Freedmen's Bureau

Reports from the Freedmen's Bureau of Fairfax county state that nearly all freedmen in the district are employed and supporting themselves.

A report of the Superintendent of the Freedmen's Bureau, in Fairfax count, Va., to the Chief of the Bureau, states that all the freedmen of that district are supporting themselves, with very few exceptions. Those who apply for aid are verbally those who are improvident and who have no just appreciation of the necessity of economy. While assisting such people, the Superintendent says a few words of advice and encouragement, appealing to their pride as a free people, in most cases arouses in them a spirit that renders all further application for assistance needless.

“Freedmen's Bureau,” Reconstructing Virginia, accessed June 1, 2023, https://reconstructingvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/9.