4: When Money Mattered: The Freedmen’s Bureau and the Politics of Economics

In this chapter, the authors examine why some Americans supported and others opposed the Freedmen’s Bureau during the Reconstruction era. First, a brief historical overview of the Freedmen’s Bureau is given. Then, the authors discuss how the topic of the Freedmen’s Bureau connects to economic and civic thinking skills discussed in the C3 Framework by the National Council for the Social Studies. Next, an Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint for the middle school social studies classroom is offered to analyze issues connected to funding the Freedmen’s Bureau. The authors provide the needed steps and resources to implement the different activities for the Freedmen’s Bureau discussed within their IDM Blueprint in the middle school social studies classroom.