At first there was great rejoicing, thanksgiving and wild scenes of ecstasy, but no bitterness. But there was a change in their feelings by the time they got back to their cabins. The reality of the great responsibility of what all freedom meant began to set in. It was like suddenly sending a youth of ten or twelve out in the world to provide for himself.

There were the questions of a home, making a living, rearing children, and the establishing and supporting of churches. Freedom was much more than they had thought about.

Some of the slaves were old and their best days were behind them. This class had it particularly hard. And they also had a strange attachment to "old Massa" and old Missus" and their children. Gradually they began to wander back to the "big house" to talk with their former owners about their future.