lowndes County Alabama

12. Calhoun School Thorne & Dillingham went to Lowndes County, AL, in 1892 Raised $250 at first meeting Influenced by Booker T. Washington, who insisted on tuition (25 or 50 cents a month) Much assistance from northern philanthropists

13. Curriculum was practical: carpentry, painting, dairy, reading, Writing, arithmetic, history, literature Adult education Encouraged sharecroppers to purchase land Community health care (school nurse) Children got glasses, checkups

14. Other Activities Parents meetings Homemaking clubs Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations Promotion of better roads Visited by educators from throughout the world

15. Nickname = Lighthouse on the Hill Character development stressed Ended during Great Depression Graduates moved away Hard to sustain life on 40-60 acres, as had the farmers in the area

18. Work of Black Benevolent Societies Other aid for blacks came from self help groups History dates to 1775 with African Masonic lodge in Boston Free African Society in Philadelphia gave aid to “distressed members”

19. Social Welfare Membership Organizations 1839 United Sons of Salem Benevolent Society in Salem, New Jersey $30 membership fee, plus fines and contributions Male, 21-45, good health, moral character, approved by two thirds of membership

20. Activities of Salem Group Could get $2.50 weekly if sick $12 for burial $1 to widow for 5 months, clothing and education for children Wives and children also insured against death

21. Other Activities of Benevolent Groups Job training and education Medical services from participating doctor Fostered high moral standards Members had a direct interest in health and well-being of other members

22. Fostered pride and self-respect Benefits not considered charity, and this preserved the dignity of recipients Such organizations continue to this day, and some have evolved into major insurance companies

23. Conditions of African Americans in the South Segregation became the norm Rise of Black Codes (prohibitions on types of work, living in towns and cities, voting, bearing arms) End of Reconstruction occupation 1877 Sharecropping emerged as dominant economic form (debt bondage) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Separate rise of separate state institutions for needy