The following quotation comes from African American leader James McCune Smith, during the Reconstruction Era. "On the coast of South Carolina, after a year of experimenting on the willingness of
freedmen to work and their ability to support themselves, a plan was begun of cutting
up the large estates into twenty and forty acre plots, to be sold to the freedmen at
government prices... This plan was eminently fair and just; it was also a radical
abolishment of slavery. It made the freedman owner of his own labor, and also an
owner of a fair share of land At the first sale of these lands, the freedmen came up
promptly and bought largely, showing the thrift and shrewdness of men worthy of
citizenship."
According to the point of view expressed in the quotation, what was the best way to help former slaves?
To allow plantation owners to buy back their land
To encourage plantation owners to hire former slaves
To assist former slaves in gaining ownership of land
To divide large plantations into smaller plots