Forty acres and a mule

**Forty acres and a mule** dey refer to a key part of **Special Field Orders, No. 15 (series 1865)**, a wartime order wey be proclaimed by Union general William Tecumseh Sherman on January 16, 1865, during de American Civil War, make he allot land to some freed families, in plots of land no larger dan . Na Sherman later order de army make dem lend mules give de agrarian reform effort. Na de field orders follow a series of conversations between Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton den Radical Republican abolitionists Charles Sumner den Thaddeus Stevens dey follow disruptions to de institution of slavery wey be provoked by de American Civil War. Na dem provide for de confiscation of  of land along de Atlantic coast of South Carolina, Georgia, den Florida den de dividing of am into parcels of no be more dan , on wich na be to be settled approximately 18,000 formerly enslaved families den oda black people then wey dey live insyd de area.

Na chaw freed people believe, after na various political figures tell dem dat na dem get a right to own de land wey na dem force dem to work as slaves wey na dem be eager make dem control dema own property. Na freed people widely expect make dem legally claim 40 acres of land. However, na Abraham Lincoln ein successor as presido, Andrew Johnson, try make he reverse de intent of Sherman ein wartime Order No. 15 den similar provisions wey na dem include insyd de second Freedmen's Bureau bills.

Na sam land redistribution occur under military jurisdiction during de war den for a brief period thereafter. However, na federal den state policy during de Reconstruction era emphasize wage labor, no be land ownership, give black people. Almost all land wey na dem allocate during de war dem restore to ein pre-war white owners. Na several black communities maintain control of dema land, wey na sam families obtain new land by homesteading. Na black land ownership increase markedly insyd Mississippi during de 19th century, particularly. Na de state get much undeveloped bottomland (low-lying alluvial land near a river) behind riverfront areas wey na dem be cultivated before de war. Na chaw black people acquire land thru private transactions, plus ownership dey peak at  anaa ~23,000 square miles insyd 1910, before na an extended financial recession cause problems wey result insyd de loss of property give chaw.

## Background
African Americans faced severe discrimination den be maintained as a distinct "racial" group by laws wey require racial segregation den prohibiting miscegenation.Prior to de Civil War, most free African Americans lived in de North, where dem abolish slavery. More times, na dem dey see free African Americans as a job-stealing threat to society because they were usually willing to work for lower wages than white people. Moreover, they were seen as a dangerous influence on those who remained enslaved. Because of dis, freed slaves were unwelcome insyd most areas of de United States.

Insyd de South, vagrancy laws allow de states to force free African Americans into labor den sometimes to sell dem into slavery. Nevertheless, free African Americans across the country performed a variety of occupations, including a small number who owned den operate successful farms. Others settled insyd Upper Canada (now Southern Ontario), an endpoint of de Underground Railroad, and in Nova Scotia.

## War
To empower de Union Army to legally seize property for ein war plus de South, Congress pass de Confiscation Act of 1861. Dis law allow de military to seize rebel property, including land den slaves. For fact, e reflect de rapidly growing reality of black refugee camps wey spring up around de Union Army. Dese glaring manifestations of de "Negro Problem" provoke hostility from much of de Union rank-and-file—den necessitate administration by officers.

### Grand Contraband Camp
After secession, de Union maintain ein control over Fort Monroe for Hampton for de coast of Southern Virginia. Escaped slaves rush to de area, hoping for protection from de Confederate Army. (Even more quickly, de town ein white residents flee to Richmond.) General Benjamin Butler set precedent for Union forces for May 24, 1861, when e refuse to surrender escaped slaves to Confederates wey claim ownership. Butler declare de slaves contraband of war den allow dem to remain plus de Union Army. By July 1861, there be 300 "contraband" slaves working for rations for Fort Monroe. By de end of July there be 900, den General Butler appoint Edward L. Pierce as Commissioner of Negro Affairs.

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## External links

* Bills and Resolutions, Senate, 39th Congress, 1st Session Bill 60, Library of Congress.
* Significant Dates on Black Land Loss – from Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund
* The Truth Behind '40 Acres and a Mule' by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
* "Colonization by the Numbers", Phillip W. Magness
* Lizzie Grant, Gullah Resident of Harris Neck, photographed by Lorenzo Dow Turner around 1933.