I've always been curious about this time period. I wonder where slaves might have gone, if some chose to stay for a wage, if some went into their own businesses. Obviously it was different for every person, but I was curious of any patterns.
I've also heard that freedom for slaves was good for awhile, but became much worse with Jim Crowe laws became a thing. I imagine there was a time period that was much better pre-Jim Crow, correct? Any information wouls be great to learn about!
It sounds like you're describing Reconstruction and it is a fascinating period of history. (The title of Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book, We Were Eight Years in Power comes from a quote by Thomas Miller, a Black lawmaker from South Carolina who said:
We were eight years in power. We had built schoolhouses, established charitable institutions, built and maintained the penitentiary system, provided education for the deaf and dumb, rebuilt the ferries. In short, we had reconstructed the State and placed it on the road to prosperity.
One of the patterns that emerges was a desire for education (some history about that from another thread). If you're interested in reading first person accounts, Charlotte Forten wrote a column describing what life was like for newly enslaved people in the Sea Islands as part of the Port Royal Experiment.