The Freedmen’s Bureau was essentially shuttered in January 1, 1869. Only education services (and some medical services) continued. Across the South bureau agents and other staff were discharged.
While a Lost Cause Myth sprang up that the Freedmen’s Bureau “interfered” in labor relations throughout Reconstruction, in fact the Bureau only lasted for four and a half years.
This snip from the New York Herald describes the layoff of Freedmen’s Bureau staff in Louisiana and the shut down of the Feeedmen’s hospital there.
Herald
Saturday, Jan 09, 1869
New York, NY
Page: 8
In Richmond, the city council met to discuss the city taking over the functions of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The city council had recently passed into Republican hands and it was willing to take on the education of African Americans and caring for black orphans.
Daily Dispatch
Friday, Jan 01, 1869
Richmond, VA
Vol: 36
Page: 2
