Idk if I’m right but I’ll give it a try - The recollection by John McCoy suggests that even though the government said they were free they didn’t reallt change anything . Slaves could work but would still receive no money . In the document it says “ He say one morning “John , you can go out in the field iffen you wants to or you can get out iffen you wants to , cause the government say you is free. If you wants to work I’ll feed you and give you clothes but can’t pay you no money.” This quote basically shows that the governments word had little effect on the slavery that was going on for the freedom of African Americans following the Civil War.
Hope I helped LOL