This Day in Labor History: March 3, 1865. Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau to adjudicate relations between white planters and the now-freed slaves in the South, especially around labor issues. Let's talk about this good, but failed, idea and why it didn't work to reset southern labor! - ThreadSky

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erikloomis.bsky.social • 17 hours ago

This Day in Labor History: March 3, 1865. Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau to adjudicate relations between white planters and the now-freed slaves in the South, especially around labor issues. Let's talk about this good, but failed, idea and why it didn't work to reset southern labor!

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erikloomis.bsky.social•17 hours ago

A potentially excellent idea, the Freedmen’s Bureau ran ashore on the rocks of a number of 19th century problems, including a lack of funding, that many of the appointees were political hacks, and the racism of many of the officials involved.

erikloomis.bsky.social•17 hours ago

The first thing to remember about slavery is that it was a labor system. That’s the reason it existed. We often downplay this because we talk about the racism of the system. This is of course true.

erikloomis.bsky.social•17 hours ago

And in Jim Crow America, the role of labor in American racism took a more secondary status, though it was certainly always there.

erikloomis.bsky.social•17 hours ago

But with slavery, the entire point was to have a permanent labor force that you did not have to pay and could do with what you would.

erikloomis.bsky.social•17 hours ago

That it was a racialized labor force was even better because then planters and elites could tear apart any potential alliances between poor workers across racial boundaries by using the power of white supremacy.

erikloomis.bsky.social•17 hours ago

After all, it’s true enough that many Confederate soldiers didn’t own slaves, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t want to own slaves. Owning slaves was a sign of status and the way one rose in southern society. Controlling the labor of others was, again, the point of slavery.

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