“Forty acres and a mule” refers to a promise the federal government made to formerly enslaved Black families in January 1865 and revoked within the year. Union General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Orders No. 15 setting aside a strip of the Atlantic coast for settlement in 40-acre plots, and the army was later authorized to lend mules to the settlers. President Andrew Johnson overturned the order that fall and returned the land to its prewar white owners. More than 160 years later, the phrase remains the shorthand for a debt the United States acknowledged, withdrew, and has not replaced, which is why it still anchors nearly every serious argument about reparations.
Where the Phrase Comes From
On January 16, 1865, Sherman issued Special Field Orders No. 15 from Savannah, Georgia. Four days earlier, he had met with twenty Black ministers convened in the wake of the Ebenezer Creek massacre, where formerly enslaved people following his army had drowned trying to escape Confederate cavalry. The ministers told him land ownership was the key to Black freedom.1Zinn Education Project. Special Field Orders No. 15
The order reserved a coastal band running from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, and extending 30 miles inland. The islands, abandoned rice fields, and riverfront country inside that zone were set aside exclusively for freed Black families. No white person other than military personnel on duty could reside there. Each family could claim up to 40 acres of tillable ground, and if a plot bordered navigable water, up to 800 feet of waterfront. Brigadier General Rufus Saxton was appointed to issue “possessory titles” and manage the new settlements.2Freedmen & Southern Society Project, University of Maryland. Special Field Orders No. 15
Those titles were provisional by design. They were subject to later approval by the President or Congress, not full deeds. The army was later authorized to lend mules to settlers, which produced the phrase now used to describe the whole promise.3PBS. The Truth Behind 40 Acres and a Mule Within six months, roughly 40,000 freed people had settled on about 400,000 acres under the order.1Zinn Education Project. Special Field Orders No. 15
How the Promise Was Broken
The arrangement lasted less than a year. After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, Andrew Johnson moved to reconcile with the former Confederacy. His amnesty proclamation of May 29, 1865, allowed former slaveholders to recover their property. That fall he overturned Sherman’s order outright, directing that the 400,000 acres of “Sherman land” be returned to their prewar owners.3PBS. The Truth Behind 40 Acres and a Mule The Freedmen’s Bureau, which held some confiscated and abandoned lands, was forced to restore most of them. Many Black families who had already paid for plots and begun cultivating them were expelled.4BlackPast. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (1865-1872)
Over its entire existence, the Freedmen’s Bureau held less than two-tenths of one percent of all Southern land. Congress eventually settled the question: no ex-Confederate land would be granted to freedmen. Tens of thousands of Black Americans who had briefly experienced ownership were pushed into tenant farming and sharecropping.4BlackPast. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (1865-1872)
Congress did try one substitute. The Southern Homestead Act, signed June 21, 1866, opened over 46 million acres of public land in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi to homesteaders, and for the first two years only “loyal citizens” could claim it, theoretically giving freedmen a head start.5Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Southern Homestead Act By the time the act was repealed in 1876, fewer than 6,000 Black homestead claims had been completed. Much of the available land was forested or swampy, freed people lacked the capital to develop it, many were bound to annual wage-labor contracts through the Freedmen’s Bureau, and white Southerners met Black land claims with violence. Eligibility was expanded to former Confederates in 1867, further narrowing prospects for Black applicants.6Wiley Online Library. Southern Homestead Act of 1866 The repeal in 1876 lined up with the end of Reconstruction and the federal government’s broader retreat from the economic promises of emancipation.
What 40 Acres Would Be Worth Today
Economists have tried to put a number on the broken promise. Economist William A. Darity Jr. has estimated that 40 acres for each of the roughly four million people emancipated in 1865 would have totaled about 40 million acres at roughly $10 per acre, or $400 million in 1865 dollars. Compounded at six percent annually since then, that figure exceeds $1.3 trillion, which would come to slightly more than $400,000 for each of the estimated 30 million living descendants of enslaved people.7Institute of the Black World 21st Century. Forty Acres and a Mule in the 21st Century A widely cited 2015 estimate published by Yes! Magazine put the inflation-adjusted value of the original promise at $6.4 trillion.8Yes! Magazine. 40 Acres and a Mule Would Be at Least $6.4 Trillion Today
The range depends on what is being measured and how it is compounded. Darity cites other scholarly estimates that value the profits extracted from enslaved labor between $3.4 billion and $2.1 trillion in 1983 dollars, which produces present-day values from roughly $9 billion to $6 trillion when compounded forward.7Institute of the Black World 21st Century. Forty Acres and a Mule in the 21st Century Individual reparations proposals in current policy discussions often fall in the range of $150,000 to $300,000 per person.9LAist. Contemplating the Proverbial 40 Acres and a Mule Today
The gap those numbers try to measure is visible in current wealth data. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 Survey of Income and Program Participation, the median wealth of households with a Black householder was $24,520, roughly one-tenth the $250,400 held by white households. Black-headed households were 13.6 percent of all U.S. households but held 4.7 percent of total wealth. Nearly one in four Black-led households had zero or negative net worth, compared to one in twelve white-led households.10U.S. Census Bureau. Wealth by Race Federal Reserve data analyzed by the Brookings Institution shows the absolute dollar gap between median white and median Black household wealth grew by nearly $50,000 between 2019 and 2022, reaching $240,120. For every $100 in wealth held by white households in 2022, Black households held $15.11Brookings Institution. Black Wealth Is Increasing, but So Is the Racial Wealth Gap As of late 2024, Federal Reserve data showed average Black household wealth at $352,000 compared to $1,544,000 for white households.12Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The State of U.S. Household Wealth
Why the Phrase Still Shows Up: Reparations Today
Every current reparations proposal traces back to the same January 1865 order. The clearest example is the number of the leading federal bill.
H.R. 40 in Congress
The Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act was first introduced by Representative John Conyers of Michigan in 1989. Its number is a deliberate reference to the unfulfilled 40-acre promise. The bill does not mandate reparations payments. It would create a commission to study the impact of slavery and continuing discrimination and to recommend remedies.
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas carried the bill for years after Conyers retired. Following her death, Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts took over as lead sponsor and reintroduced H.R. 40 in February 2025. In the Senate, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced the companion bill, S.40, on January 9, 2025, with 19 cosponsors.13Office of Senator Cory Booker. Booker Reintroduces Legislation to Form Commission for Study of Reparation Proposals for African Americans S.40 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it remains without a hearing.14Congress.gov. S.40 – Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act H.R. 40 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee for the first time in 2021 and had 130 cosponsors in the previous session, but it has never received a full floor vote in either chamber and is considered unlikely to advance in the current Congress.15NBC News. Reparations Bill HR 40 Returns to Congress A separate resolution, H.Res.414, was also introduced in the 119th Congress, stating that the United States has “a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the crime of enslavement.”16Congress.gov. H.Res.414
State Programs
With federal action stalled, states and cities have moved. California became the first state to establish a reparations task force in 2021, and the task force issued its final report on June 29, 2023. Governor Gavin Newsom signed several measures translating its recommendations into law, including SB 518, which created the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the state Department of Justice, effective October 10, 2025. The bureau includes divisions for genealogy and descendant certification, property reclamation for victims of racially motivated eminent domain, education and outreach, and legal affairs.17LegiScan. SB 518 – Descendants of Enslaved Persons: Reparations A separate bill allocated up to $6 million to the California State University system to research methods for verifying descendant eligibility. Newsom also vetoed five reparations bills from the Legislative Black Caucus, including measures that would have prioritized descendants of enslaved people in college admissions and in a state home loan program, citing legal risks, potential loss of federal funding, and fiscal constraints. Proposition 209, which prohibits state institutions from considering race in public programs, remains a significant legal obstacle in California.18CalMatters. Reparations: What Next After Newsom Signings
New York followed a study-first path. Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation on December 19, 2023, establishing the New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies, a nine-member body tasked with researching the impact of slavery on present-day New Yorkers, exploring the feasibility of monetary reparations, and producing policy recommendations. It does not have authority to distribute payments.19New York State. New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies A more ambitious bill, A5603, would create a “New York State Freedmen’s Bureau” with authority to distribute reparations programs, backed by initial appropriations of $72 million. It remains in committee.20New York State Senate. A5603 – New York State American Freedmen Equity Task Force on Reparations Remedies Act
Cities That Are Actually Paying
Evanston, Illinois, became the first U.S. city to fund and distribute reparations payments, beginning disbursement in January 2022. The program targets Black residents and their descendants who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 and experienced housing discrimination. Eligible recipients can receive up to $25,000 for housing-related expenses, funded primarily by the city’s cannabis tax revenue. By June 2025, the program had disbursed $6.36 million.21Evanston Roundtable. Evanston Reparations Committee Milestone As of early 2026, the city had distributed more than $6.35 million to 254 individuals, with 44 additional residents approved for payments.22KTSA. Illinois City Rolls Out $25K in Reparations to 44 Black Residents The program faces a legal challenge from Judicial Watch, which argues its race-based eligibility violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In June 2026, the Department of Justice moved to intervene in the lawsuit, seeking to halt the program. Evanston officials have said they intend to defend it.23The Guardian. Lawsuit to Stop Reparations in Evanston, Illinois
San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee submitted over 100 recommendations to the Board of Supervisors in 2023, including a proposal for $5 million in one-time payments to eligible individuals. In December 2025, the Board unanimously voted to establish a San Francisco Reparations Fund, which Mayor Daniel Lurie signed into law. The fund does not currently contain money and is designated to accept private donations. Lurie cited the city’s billion-dollar budget deficit. A taxpayer lawsuit challenging the fund was dismissed in June 2026 on ripeness grounds, though the plaintiffs were given leave to amend.24KTVU. SF Mayor Daniel Lurie Signs Reparations Fund Ordinance Without City Funding25Courthouse News Service. San Francisco Judge Ices Suit Over City Reparations Plan
Other municipalities have joined in. Between 2019 and 2023, at least 23 local governments passed legislation to study, design, or implement reparations initiatives.26Russell Sage Foundation Journal. Municipal Reparations Initiatives Chicago approved $5.5 million in 2015 to compensate victims of police torture under Commander Jon Burge. Saint Paul, Minnesota, operates a Rondo Inheritance Fund providing down-payment assistance to descendants of residents displaced by highway construction. Detroit and Greenbelt, Maryland, approved reparations measures by ballot in 2021. Fulton County, Georgia, appropriated $250,000 and Shelby County, Tennessee, appropriated $5 million to their own task forces.27Urban Institute. Justice, Equity, and Repair
Private Institutions
Some institutions have moved on their own. Georgetown University, which in 1838 sold 272 enslaved people to pay off debts, has provided $27 million to the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, a nonprofit established in partnership with the GU272 Descendants Association. The contribution is a milestone toward a $100 million fundraising goal, with an ultimate target of $1 billion. Georgetown also maintains its own Reconciliation Fund, contributing $400,000 annually to community grants that benefit descendant communities.28Georgetown University. Reconciliation Fund29The Washington Post. Georgetown Jesuits Enslaved Descendants Fund
The Legal Fight
The arguments for and against reparations pull in opposite directions. Proponents point to international law recognizing slavery as a crime against humanity, which carries no statute of limitations, and to the 1988 Civil Liberties Act, under which the U.S. government paid $20,000 and issued a formal apology to each surviving Japanese American who was incarcerated during World War II.30National WWII Museum. Redress and Reparations for Japanese American Incarceration That legislation followed a government study commission, which is the model H.R. 40 follows. Advocates also cite Germany’s reparations to Holocaust survivors and successor-liability principles holding that governments that profited from the slave trade bear collective responsibility.31American Bar Association. Legal Basis for Claim of Slavery Reparations
Opponents raise constitutional objections. The Pacific Legal Foundation and similar organizations argue that race-based government programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that distributing benefits based on ancestry rather than individual proof of harm amounts to the kind of racial classification the Supreme Court has subjected to strict scrutiny, citing cases like Adarand Constructors v. Pena.31American Bar Association. Legal Basis for Claim of Slavery Reparations The lawsuits over the Evanston and San Francisco programs are testing those arguments now.
The International Dimension
The U.S. debate has a global counterpart. The Caribbean Community established its Reparations Commission in 2013, chaired by historian Sir Hilary Beckles, to pursue reparatory justice from European governments for slavery, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and colonialism. Its ten-point plan includes demands for a formal apology, repatriation assistance, public health investment, debt cancellation, and technology transfer.32CARICOM. CARICOM Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice In September 2025, the African Union and CARICOM held their Second Summit in Addis Ababa, where participants unanimously approved a declaration calling for transcontinental partnership in pursuit of reparatory justice; the African Union designated 2025 as the “Year for Reparations.”33Harvard FXB Center. Bridging the Atlantic: Legacy, Solidarity, and Reparations In June 2026, the commission released an updated manifesto during a conference in Accra, Ghana, following a March 2026 United Nations resolution declaring the slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity.” The updated plan explicitly links slavery reparations to climate justice and includes compensation for gender-based violence during enslavement. European governments have continued to resist the demands.34The Guardian. What Is in Caribbean Slavery Reparations Manifesto
Where Public Opinion Sits
American opinion is sharply divided along racial and partisan lines. A national poll from January 2024 found that nearly 70 percent of Black Americans support reparations, compared to 26 percent of white Americans. The white support figure is low but has shifted: in 2000, only 4 percent of white Americans endorsed the idea.35PubMed Central. Public Opinion on Reparations A separate poll found that 45 percent of Californians support comprehensive reparations including direct payments, with another 18 percent expressing neutrality.36KQED. Reparations Bills Establish Foundation to Turn California’s Vision Into Reality
The phrase “40 acres and a mule” has lasted because the gap between what was promised and what was delivered remains measurable and large. Whether the remedy takes the form of a federal study commission, a municipal housing grant, or an international declaration, each proposal traces back to the same order Sherman issued in January 1865 and the same question it left unanswered.