Who did the Freedman's Bureau primarily help after emancipation?

• A. African-Americans newly freed from slavery
• B. White Southern landowners
• C. Immigrants from Europe
• D. Native American tribes

Answer: (A)

The main idea is understanding the purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau in Reconstruction. Created in 1865, its role was to help people who had just been freed from slavery as they began new lives. It provided food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and legal aid, and it worked to secure fair labor contracts to protect the newly freed from exploitation. A big part of its work was also establishing schools and promoting education for African Americans who had been denied schooling. Because everything centered on assisting those who had just gained freedom, the primary beneficiaries were African-Americans newly freed from slavery. The bureau did assist some whites and others in need, but that was not its main focus.