MARCH
3, 1865:
Congress creates the
United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, otherwise known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, to assist the newly-emancipated slaves with the transition to
freedom.
Congress
amends the Currency Act, establishing new monetary denominations.
Congress
also creates the Civil War Pension Bureau, granting pensions to all servicemen
under Union arms during the Civil War as well as their widows and children. As
of 2015, one child of a Civil War veteran is still receiving such pension
payments.
President
Lincoln issues an Executive Order regarding the terms of the eventual surrender
of the Confederacy. General Grant is given plenary powers to set practical
terms for the disbandment of the Confederate armies in the field. Lincoln
reserves all political decisions to the Executive.
