of black freedmen before courts of law, and founded the free
common school in the South. On the other hand, it failed to
begin the establishment of good-will between ex-masters and
freedmen, to guard its work wholly from paternalistic meth-
ods which discouraged self-reliance, and to carry out to any
considerable extent its implied promises to furnish the freedmen
with land. Its successes were the result of hard work, sup-
plemented by the aid of philanthropists and the eager striving
of black men. Its failures were the result of bad local agents,
the inherent difficulties of the work, and national neglect.

Such an institution, from its wide powers, great re-
sponsibilities, large control of moneys, and generally con-
spicuous position, was naturally open to repeated and bitter
attack. It sustained a searching Congressional investigation at
the instance of Fernando Wood in 1870. Its archives and few
remaining functions were with blunt discourtesy transferred
from Howard's control, in his absence, to the supervision of
Secretary of War Belknap in 1872, on the Secretary's rec-
ommendation. Finally, in consequence of grave intimations
of wrong-doing made by the Secretary and his subordinates,
General Howard was court-martialed in 1874. In both of
these trials the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau was
officially exonerated from any wilful misdoing, and his work
commended. Nevertheless, many unpleasant things were
brought to light,--the methods of transacting the business of
the Bureau were faulty; several cases of defalcation were
proved, and other frauds strongly suspected; there were some
business transactions which savored of dangerous specula-
tion, if not dishonesty; and around it all lay the smirch of the