In the years following the Civil War churches took an active role in educating former slaves. This pamphlet discusses the history of the Committee of Missions to the Freedmen, a group founded by Presbyterians to teach African Americans the Gospel. At the time when the Reverend Samuel J. Fisher delivered this address on the committee, its duties also included training ministers and teachers; building churches, seminaries, colleges, and dormitories; and creating schools and industrial training for youth