Final answer:
The connection between freedom for blacks and land post-Civil War was critical, as ownership of land was key to economic independence, a new form of slavery and inequality. The brief hope of land ownership through Special Field Orders, No. 15 was dashed, leading to persistent struggles for African Americans to secure land amidst systemic racism.
Step-by-step explanation:
The issue of freedom for blacks was intimately connected to the subject of land following the Civil War as landownership was seen as a critical component of economic independence and a foundation for a new life as freed individuals. African Americans, post-emancipation, envisioned a future where they not only owned their labor but also the land they worked on. This vision was briefly realized through General Sherman's "Special Field Orders, No. 15", which apportioned land along the Sea Islands for black settlement. However, this order was later rescinded, forcing many freedmen to return to work for their former owners or to try to buy land, an endeavor made exceedingly difficult by systemic racism and economic barriers.
In Texas, for example, freedom colonies emerged as settlements established by former slaves, but due to local authority distrust and legal hurdles in acquiring land, the dream of land ownership remained largely unfulfilled, and black landownership was over one percent by 1870. The struggle for land was symbolic of the broader fight for equality and against the structural racism that persisted post-Civil War, challenging the newly gained freedom of African Americans.