James Harris (North Carolina politician) facts for kids

James Henry Harris (1832–1891) was an important American leader. He fought for civil rights, worked as an upholsterer, and became a politician. Born into slavery, he gained his freedom as a young man. He then studied at Oberlin College in Ohio. For a time, he lived in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. There, he joined the Chatham Vigilance Committee. This group worked to stop Black people from being kidnapped and sold back into slavery in the United States.

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he helped organize Black soldiers in Indiana. He helped form the 28th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. After the war, Harris became a teacher and a politician in North Carolina.

Harris was the first African American politician in Raleigh, North Carolina. He helped create the North Carolina Republican Party. He also served as a Raleigh alderman (a city council member). He was president of the State Equal Rights League and vice president of the Union League. He also led the 1866 Freedmen's Convention. He was elected to the state's 1868 constitutional convention. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1868–1870 and 1883) and the North Carolina Senate (1872–1874).

Early Life and Freedom

James Henry Harris was born into slavery in Granville County, North Carolina, around 1830 or 1832. He had both Black and white family heritage. When he was about eight years old, he began learning to be a carpenter. Later, he worked for himself as a carpenter or upholsterer in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Harris became free when he was 18 years old. He received an official paper proving his freedom in 1848. After gaining his freedom, he left North Carolina. He studied at Oberlin College in Ohio for two years.

In the 1850s, Harris moved to Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He joined the Chatham Vigilance Committee. This group was started by Black abolitionists (people who wanted to end slavery). Their goal was to stop people from being kidnapped in Canada and forced back into slavery in the United States. Some members of this group had also studied at Oberlin College. In 1862, Harris traveled to Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate and the Colony of Liberia in Africa.

Civil War Service

When the American Civil War began, James Henry Harris played an important role. In 1863, he was asked by Governor Oliver P. Morton to help. His job was to recruit and organize Black soldiers in Indiana. He helped form units like the 28th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. These soldiers fought bravely for the Union.

A Career in Public Service

Teaching After the War

After the Civil War ended, Harris returned to Raleigh, North Carolina. He received a teaching certificate from the New England Freedmen's Aid Society. Starting in June 1865, he worked as a teacher for them in Raleigh.

Becoming a Political Leader

Harris began his political career in 1865. He cared deeply about helping orphans, women, workers, and the poor. He was known as a very good speaker. His political journey started at the National Equal Rights Convention in 1865, where he was a vice-president.

In 1865, he attended the first Freedmen's Convention in the South, held in Raleigh. He represented Wake County, North Carolina. He also led the 1866 Freedmen's Convention.

Harris helped create the North Carolina Republican Party in 1867. He was also a leader in the Union League, a group that supported the Republican Party and equal rights. By 1867, Harris even met with President Andrew Johnson. In 1867, African American men gained the right to vote because of the Reconstruction Acts.

Harris was elected as a delegate to the North Carolina Constitutional Convention on January 14, 1868. He represented an area with mostly Black voters. In 1868, he was reportedly the first Black person nominated for Congress in the United States, but he turned down the nomination. He attended the Republican National Conventions in 1868, 1872, and 1876. In 1868, Governor William Woods Holden appointed him to the Raleigh Board of Commissioners.

In 1869, he was president of the National Convention of Colored Men. That same year, he pushed for a new education bill to help public schools. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1868–1870 and 1883) and the North Carolina Senate (1872–1874). He also served as a Raleigh alderman and president of the State Equal Rights League.

Harris worked hard for laws that would give equal rights to Black people. He led a group that met with U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant to present their requests. He was also the vice president of the National Black Convention in 1877.

Harris ran for the United States House of Representatives twice but did not win. In 1870, he lost by a small number of votes. In 1872, he was a member of the U.S. Electoral College, voting for Ulysses S. Grant for president.

Challenges After Reconstruction

By 1874, a period called "Reconstruction" was ending. Laws were passed to take away the rights that African Americans had gained after the Civil War. Groups like the "Red Shirts" used threats to stop African Americans from voting. The Republican party sometimes chose only white candidates to try and win elections.

Harris moved to Warren County, North Carolina in 1876. In 1878, he ran against another Black Republican, James E. O'Hara. This split the Black vote and helped a white Democrat win the election.

Harris continued to be active in politics. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1884 and 1888. In 1888, he supported James G. Blaine for president. He later accepted a job in President Benjamin Harrison's government in Washington, D.C.

Community Building

Harris helped create a community near Raleigh called Oberlin. This was a place where formerly enslaved people could buy their first homes. It was named after Oberlin College and is seen as one of Harris's most important achievements. To help freedmen buy land and homes, Harris started the Raleigh Cooperative Land and Building Association.

He also helped establish the Black branch of the North Carolina Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind. This was the first school for blind African Americans in the country. He was a lifelong member of the North Carolina Agricultural Society.

North Carolina Republican Newspaper

In 1880, Harris returned to Raleigh and started a newspaper called the North Carolina Republican. This newspaper supported the Republican party and worked to help Black people advance.

Personal Life

James Henry Harris married Bettie Miller. They had two children, Florence (who died young) and David Henry Harris.

Harris died suddenly from heart disease in Washington, D.C. on May 31, 1891. He was buried in Raleigh's Mount Hope Cemetery. This cemetery was created for Black people after the City Cemetery ran out of space for them.

After his death, newspapers from both Republican and Democratic parties remembered him as a "gifted politician and a talented orator." His historical papers are kept at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh.

Legacy

A historical marker in Raleigh tells some of James H. Harris's story. It says: "James H. Harris 1832-1891. Black legislator & orator; member 1868 convention; a founder of Republican Party & Union League in N.C. Home was 1 block W."

Even with this marker, not a lot is widely known about him today. One journalist, Kate Pattison, suggested that Harris's legacy might have been lost because of the strong opposition after Reconstruction. During that time, formerly enslaved people continued to lose access to education, voting, and hope.