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  • Birth of the Freedman’s Bank

Birth of the Freedman’s Bank

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Category: African American Collection

In the early 20th century, black intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois issued a call for voluntary financial cooperation among blacks oppressed by racism and segregation, echoed in 1966 by the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s “Freedom Budget for All Americans” designed to stamp out poverty in America.

The Freedman's Savings Bank Good Intentions Were Not Enough, a Noble Experiment Goes Awry

The bank, while successful in its early days, ran afoul of corruption and mismanagement before it was shut down for good, but not without some lasting benefit. The bank held up to $57 million across several states including Washington, D.C. and large deposits. Most African American accounts were small but significant, for the short time being freed from slavery.

The all-white board of trustees shut down the bank due to mismanagement of funds. Frederick Douglass used $10,000 of his money to keep the bank in operation and became its president. But the bank’s troubles were too much to overcome and Douglass recommended to Congress it shutter its doors. African American had its first experience of savings lost to the white men corruption and disapproval of the Reconstruction.

"One cannot study Reconstruction without first frankly facing the facts of universal lying."

W.E.B. DuBois

 Video: Discover Your Roots Using the Freedmen's Bureau Records

Explore History:
African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau

The End of Slavery and the Birth of the Freedman’s Bank

With the passage of the 13th Amendment and the end of the Civil War in 1865, slavery was finally abolished in the United States. The practice had existed on the American continent for more than 200 years.

Almost overnight, nearly 4 million African American men, women, and children were free. With the South in ruins, they faced disorder and danger. Most had no home, no money, and no work. Their relatives were scattered all over the country and nearly impossible to find.

To address the needs of the newly freed slaves, the U.S. government created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Commonly known as “the Freedmen’s Bureau,” it provided food, housing, and medical aid to tens of thousands of freed slaves. It located relatives and reunited families, and it helped to establish schools all across the South for African Americans.

Meanwhile, a group of missionaries, abolitionists, and businessmen saw that African Americans would need support and education to become financially secure. The group worked to create a savings bank for former slaves, African American veterans, and their families. In 1865, they succeeded. The Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, often called “the Freedman’s Bank,” opened for business.

The Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and African American Genealogical Research

The Life of Freedman's Bank 
The Demise of Freedman's Bank
The Lasting Impact of Freedman's Bank
The Financial Panic of 1873
Freedman's Bank and Family Histories

Freedman's Bank Building | U.S. Department of the Treasury

On January 7, 2016, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew renamed the "Treasury Annex," the Freedman's Bank Building.  The Treasury Annex, was erected on the original site of the Freedman's Bank Building in Washington, DC.  As such, Secretary Lew thought it fitting to rename the Treasury Building after the sesquicentennial of the founding of the Bank. 

The Freedman's Savings and Trust Company was a private corporation chartered by an act of the U.S. Government signed in 1865 by President Abraham Lincoln.  It was created to help develop the newly freed African Americans as they endeavored to become financially stable.  Originally, the bank was headquartered in New York, but later moved to Washington, DC.  Eventually, there were 37 locations across 17 states.

After a year of research commencing in 2015, the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank created and launched a series of panels, regarding the Freedman's Bank in 2016.  This was done largely to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the bank's charter year of 1865.  In the 1860s, there was little opportunity for African Americans to amass enough wealth to bank.  There is a connection today in that there is still a large population of people of color that are the unbaked for various reasons.  It was important for the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank to showcase the success (albeit temporary) of the Freedman's bank and the amount of wealth freed slaves contributed to the economy.   

Treasury acknowledges the generosity of the CFRB in sharing the online exhibit regarding the Freedman's Bank Building.

Information and Resources

 Video: About the Term Freedman

The Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the African American experience, and highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media.

Discovering the Civil War Special Exhibit

Discovering the Civil War Special Exhibit

In the National Archives'-produced video short "Discovering the Civil War" the creators of this exhibition share little-known facts and extraordinary discoveries found in the incomparable Civil War holdings at the National Archives. These stories are for the first time in this exhibition, the most extensive display ever assembled from these records. The video also features rarely-seen original footage from Civil War reunions in 1917 in Vicksburg, MS, and 1938 in Gettysburg, PA.

There is a companion online preview exhibit – Discovering the Civil War. Especially useful if you won’t be able to see the exhibit in DC or truly want to get a preview of what you will be seeing.

The spring edition of Prologue focused on the Civil War. Prologue magazine brings readers stories based on the rich holdings and programs of the National Archives across the nation—from Washington, DC, to the regional archives and the Presidential libraries.

Prologue on the Civil War: Special Issues

Prologue on the Civil War: Special Issues

Prologue magazine brings readers stories based on the rich holdings and programs of the National Archives across the nation—from Washington, DC, to the regional archives and the Presidential libraries. Access many of articles online.

Prologue was published quarterly by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for nearly 50 years. The Winter 2017–18 issue was the last printed edition.

  • African American History & Federal Records
  • American Civil War
  • American Civil War: The War on the Waters
  • Spanish-American War

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Public Downloads - Español (Spanish)

When available, we provide all our content with a Spanish version in our public download section. You can find added material from sources listed in all our articles.

Download Freedman's Educational Activities

Download Freedman's Educational Activities

Anti-Freedmen's Bureau Poster 01
jpg-12204DownloadSize 149.19 KB
Anti-Freedmen's Bureau Poster 02
jpg-12206DownloadSize 148.15 KB
Anti-Freedmen's Bureau Poster 03
jpg-12205DownloadSize 269.28 KB
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
pdf-11980DownloadSize 1.97 MB
Discover Your Roots Using the Freedmen's Bureau Records
pdf-12214DownloadSize 84.86 KB
Discover Your Roots Using the Freedmen's Bureau Records 720p
mp4-12215DownloadSize 45.61 MB
Five Myths About Reconstruction - zinnedproject.org
pdf-12218DownloadSize 357.8 KB
Freedman's Savings Bank
pdf-11993DownloadSize 136.78 KB
Freedmen Military Recruitment Poster
jpg-12208DownloadSize 124.63 KB
Freedmen's Black Family Research Records of the Civil War
pdf-11994DownloadSize 867.57 KB
Freedmen's Bureau
pdf-11996DownloadSize 400.98 KB
Freedmen's Bureau Brochure
pdf-11995DownloadSize 2.53 MB
Freedom Budget for All Americans
pdf-11997DownloadSize 1 MB
Reconstruction Revisited The Promise of American History Progress and Prospects 1982 by Eric Foner
pdf-12217DownloadSize 401.68 KB
The Emancipation Proclamation for Children Commemorative Coloring Book
pdf-12209DownloadSize 1.71 MB
The Freedmen's Book by Lydia Maria Child with audiobook recording
pdf-12213DownloadSize 9.15 MB
The Freedmen's Book by Lydia Maria Child with audiobook recording - Download as EPUB
epub-12212DownloadSize 216.66 KB
The Freedmen's Book by Lydia Maria Child with audiobook recording CD case insert
pdf-12210DownloadSize 119.36 KB
The Freedmen's Book by Lydia Maria Child with audiobook recording MP3
zip-12211DownloadSize 259.45 MB
The Freedmen's Bureau by W.E.B. DuBois Published in the Atlantic Monthly 87 1901
pdf-12207DownloadSize 139.89 KB
The Story of the Freedman's Bank Building MP3
mp3-11998DownloadSize 4.16 MB

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Video Playlist: The Freedmen's Bureau Business and Research Information

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