Final answer:
The Freedmen's Bureau addressed the needs of freedmen and poor White people in the South by providing food, labor contracts, reuniting families, and establishing public schools. Colonel Whittlesey measured the bureau's success through its relief efforts, resource distribution, and facilitation of education. The portrayal of the bureau may have appealed to some whites who resisted federal government involvement and saw it as encouraging laziness among Black people.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Freedmen's Bureau addressed various needs of the freedmen and poor White people in the South. It provided food, labor contracts, and assistance in reuniting families. The bureau also focused on education, establishing public schools and supporting institutions like Fisk University and Hampton University.
Colonel Whittlesey measured the bureau's success based on its ability to provide relief to the refugees, distribute resources, and facilitate education. By addressing the immediate needs of freed people, the bureau aimed to enable them to become independent farmers and citizens.
The portrayal of the Freedmen's Bureau as a wasteful government agency may have appealed to some whites, both in the North and South, who resisted federal government activism and saw the bureau as encouraging laziness among Black people. Whittlesey and other bureau supporters would likely have defended the bureau's importance in providing essential support to help freed people transition to freedom.
The prevailing racial assumptions shaped both the cartoon and the report. The cartoon depicted racial stereotypes of Black people as lazy and reliant on government support. The report highlighted the efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau to counter these assumptions and demonstrate the agency's commitment to helping freed people become self-sufficient and productive members of society.