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African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era facts for kids

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African Americans played a very important role in politics during the Reconstruction era (1865–1877). This was the time after the American Civil War when the Southern states were rebuilt. After new laws called the Reconstruction Acts were passed in 1867 and 1868, more than 1,500 African American leaders were elected or appointed to government jobs. They served in many different roles, from local towns to the U.S. Congress. Even after Reconstruction officially ended in 1877, some African Americans continued to hold office. However, groups that supported white supremacy and the Democratic Party worked hard to stop African Americans from voting and holding office in the South. This list highlights some of the most important African American officeholders before the year 1900.

U.S. Senate

Two African American leaders served as U.S. Senators during Reconstruction. They represented the state of Mississippi.

  • Hiram Rhodes Revels (R), Senator from Mississippi (1870-1871)
  • Blanche Bruce (R), Senator from Mississippi (1875-1881)
  • P. B. S. Pinchback was also chosen to be a U.S. Senator by the Louisiana government in 1873. However, the Senate did not allow him to take his seat.

U.S. House

Many African Americans also served in the United States House of Representatives. They helped make laws for the entire country.

Main article: First generation of African-American House members, 1870–1893

Alabama

More than 100 African Americans served in the Alabama government between 1868 and 1878. They worked in both the State Senate and the House of Representatives.

State Senate

House of Representatives

Alabama legislature 1872
Alabama legislators at the capitol in 1872

Some of the African American representatives in Alabama included:

Other Offices

Arkansas

Between 1868 and 1893, 85 African American men served in the Arkansas state government. They served in both the House and Senate. After 1893, it took a long time for another African American to become a state legislator in Arkansas. This didn't happen again until 1973.

Statewide Officeholders

  • Joseph Carter Corbin: He was the chief clerk of the Little Rock Post Office (1872) and the state superintendent of public schools (1873-1875).

Arkansas Senate

Arkansas House of Representatives

Local Offices

Colorado

House of Representatives

Local Offices

  • Henry O. Wagoner: He worked as a clerk in the first Colorado State Legislature in 1876.

Florida

Florida had many African American politicians, including a Secretary of State and a Secretary of Public Instruction.

Florida State Senate

Florida House of Representatives

Florida Local Offices

  • James Page (minister): He was a Leon County commissioner.

Georgia

Georgia State Senate

Georgia House of Representatives

Other Officials

  • William Finch and George Graham: They were the first two African Americans elected to serve on the Atlanta Board of Aldermen (now the Atlanta City Council).

Illinois

Illinois House of Representatives

Indiana

Indiana did not have any African American legislators during the main Reconstruction era. James S. Hinton was the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature (1881–1882).

Kansas

Kansas also did not have any African American legislators during the main Reconstruction era. Alfred Fairfax was the first African American to serve in the Kansas state legislature (1888–1889).

Louisiana

Louisiana had many African American politicians. 24 served in the Louisiana Senate and more than 100 served in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Six African American men also held statewide offices, including the nation's first and second black acting governors.

  • Oscar James Dunn: Acting governor of Louisiana (May - July 1871). He was the first African American elected to a state-level position in the United States.
  • P. B. S. Pinchback: Acting governor of Louisiana (December 1872 – January 1873).

Three African Americans served as Louisiana's lieutenant governor:

Others served as secretary of state, state treasurer, and state superintendent of education:

Members of the Louisiana Senate

Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives

  • Curron J. Adolphe (1868-1872)
  • Thornton Butler (1874-1880)
  • Pierre Caliste Landry (1872-1874 and 1880-1884)
  • William Murrell Jr. (1872-1876 and 1879-1880)
  • David Young (1868-1874 and 1880-1884)

Local Offices

Maryland

Local Offices

  • William Butler: Member of the Annapolis Board of Aldermen (1873).
  • William H. Day: Baltimore Inspector of Schools.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Local Offices

Michigan

House of Representatives

Local Offices

  • Samuel C. Watson: Served on the State Board of Estimates (1875) and Detroit City Council (1875, 1883-1886).

Minnesota

Minnesota did not have any African American legislators during the main Reconstruction era. John Francis Wheaton was the first African American to serve in the Minnesota state legislature (1899–1900).

Mississippi

First Colored Senator and Representatives
First African American U.S. Senator Hiram Revels and U.S. Representatives (R-MS), Rep. Benjamin S. Turner (R-AL), Robert DeLarge (R-SC), Josiah Walls (R-FL), Jefferson Long (R-GA), Joseph Rainey and Robert B. Elliott (R-SC)

In Mississippi, there were organized efforts to stop African Americans from voting and holding office. These efforts were called the Mississippi Plan. They aimed to end Reconstruction and bring back white control in the state. Despite this, Mississippi was the only U.S. state that elected African American candidates to the U.S. Senate during Reconstruction.

U.S. Senate

Members of the Legislature, State of Mississippi, 1874-'75 - photographed by E. Von Seutter, Jackson, Miss. LCCN2006687066
Photo composite of Mississippi state legislators in 1874

Members of the Mississippi Senate

Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives

Other Offices

Nebraska

Members of the Nebraska House of Representatives

Local Offices

North Carolina

  • Israel Abbott: Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (1872-1874).
  • John O. Crosby: Delegate from Warren County to the North Carolina State Constitutional Convention (1875).
  • James Walker Hood: Commissioner for the state's public schools and assistant superintendent of public instruction (1868-1871).
  • John S. Leary: North Carolina State legislator (1868-1871) and alderman in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1876-1877).

Ohio

Members of the Ohio Senate

Members of the Ohio House of Representatives

Local Offices

South Carolina

Radical Republicans in the South Carolina Legislature
A composite image of 63 "Radical Republicans" in the South Carolina Legislature in 1868, including many African American members.

South Carolina had a large number of African American politicians during Reconstruction.

  • Francis Lewis Cardozo: Secretary of State of South Carolina (1868–1872) and State Treasurer (1872–1877).
  • Robert B. Elliott: State House lawmaker and U.S. Representative from South Carolina.
  • Robert Smalls: South Carolina Representative, South Carolina Senator, and U.S. Representative.
  • Alonzo J. Ransier: Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina (1870–1872) and later a U.S. Congressman (1873–1875).
  • Jonathan J. Wright: Lawyer, South Carolina State Senator (1868–1870) and the first Black Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court (1870–1877).

Members of South Carolina Senate

Members of South Carolina House of Representatives

Local Offices

Tennessee

Only one African American served in the Tennessee Legislature during the 1870s. However, more than a dozen followed in the 1880s when Republicans regained control of the governorship. These leaders worked to create schools for African Americans, spoke out against segregated public places, and fought for voting rights.

Texas

Four African Americans were elected to the Texas Senate, and 32 others served in the Texas House of Representatives during the Reconstruction era.

Members of the Texas Senate

Members of the Texas House of Representatives

Virginia

The Virginia Senate recognized in 2012 that Reconstruction in Virginia lasted from 1869 to 1890, even though federal Reconstruction ended in 1877 due to Jim Crow laws.

Members of the Virginia Senate

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia Constitutional Convention

Other Offices

Washington

Washington did not have any African American legislators during the main Reconstruction era. William Owen Bush was the first African American to serve in the Washington state legislature (1889–1891).

West Virginia

West Virginia did not have any African American legislators during the main Reconstruction era. Christopher Payne was the first African American to serve in the West Virginia state legislature in 1896.

Wyoming

Wyoming did not have any African American legislators during the main Reconstruction era. William Jefferson Hardin was the first African American to serve in the Wyoming state legislature (1879 - 1883).

Washington, D.C.

  • Solomon G. Brown: Member of the House of Delegates for Washington D.C. (1871-1874).
  • John Mercer Langston: Appointed member of the Board of Health of the District of Columbia.
  • William E. Matthews: Clerk in the United States Postal Service in Washington D.C. in 1870. He was the first black person to receive an appointment in that department.
  • Josiah T. Settle: Reading clerk of the Washington, D.C. House of Delegates (1872).

See Also

Images for kids

  • First Colored Senator and Representatives

    First African American U.S. Senator Hiram Revels and U.S. Representatives

  • Alabama legislature 1872

    Alabama legislators at the capitol in 1872

  • Members of the Legislature, State of Mississippi, 1874-'75 - photographed by E. Von Seutter, Jackson, Miss. LCCN2006687066

    Mississippi state legislators in 1874

  • Radical Republicans in the South Carolina Legislature

    African American members of the South Carolina Legislature in 1868

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