Have students read the two later reflections on the Freedmen’s Bureau (excerpts from “The Freedman’s Bureau,” by W.E.B. Du Bois, 1901 and excerpts from The Tragic Era, by Claude G. Bowers, 1929) as homework or together in class. The Bowers excerpts contain racist, paternalistic ideas. Refer to the Teacher Tips section for guidance on how to address racist content with students. 

Students can use the Analyze a Written Document tool to guide their reading. Ask students to look up more background on each author. You may wish to provide background information for students to read, or you may assign this task to students as preparation for the assignment. Based on this background information, have students make some conjectures about why these men might have written about the Bureau in the ways they did. 

Working in groups, students should use the Compare and Contrast Chart or a Venn Diagram to identify common ideas as well as specific points of difference between the two sources. Show where the dispute is (i.e., what exactly does DuBois say, what exactly does Bowers say?) What kind of information would be necessary to settle the dispute? Where could this information be found (what kinds of sources)?

Finally, as a class, read what your history textbook or another recent secondary source has to say about the Freedmen’s Bureau. As a class, discuss:

• Which of these authors seems more credible in our day and age?  
• What do you think happened in the last hundred years to make this so?