Freed slaves were ecstatic about the opportunity to be able to read, write, and everything that a white person learned. The Bureau had knowledge on their thirst to learn, so they built around 3,000 schools, cost varying around five million dollars. Over 90,000 former slaves were enrolled in public school. With that being said, attendance rates skyrocketed from 43% to a new high of 79% to 82%.

The Act was put in place to split the states into five military districts, besides Tennessee, and to enforce the fourteenth amendment. The South thought congress was trying to establish a military monarchy by passing the Act. The South reacted by creating groups to rebel, one famous clan was called the Ku Klax Klan.