Article: The Truth Behind "40 Acres and a Mule"

Forty Acres and a Mule

Article: The Truth Behind "40 Acres and a Mule"

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Article

PBS presents a modern article, written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., titled, "The Truth Behind '40 Acres and a Mule,'" which examines the story of the promised but unrealized "Forty Acres and a Mule" that was part of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 15 issued on January 16, 1865, to allot land and leftover Army mules to formerly enslaved African American families. The author stresses how "revolutionary" this idea was, and includes explanation of what exactly was promised, who came up with the idea, and what became of the land that was promised.

PBS

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