Message in a Minute: 40 Acres and a Mule

by

News is filled with the age-old saga of oppressed people seeking refuge.  As we travel in our RV passing endless miles of vacant land, much of what we see offers potential for transformation into re-claimed land.

 

All it takes is human will and determination, planning, identification of water sources, elbow grease and a government who cares. One asks, “why can’t we welcome these folks to our country, provide land and resources for individuals and families to build homesteads safe from their oppressors and offering care and love.”

I am by no means alone in these wishes and ideas. We have been thwarted by poor and uncaring leadership, not exclusive to this period of time but throughout American history. I recalled a phrase learned in my High School American History courses just after the freeing of the slaves;”40 acres and a mule.” This memory was reinforced by a New York Times editorial 6 7 2020 by Michelle Alexander, entitled, “America, this is your Last Chance” discussing saving our democracies, (a poignant article). She recalls the short life of these promises, a sad outcome of granting relief and then erasing that relief as briefly highlighted below. 

Forty acres and a mule is part of Special Field Orders No. 15, a post-Civil War promise proclaimed by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman on January 16, 1865, to allot family units, including freed people, a plot of land no larger than 40 acres (16 ha). Sherman later ordered the army to lend mules for the agrarian reform effort. The field orders followed a series of conversations between Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and Radical Republican abolitionists Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens[1] following disruptions to the institution of slavery provoked by the American Civil War. Many freed people believed, after being told by various political figures, that they had a right to own the land they had long worked as slaves, and were eager to control their own property. Freed people widely expected to legally claim 40 acres of land (a quarter-quarter section) and a mule after the end of the war. Some freedmen took advantage of the order and took initiatives to acquire land plots along a strip of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida coasts.[2] 

2. “…It became known as of Jan. 16, 1865, as ‘40 acres and a mule,’ ” Elmore said. Stan Deaton, of the Georgia Historical Society, sadly points out that after Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson reversed Sherman’s order, giving the land back to its former Confederate owners.Jan 12, 2015.”Some land redistribution occurred under military jurisdiction during the war and for a brief period thereafter. However, federal and state policy during the Reconstruction era emphasized wage labor, not land ownership, for blacks. Almost all land allocated during the war was restored to its pre-war white owners. Several black communities did maintain control of their land, and some families obtained new land by homesteading. Black land ownership increased markedly in Mississippi during the 19th century, particularly. 
A sad but factual reversal in policy.  In my own contemplation of  using vast tracts of land with potential for habitation, I did not word it as 40 acres and such but as a great way to offer refuge and hope for people who just need a chance in life. People of all color have indeed suffered under white regimes with plundering, torture, starvation, death. I fear this is an ongoing plague increasing in number as Covid 19 leaves people, homeless, poor and destitute. Let’s open our hearts and our lands to show our true love for people of all walks of life. After all it could affect anyone at any time. 
Click on link in blue for image and information.