The Freedmen’s Bureau was established on March 3, 1865. It was officially known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Congress created it during the closing months of the American Civil War to assist formerly enslaved African Americans and other war refugees in the Southern states. 

 They encountered significant opposition, primarily from President Andrew Johnson and subsequent administrations. This opposition severely hindered the Bureau’s mission to provide support and protection for African Americans during the turbulent Reconstruction era.