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American Economic Review Vol. 116 No. 11 2026

Inequality and Racial Backlash: Evidence from the Reconstruction Era and the Freedmen's Bureau

Eric Chyn1; Kareem Haggag2; Bryan A Stuart3

1 Department of Economics, University of Texas-Austin, and NBER (email: ) · 2 Anderson School of Management, University of California-Los Angeles, and NBER (email: ) · 3 Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and IZA (email: )

Abstract

How do majority groups respond to narrowing inequality in racially polarized environments? We study this by examining the Freedmen's Bureau, an agency created after the US Civil War to aid former slaves and launch institutional reform in the South. Using new historical records and an event-study approach, we estimate the bureau's impact on political, social, and economic outcomes. Vote shares for Democrats, the party that previously championed slavery and opposed Black civil rights, initially eroded in bureau counties, but these impacts faded as federal oversight weakened. Racial backlash emerged rapidly and persisted, suggesting White majorities sought to offset Black progress.

DOI
10.1257/aer.20241561
Volume
116
Issue
11
Pages
4158-4202
Language
en
Sources
crossref openalex

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