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This case study examines why the Freedmen's Bureau, a Federal agency that existed within the War Department between 1865 and 1872, formed collaborative relationships with church-supported charitable organizations to establish schools during the Civil War Reconstruction Period in Virginia. This project examines the relationships between Freedmen's Bureau officials and the leadership of church-supported charitable organizations. Specifically, this project examines the formation of these relationships, the nature of the relationships that formed, the norms and values that shaped the relationships, and the impact those relationships had on education policy in the South. The examination of a historical federal agency through archival research methods generated findings that were consistent with current knowledge of the collaborative process. Preexisting relationships formed during the Civil War served as the foundation for collaborative relationships that formed between the Bureau and church-supported charitable organizations. These relationships were integral to the formation of schools that served formerly enslaved persons as well as other war refugees. Ultimately, political and social pressure facilitated the closing of the Bureau, but the schools remained, forming the foundation for public school systems throughout the South. Examining an extinct agency which worked alongside church-supported charitable organizations, shows that facets of collaborative governance occurred much earlier than presently identified, especially as it pertains to discrete steps in the collaboration process, specifically antecedent and initial conditions of collaboration, pre-existing relationships, and impacts of collaboration. The project also adds to the study of public administration as a field by extending the timeline of the practice of public administration. This dissertation also adds to the scholarship on the impact of race on policy implementation and administrative practice. / Doctor of Philosophy / This case study examines why the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen’s Bureau), a controversial federal agency that existed within the War Department between 1865 and 1872, formed collaborative relationships with church-supported charitable organizations to establish schools during the Civil War Reconstruction Period in Virginia. This project will examine the relationships between Freedmen’s Bureau officials and the leaders of various church-supported charitable organizations. Specifically, this project will examine the types of relationships that formed, the customs and values that shaped those relationships and the impact of those relationships had on education policy in Virginia. Relationships between charitable organizations and army officials formed during the Civil War and served as the foundation for relationships that formed between the Bureau and charitable aid organization. Although not unique for its time the Freedmen’s Bureau relied upon nongovernmental actors and entities in performing its functions, especially education. The schools that were established, served formerly enslaved persons as well as other war refugees and served as the foundation for the public school system across the South. Although the Freedmen’s Bureau would be abolished in 1872, the schools that were established with the help of the Bureau, remained. The fact that organizations were involved in Reconstruction-era schooling is known. That the Freedmen’s Bureau helped organizations establish schools throughout the South is known. Less is known about the extent of those relationships, however. Examining a historical and extinct agency which developed relationships with a number of church-supported charitable organizations shows that collaborative relationships occurred much earlier than we once thought.

Lecture Series on Abraham Lincoln at the Reece Museum

This dissertation is a study of the subassistant commissioners of the Freedmen's Bureau in Texas from late 1865 to late 1868. Its focus is two-fold. It first examines who these men were. Were they northern born or southern? Did they own slaves? Were these men rich, poor, or from the middle-class? Did they have military experience or were they civilians? How old was the average subassistant commissioner in Texas? This work will answer what man Freedmen's Bureau officials deemed qualified to transition the former slave from bondage to freedom. Secondly, in conjunction with these questions, this work will examine the day-to-day operations of the Bureau agents in Texas, chronicling those aspects endemic to all agents as well as those unique to certain subdistricts. The demand of being a Bureau agent was immense, requiring long hours in the office fielding questions and long hours in the saddle inspecting subdistricts. In essence, their work advising, protecting, and educating the freedmen was a never ending one. The records of the Freedmen's Bureau, both the records for headquarters and the subassistant commissioners, serve as the main sources, but numerous newspapers, Texas state official correspondences, and military records proved helpful. Immense amounts of information arrived at Bureau headquarters from field personnel. This work relies heavily on reports and letters in the Bureau agents' own words. This dissertation follows a chronological approach, following the various Bureau administrations in Texas. I believe this approach allows the reader to better glimpse events as they happened.