2 chapters across the catalog
Following a meeting with Black church leaders in Savannah, General William Tecumseh Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15, promising 40 acres of land to newly emancipated people. While President Lincoln initially approved the order, his successor Andrew Johnson overturned it, returning the confiscated Confederate land to white Southerners. This reversal is cited as a primary failure of the Reconstruction era.
In 1865, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and General Sherman met with Black church leaders to discuss their needs, leading to Special Field Order No. 15, which promised "40 acres and a mule." While President Lincoln initially approved the distribution of 400,000 acres of seized Confederate land, his successor Andrew Johnson overturned the order. The land was subsequently returned to white Southerners, a move the hosts describe as a profound betrayal of the Reconstruction era.
