Obtaining freedom was the most dramatic moment of most slaves’ lives. Yet, freedom posed an entirely new set of challenges for which freedmen were almost totally unprepared. Finding employment, establishing their own institutions, and overcoming the hostility of much of the white population made their situation an especially difficult one in the years immediately after the Civil War. Records from the first years of the post-war era offer opportunities for us to appreciate some of the many trials they endured as well as the ways they overcame obstacles. They also provide a glimpse of the struggles the black community would face in the years to come.
