Freedman's Bank

The Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, popularly known as the Freedman's Savings Bank, was a private corporation chartered by the U.S. government to encourage and guide the economic development of the newly emancipated African-American communities in the post-Civil War period. Although functioning only between 1865 and 1874, the company achieved notable successes as a leading financial institution of African-Americans. However, its failure was devastating to the newly emancipated black community. Its archives are valuable as an exhaustive collection of information regarding the African American community and its socio-economic life in the immediate aftermath of emancipation.

At the end of the American Civil War, the poor economic conditions of the formerly enslaved freedmen was aggravated by the economic devastation of the Southern states. The newly freed African Americans had few economic resources or capital and even less exposure to private enterprise. Many soon turned to sharecropping and forced labor in the South. To help alleviate their socio-economic conditions, the Republican-controlled U. S. Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau, passing an act of incorporation and a charter for the Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, which was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1865. Originally headquartered in New York City, the first branch of the company opened in Baltimore, Maryland. By 1866, the bank had established 19 branches in 12 states, mainly in the South. The national headquarters was moved to Washington, D.C. the following year.

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