The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (known as the Freedmen's Bureau) was established in 1865 by Abraham Lincoln with the explicit purpose of supporting previously enslaved people. In addition, private and religious organizations such as the American Missionary Association (AMA) shifted their focus to support newly freedpeople. I'll defer to other's expertise when it comes to issues of land ownership, medical care, and other aspects of society, but can speak to how they supported education for the freed slaves.
Enslaved people were legally barred from an education (with a few exceptions related to Christian texts.) Although there were clandestine schools led by escaped or freed slaves who returned to the South after receiving a Northern education as well as stories of schools held on river boats to avoid anti-education laws, [1] the South lacked a formal education system for Black Americans. In effect, once the 13th Amendment was ratified, there was an immediate need to provide an education to thousands of people. Variations on the phrase "every freedperson a learner, every person a teacher, every place a school" [2] has been used to describe the importance of education during this transition.
During the war itself, children and adult enslaved people who crossed Union lines sought out education. Schools were set up inside Contraband Camps (camps for escaped enslaved people around Union forts) and were open to all. The teachers were typically connected to the military (usually chaplains or officer's wives or daughters) and used whatever reading material they could get their hands on to teach. It's important to note that newly freed or escaped enslaved people were not passive recipients of benevolent White Americans' help during the transition. Rather, they advocated for and insisted on education as an expected part of the transition services. (There are first-hand accounts of teachers writing about a demand for classes day and night, grandmothers sitting next to grandchildren, grandsons helping grandfathers.) [3] This focus on education stemmed from several different places including a desire to be able to fully embrace their faith and read all parts of religious texts as well as an understanding that long-term success and independence required literacy and numeracy skills.
Exact demographics are hard to determine and reports vary, but it's generally accepted that the those who answered the call to teach after the 13th amendment was ratified were a combination of white and black educators from the North and the South. Different groups had different reasons for doing the work: white men were likely attracted to the salary the Freedman's Bureau offered while white women, especially those from the North, saw it as missionary work and the start of a professional career. Southern women spoke to being a part of anti-slavery work and teaching as a way to be a good Christian. The Northern Black educators who traveled South after the war had the highest level of education among the teaching corps - most had a teacher training background and many had advanced degrees. Some of them taught enslaved people because Northern schools wouldn't hire them while others spoke about the work doing for their "people" [4].
The lasting legacy of this period of transition is the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) network. These colleges were established after the war for and often by Black Americans and provided an education on par with the Ivy League schools. Many of the graduates of the first HBCUs went on to hold office, create businesses, and break into white-only professions and fields.
The Floating School Story collection of citations and sources
Rutkowski, A. (2008). Leaving the good mother: Frances EW Harper, Lydia Maria Child, and the literary politics of reconstruction. legacy, 25(1), 83-104.
Forten, C. (1864). Life on the sea islands. Atlantic Monthly, 13.
Weisenfeld, J. (1991). ‘Who is Sufficient For These Things?' Sara G. Stanley and the American Missionary Association, 1864–1868. Church History, 60(4), 493-507.