“40 Acres and a Mule” was a practice in 1865 of providing farm land to freed Black former slaves.
Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman’s January 16, 1865 Special Field Orders, No. 15, provided for the land, and some of the freed slaves received mules for use in plowing as well.
After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his successor, Andrew Johnson, revoked Sherman’s Orders.
Listen to Oscar Brown, Jr. “tell it like it is” in his humorous style. Here is his song “Forty Acres and A Mule” from the album Mr. Oscar Brown Jr. Goes To Washington.