Freedmen were formerly enslaved African Americans who gained legal freedom during and after the Civil War, especially through the Emancipation Proclamation and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. During Reconstruction, Freedmen sought to reunite families while establishing themselves in society and politics. Many supported the Republican Party and exercised voting rights under new state constitutions and Federal protections. Their efforts faced resistance from various groups and Jim Crow Laws that restricted African American political and economic freedom.
Freedmen appear in the following entries on American History Central:
- Conscription Act
- Freedmen’s Bureau
- Freedman’s Village
- Gordon Granger
- Peace Democrats
- Radical Republicans
- Reconstruction Acts
- Scalawags
- Sojourner Truth
Freedmen appear in the following AP US History sections on American History Central:
