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46 million acres of southern, public land was available for sale.
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The Emancipation Proclamation was signed which freed many slaves.
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President Lincoln signed a Congressional Law which created the "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands". They helped the ex-slaves my distributing food, clothing, and resources.
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Major General Oliver Howard took command over the bureau as te commisioner and continued to serve in tat position until the agency was disbanned.
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During the month of February, congress enlarged the bureaus powers by overriding two presidential vetos so they could enforce laws, collect taxes, and use the military.
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New leaders took control of congress in march of 1870.
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The "Bureau of Refuees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands" was disanned. The burueau helped many freedmen find jobs by writting 50,000 labor contracts and tried to enforce them and regulate them.
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throughout 1877, the new leaders that took over congress took government troops out of the south, soon after the African Americans were forced out.
