Freedwomen and the Freedmen's Bureau : Race, Gender, and Public Policy in the Age of Emancipation

Established By Congress In Early 1865, The Bureau Of Refugees, Freedmen, And Abandoned Lands -- More Commonly Known As The Freedmen's Bureau--assumed The Herculean Task Of Overseeing The Transition From Slavery To Freedom In The Post-civil War South. Although It Was Called The Freedmen's Bureau, The Agency Profoundly Affected African-american Women. Until Now Remarkably Little Has Been Written About The Relationship Between Black Women And This Federal Government Agency. As Mary Farmer-kaiser Clearly Demonstrates In This Revealing Work, By Failing To Recognize Freedwomen As Active Agents Of Change And Overlooking The Gendered Assumptions At Work In Bureau Efforts, Scholars Have Ultimately Failed To Understand Fully The Bureau's Relationships With Freedwomen, Freedmen, And Black Communities In This Pivotal Era Of American History--page 4 Of Cover. Introduction: A Long Time In Want Of A Bureau -- That The Freed-women ... May Rise To The Dignity And Glory Of True Womanhood : The Men, Purpose, And Gendered Freedom Of The Freedmen's Bureau -- A Weight Of Circumstances Like Millstones About Their Necks To Drag And Keep Them Down : Freedwomen, Federal Relief, And The Freedmen's Bureau -- The Women Are The Controlling Spirits : Freedwomen, Free Labor, And The Freedmen's Bureau -- To Put Forth Almost Superhuman Efforts To Regain Their Children : Freedwomen, Parental Rights, And The Freedmen's Bureau -- Strict Justice For Every Man, Woman, And Child : Gender, Justice, And The Freedman's Bureau. Mary Farmer-kaiser. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.