African-American officeholders in the United States, 1789–1866 facts for kids

The United States has a rich history, and it includes many important "firsts" for African Americans in politics. Before 1867, five African Americans were elected to public office. After the U.S. Congress passed the First Military Reconstruction Act in 1867 and the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1870, even more African Americans began to be elected or appointed to government jobs across the country.

In 1836, Alexander L. Twilight became the first African American to be elected as a state legislator in the United States.

Most of these early office holders served in New England states. Three of them worked as state legislators, which means they helped make laws for their state.

Early African American Leaders in Government

Here are some of the first African Americans to hold elected positions:

• Wentworth Cheswell was a true pioneer. He was first elected in 1776 to a local school board in Newmarket, New Hampshire. Later, he became a justice of the peace, which made him the first African American to serve as a judge. He held elected office until he passed away in 1817.
• Alexander Lucius Twilight was an educator, politician, and minister. In 1823, he became the first African American to earn a college degree from an American college, Middlebury College. In 1836, he was the first African American elected to a state legislature, serving in the Vermont House of Representatives. Mr. Twilight was also a minister and a high school principal. He even helped build Athenian Hall at the Orleans County Grammar Schools.
• John Mercer Langston was another important figure. He held a local office in Ohio before the Civil War.
• Edward Garrison Walker was elected as a state legislator in Massachusetts in 1866.
• Charles Lewis Mitchell was also elected as a state legislator in Massachusetts in 1866. He served for one year in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During the American Civil War, he fought in the 55th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry and was injured in the Battle of Honey Hill.

List of Early African American Officeholders (1789–1866)

This table shows some of the first African Americans who held public office in the United States before 1867.

      Party affiliation not known       Republican

Officeholder			State	Public office	Took office	Left office	Party	Ref.
		Wentworth Cheswell (1746–1817)	New Hampshire	Local School Board	1776
				Justice of the Peace	1805	1817
		Alexander L. Twilight (1795–1857)	Vermont	State Legislator	1836	1857
		John Mercer Langston (1829–1897)	Ohio	Township Clerk	1854		Liberty Party of Ohio
		Edward G. Walker (1831–1901)	Massachusetts	State Legislator	1866	1867	Republican
		Charles L. Mitchell (1829–1912)	Massachusetts	State Legislator	1866		Republican

See also

Federal government

• African Americans in the United States Congress
  • List of African-American United States representatives
  • List of African-American United States senators
  • Congressional Black Caucus
  • Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
• List of African-American United States Cabinet members
• List of African-American officeholders during Reconstruction

State and local government

• List of African-American U.S. state firsts
• List of first African-American mayors
• List of African-American statewide elected officials