"What Shall Become of the Freedmen?" 1865

From the Franklin Repository (Chambersbug, Pa.), February 8, 1865.

FREEDMEN

Since the skies of our national horizon are beginning to look bright, and the dark and threatening clouds of war disappearing, the question is often asked, what shall be done with the freedmen? We confess the question easier asked than answered. . . . [W]e find nearly one million of freedmen, and the number daily increasing, accessible to the people of the loyal States. They are ignorant, stupid in many cases, and passive recipients of the first influences which strike them. The transition from slavery to freedom has doubtless jostled their minds a little, and developed new hopes and desires, and prepared them to hear and think as they never could before.--The proper instruction will elevate them rapidly--wrong influence will make them more miserable than they were before emancipation. If we do not carry them light, truth, strength and courage, they will inevitably sink under the flood tide of vices which follow an army. Their usefulness has been fairly tested, they have entered the ranks, have shown good capacity in acquiring knowledge sufficient to make good soldiers, and at Fort Wagner, in front of Petersburg and elsewhere, they have shown themselves equal to the best soldiers. No one who speaks dispassionately upon the subject will say that they will not make courageous and available soldiers. They have on more than one occasion received the commendation of their Generals for valuable and efficient services.

That they make good mechanics is fairly proven by the fact, that many of them are such, even in the degraded condition of Slavery. They are found in almost every one of the rougher trades, and skilled equal to any even of our own race, who labor in the same occupations. In many parts of the South, it was no unusual thing for planters, to have all the necessary mechanics among his slaves, and the slaves were valued according to their skill in whatever trade they were taught. They are proverbial for their powers of imitation. They are as a general thing fond of music and acquire it easily, and always where they have the least opportunity become excellent performers. We find even some without the advantages of instruction, or much opportunity for practice become quite proficient.

But we need not stop here, we find them entering the learned and honorable professions. We have them in the ministry, and doing much honor to the profession. We have them in the profession of medicine, editing newspapers, and but a few days since on motion of Hon. Charles Sumner, one Brooks was admitted to practice law in the Supreme court of the United States. This man Brooks is admitted to be gifted with extraordinary intellectual powers, and although young in years, stands at the head of the profession he has chosen for himself.