Chapter Preface

Reconstruction created a new social order, one in which southern blacks had opportunities that had been denied them prior to the Civil War. One of these opportunities was the chance to own land and earn money off that land, thus enabling blacks to play an important economic role in the postwar South—not as slaves putting money in their masters’ coffers, but as freedmen who could provide for their own families. Although some southern blacks who were not slaves had been property owners prior to the Civil War, land was now available to those who had been slaves. However, the antipathy of many white politicians, particularly President Andrew Johnson, and economic exploitation prevented many blacks from achieving their dream of becoming successful landowners.

Efforts to provide southern blacks with property actually began several months...