No one ever stopped to foreshadow the possible result of the Emancipation. The Union Army was helpless when it came to helping these African-Americans. "They flock to me old and young, they pray and shout and mix up my name with Moses"(Golay 29). As many as 25,000 left their plantations to join the army. Sherman did all he could to discourage the exodus because he could not afford to feed, clothe, or shelter these new additions. Consequently, Sherman promised a 40-acre plot of land and a mule to the freed blacks. Blacks began to think the government was giving them a chance to start an independent life, but they were mistaken. Around 1865, opposition began to develop and this was the beginning of the end for Sherman's proposal. Confederates wanted their land back that the freed slaves were maintaining. The blacks were let down once again. The government, which they put their faith in proved to be sadly misplaced. In the end, the land was turned over to the Confederates and the blacks consequently fell through the cracks.
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The suddenness of the Emancipation left the blacks and whites unprepared to deal with one another. As much as the Southern whites resented sending their slaves away, the slaves were as hesitant about leaving their homes. These so-called homes were all they possessed all that was familiar. .
"It came so sudden on them they wasn't prepared for it. Just think of whole droves of people, that had always been kept so close hardly ever left the plantation before, turned loose all at once, with nothing in the world but what they had on their backs, and often little enough of that; men, women and children that had left their homes when they found out they were free, walking along the road with nowhere to go" (Golay 22). .
They were sent away with no education and would soon learn that life could be a cruel game directed at them. They never had the option of being the winner.