GREEN CLAY SMITH
The Freedmens Bureau was created after the Civil War to assist newly emancipated Black slaves. In 1866, there was a debate in Congress to allow poor whites to obtain the services of the Freedmens’ Bureau. As a practical matter most of the poor whites were just as illiterate and poor as the ex-slaves. President Andrew Johnson was particularly anxious to assist the poor whites. See Quotation 643686.
Green Clay Smith was a United States soldier and politician. Elected to the Kentucky state house before the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a Union officer when he volunteered, advancing to the rank of brigadier general before he resigned to go to Congress. He was promoted to Major General by brevet on March 13, 1865. He was elected to the US Congress from Kentucky in 1862, representing the Unionist Party and serving until 1866.
