What government agency was created in 1865 to assist newly freed slaves?

• A. War Department Relief Committee
• B. Bureau of Indian Affairs
• C. Freedmen's Bureau
• D. Freedman's Aid Society

Answer: (C)

After emancipation, the government aimed to help newly freed people transition to freedom by providing essential aid, education, and legal support. In 1865 Congress established a federal agency specifically to assist freed slaves and refugees in the South, offering food, clothing, shelter, medical care, schools, and help with labor contracts and rights. This agency is the Freedmen's Bureau, officially the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. It operated during Reconstruction to address urgent needs and to lay groundwork for newly freed communities, though it faced significant resistance and was terminated in 1872.

The other options don’t fit because they’re either not federal agencies created for that purpose or are private organizations: a relief effort tied to the War Department rather than a dedicated agency for freed people, the Bureau of Indian Affairs focused on Native American affairs, and a private abolitionist-led charity not established by Congress.