Why did the freedmen's bureau operate longer than the year that was originally planned? the agency was becoming too big and unwieldy to manage. congress found additional funds to keep the agency open. the agency had made no progress freed people. the issues it addressed were more complicated than expected.

The issues the Freedmen's Bureau had to handle were much more complicated than originally anticipated. They had to teach thousands to read and write, provide proper medical care, housing, find jobs, teach jobs skills, etc. Thousands were released from a state with little to use to go out and make a better life. They had been oppressed and able to only do certain things, they only had farm related skills which couldn't help them if they wanted to get away and not farm. They needed money to start anew. To find a new place to call their own, whether that was farm land or a home/apartment in the city.