The passages describe the lives and contributions of three freedmen of the Rapier family. John H. Rapier, Jr., was a physician at the Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C. John H. Rapier, Sr., a barber in Florence, Alabama, served as a voter...
The passage includes excerpts from federal legislation dealing with the Freedmen's Bureau. "Rules and Regulations for Assistant Commissioners" stresses that "the officer should never forget that no substitute for slavery, like apprenticeship...
McCann, a former slave, describes the following aspects of slavery as he experienced them in Hale County, Alabama: dwellings and possessions; clothing and food; occupations and typical workdays; money earned by slaves for their own use; family...
Lewis's father (also Cudjo) was the last surviving ex-slave from "Clotilda, " the last known ship to bring slaves to the United States; the ship landed in Mobile, Alabama, in 1860. The packet includes a statement of sentence, letters from other...
In this message to the United States House of Representatives, President Ulysses S. Grant presents a statement he received from a group of African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, who had assembled to discuss the "grave and menacing dangers that...
In the letter Strudwick discusses family members and acquaintances; expresses remorse for encouraging some of his relatives to move to California; and complains about the improved status of African Americans (whom he refers to collectively as...
Mary S. Pond taught freed slaves in Selma, Alabama, possibly as a teacher with the American Missionary Association. In this letter to her friend she comments on her loneliness; her low salary and difficult teaching situation; and her general...
Bocock will furnish the land and stock, and he will advance his employees provisions each week; the freedmen will pay for their own expenses and receive one-third of the all the crops. A provision at the end of the contract (which is in a different...
In the letter Drisk explains that he has not been paid for his work because the county has not provided enough schools for African American children: "During four months of the past winter I taught in this city the children of freedmen having been...
In the first letter Dr. Cloud reprimands Whitfield because Tuscaloosa County has not provided enough schools for its African American children: "...you have reported 44 white schools, and only 2 colored, which is not in accordance with the school...
In the letter Seward explains that Congress is proposing a fifteenth amendment to the Constitution, which must be voted on by the state legislatures. He includes a certified copy of the resolution: "The right of citizens of the United States to...
In the letter the men explain that "the white people of this city & county feel that they have no fair showing" in the upcoming election. They ask Hatchell to consider removing William Hurter from his post as chief registrar in the city because of...
In the contract Tait rents a piece of his land in Wilcox County, Alabama, to Hill for a year: "...Hill is permitted to clear land & build houses, without expense to said Tait excepting nails & flooring." In exchange, Tait will receive one-fourth of...
In the letter Smith reports that white planters in Chambers County have tried to interfere with the registration of African American voters there: "I heard of no open violations but am satisfied that parties have thrown every obsticle [sic] in the...
In the letter Hurter describes voter registration in Mobile: "We have registered all who have come forward without any delay. There has been a strong disposition on the part of the whites not to register but they are gradually overcoming that...
In the letter the men discuss the murder of a freedman, who had been appointed a registrar in the county. They have been unable to find the young man who shot him, and tension is building: "The excitement occasioned by the outrage of yesterday was...
Archie organized and taught at a school in Lower Peach Tree. In the letter he discusses servants, livestock, family, and the school he recently started in the area.