Freedmen's Bureau Bills - The Various Bills

The Various Bills

The Freedmen's Bureau was created in 1865 during the Lincoln administration, by an act of Congress called the Freedman's Bureau Bill. It was passed on March 3, 1865, in order to aid former slaves through food and housing, oversight, education, health care, and employment contracts with private landowners.

A followup Freedmen’s Bureau Bill was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson on February 19, 1866, and Congress failed to override that veto on the following day.

That failed 1866 Freedmen's Bureau bill was closely related to the Civil Rights Act of 1866. On March 9, 1866, Congressman John Bingham explained that, "the seventh and eighth sections of the Freedmen's Bureau bill enumerate the same rights and all the rights and privileges that are enumerated in the first section of this bill."

On May 29, 1866 the House passed a further Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, and on June 26, 1866 the Senate passed an amended version. On July 3, 1866 both chambers passed a conference committee’s compromise version.

On July 16, 1866 Congress received another presidential veto message, which Congress overrode later that day. This congressional action extended the Freedmen’s Bureau, increased antipathy between President Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress, and was a major factor during Reconstruction. The Freedmen's Bureau bill that passed in 1866 provided many additional rights to ex-slaves, including the distribution of land, schools for their children, and military courts to ensure these rights.

In July 1868, Congress voted to again extend the Freedmen's Bureau, but a couple weeks later decided to limit its functions to processing claims and supporting education. Four years later, in June 1872, Congress voted to completely shut down the Freedmen's Bureau by the end of that month.