Freedmen and the Ideology of Free Labor: Louisiana 1862-1865
by William F. Messner
About the Book
This book examines contraband programs undertaken by the Federal army in the Gulf Department during the Civil War, particularly the military's institution of a plantation labor program and education system for the freedmen, and the enlistment of blacks into the Union Army. It considers the ways that these systems were created in response to white military, political, and economic needs. Gulf Department officials structured programs for the freedmen which were closely attuned to the central tenants of the ideology of free labor, and this pattern of thought shaped the actions of Republican politicians for the remainder of Reconstruction.
Part of the USL History Series No. 12
© 1978 University of Southwestern Louisiana
Paperback | 206 Pages | 6" x 9" | LCCN: 78-61079