ut with this belief the slaves were reneging any hope of equality in their lives on this earth. This is the mentality behind the slave who compared the abolition of slavery to the coming of Jesus Christ. He created in his mind the idea that the only time he would see freedom was when the heavens opened and the Son of God himself came down to deliver all of the slaves from their oppressors. Although this idea was effective in allowing the slaves to tolerate oppression, it did not promote an end to the problem but rather the endurance of it. Hence, on the day that Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, although this day was much anticipated, the slaves were severely unprepared. They identified with freedom only in theory so their concepts of freedom tended to be exaggerated and extravagant. Instead they needed to be preparing for freedom in an existential sense such as being able to read, learning how the system operates outside of slavery, how to obtain land, etc. Some slaves had knowledge of these real post-slavery necessities but the average slave believed that the Lord would provide and indeed He did provide but not without giving them reality check.The needs of the former slaves were an open invitation for the American Missionary Association, Freedmens Aid Societies, schoolteachers, and other benevolent societies from the North to assist in developing, exposing, and educating them in their new identity and way of life. To the aid of the government, and even before the government took definite organized hold, came religious and benevolent organizations. The first was the American Missionary Association, which grew out of the organization for the defense of the Negroes who rebelled and captured the slave ship Amistad and brought it into Connecticut in 1837K.They extended their work in 1862-1863, establishing missions down the Atlantic Coast, and in Missouri, and along the Mississippi. By 1864, they had reach...
