Final answer:
The Freedmen's Bureau, established by Congress, aimed to protect and provide for Freedmen through resource distribution and education. Tensions arose due to unmet expectations of land reform and continuing southern opposition to Black advancement. Rights initiatives like the Freedman's Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 marked progress, yet challenges to equality persisted post-Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The agent of the Freedmen's Bureau believed that providing relief in the form of clothing, food, fuel, and land, as well as education through schools, was necessary to protect the Freedmen and ensure a successful transition to life as free people. The Bureau, also known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, was created by Congress in March 1865 to address the needs of former slaves during Reconstruction. This was seen as a temporary solution, and policies regarding land reform and promises made to freed people were reversed, which led to tensions and unmet expectations.
Despite the Freedmen's Bureau's efforts to distribute resources and establish schools, the freedpeople's hopes for land reform and a solid start as independent farmers were eventually thwarted. Moreover, during the process, politicians in Washington rarely considered the needs and wants of those affected in the South, both black and white. The situation was further complicated by the opposition from southern whites who were determined to keep Black people as an impoverished and subjugated class.
Congress passed various acts to address the rights of African Americans, such as the Freedman's Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. These acts granted former male slaves the right to vote and hold public office, signifying a significant stride toward equality and civil rights, yet there was still a long road ahead for African Americans to gain full freedom and autonomy in the post-Civil War United States.