MAIN IDEA
READING Focus
KEY PEOPLE
During Congressional
Reconstruction,
African Americans
held political offices
and worked to
improve their lives.
• What key political offices did black.
state and local leaders hold?
P.B.S. Pinch back
Hiram Revels
Blanche K, Bruce
Joseph Rainey
fli'UlLDING
I ~uring
• Who were some of the significant
black congressional leaders?
• What changes did Republican
control bring to the South?
BACKGROUND
1867 and 1868 Congress and the us. Army took charge of Reconstruction.
The southern state governments created under President Johnson were dismantled, and
many white southerners lost political power. These changes enabled the Republicans to
gain control in many southern states. Republican officials included loyal white southerners as well as northerners who had come south. However, by far the largest group of
Republicans in the South was a newly empowered political group-black
men. With the
vote, African Americans would emerge as political leaders for the first time. II
\
Black State and Local Leaders
Under Congressional Reconstruction, political power in the South shifted. Many prewar southern officials and former Confederates lost the right to vote and hold office.
At the same time, hundreds of thousands of southern black men gained these rights.
In fact, black voters came to outnumber white voters in five southern states. This
black political power would open new doors for African Americans in the South.
-ci
~
~
~
~
.g'
<i:
~
~
~
"0
~
Q)
c;
C2
African Americans Participate in Government
Across the South, determined African Americans began actively participating in
government, despite white resistance. This participation began with the state constitutional conventions of 1867 and 1868. The Reconstruction Acts required that the
"seceded states hold these conventions to write new state constitutions. Moreover, the
states had to let African Americans take part. Large numbers of black men turned
out to vote for delegates to the state conventions, and black delegates were elected to
everyone. In fact, in Louisiana the number of black delegates equaled that of white
delegates, and in South Carolina black delegates formed the majority. The Charleston
Daily News praised the black delegates at the South Carolina convention.
HISTORY'S VOICES
"Beyond all question, the best men in the convention are the colored members
... They have assembled neither to pull wires like some, nor to make money
like others; but to legislate for the welfare of the race to which they belong."
-Charleston
Daily News, 1868
BLACKS IN THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA
149
1. Listthe significant .,,"""'.......
state political offices
that African Americans
held during Congressional
Reconstruction.
The new state constitutions that black delegates helped create expanded democracy and improved life for African Americans in several ways. As the Reconstruction
Acts required, all of the constitutions abolished slavery and gave the right to vote to
black men. Many of the state constitutions also did away with property qualifications for voting and holding political office. Furthermore, several of the constitutions
made more state offices elected rather than appointed, thus increasing voters' power.
African Americans Gain Political Office
... This 1872 print by Currier
& Ives honored the first
black members of the U.S.
Congress. In front from
left to right are Hiram
Revels (MS), Benjamin
Turner (Al), Josiah Walls,
(Fl), Joseph Rainey, (sq,
and Robert B. Elliott (sq.
In back from left to right
are Robert De large (SC)
and Jefferson long (GA).
After creating new state constitutions, the seceded states held elections. The large
number of black male voters in the South overwhelmingly supported the Republican
Party. With their help, the Republicans easily gained control of almost all of the new
southern state governments. Moreover, for the first time, black men won a number
of government offices. More than 600 African Americans were elected to southern
state legislatures. Other black leaders won important state offices, such as lieutenant
governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer. Even more African Americans were
elected to local political offices. In all, during Reconstruction more than 1,500 African Americans admirably served in state and local offices in the South.
These black officeholders came from a variety of backgrounds. They included
both southerners and northerners, both African Americans who had been enslaved
and those who had been free from birth. In general, though, the black leaders who
won political office tended to be better educated and wealthier than most African
Americans in the South. These black officials were often community or church leaders, and many had gained political experience by participating in black conventions .
In addition, at the state level, black officeholders were more likely to have been free
before the war than enslaved. However, many freedpeople held local offices.
The political influence of African Americans during Reconstruction varied from
state to state. Black political influence was strongest in South Carolina, which had a
large black population. There, black members controlled the lower house of the state
legislature until 1874. In addition, two black legislators-Samuel
J. Lee and Robert B.
Elliott -served as Speaker of the House. Other prominent black leaders in the state
included Alonzo J. Ransier and Richard H. Gleaves, who both served as lieutenant governor; Jonathan Jasper Wright, who served on the state Supreme Court; and Francis L.
Cardozo, who served as both secretary
of state and state treasurer.
Black political influence was
also strong in Louisiana and Mississippi. In both states, blacks were well
represented in the state legislatures,
although they never held control. In
Louisiana, three African Americans
served as lieutenant governor-Oscar
J. Dunn, P. B. S. Pinchback, and C. C.
Antoine. In 1872 Pinchback became
the first black governor when he held
the office for more than a month when
the elected governor was impeached.
In Mississippi, four African Americans held
significant state offices. A. K. Davis served as
lieutenant governor, and James Hill served as
secretary of state. T. W Cardozo was the state
superintendent of education, and John R. Lynch
was Speaker of the House.
In the other southern states, black leaders
held several offices but had less influence on state
politics. For example, African Americans were
underrepresented in the state governments in
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, and
Tennessee. In Virginia, Democrats kept control of
the state government, and few African Americans
gained political office.
In some states, black officeholders faced fierce
resistance from white southerners. For example,
in Georgia, the state legislature initially refused
to let the elected black members take their seats.
Not until a year later, after the Georgia Supreme
Court approved the black legislators, were they
able to take office. (i2"
Black Congressional Leaders
V'Reading Check
In addition to holding offices at the state and local levels, several African Americans
won election to the U.S. Congress during Reconstruction. James G. Blaine, a prominent white congressman, praised the conduct of these first black leaders in Congress.
"The colored men who took seats in both [the] Senate and [the 1 House did not
appear ignorant Of helpless:' Blaine wrote. "They were as a rule studious, earnest,
ambitious men, whose public conduct ... would be honorable to any race:'
3. Identify Cause and
Effect How did black men
gaining the right to vote affect
southern state governments?
Black Senators
-0
~
~
_c
.g'
«
"
~
~
~
~
c:
~
o
~
~
,~
1';:
(3
Two African Americans from Mississippi-Hiram
Revels and Blanche K. Bruceserved in the US. Senate. Hiram Revels was a free-born minister and educator, originally from North Carolina. In 1870 he became the nation's first black senator when
he took over the seat ofJefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy.
Revels served in the u.s. Senate until 1871. While in office, he fought against racial
segregation and earned respect for his skill as a speaker.
Blanche K. Bruce served in the US. Senate from 1875 to 1881, the first African
American to serve a full six-year Senate term. While in office, Bruce became known
for taking strong stands. He attacked election fraud and corruption and championed
increased civil rights for African Americans as well as for Chinese immigrants and
Native Americans. In addition, Bruce worked to increase education funding and to
improve commerce along the Mississippi River. In 1879 he again made history when
he briefly presided over the US. Senate, the first African American to do so. After his
term ended, Bruce held several other federal positions in Washington.
INFO TO
KNow
Only five African Americans
had served in the u.s. Senate
asof2007. Following Reconstruction, another black u.s.
senator was not elected until ,
1967, when Edward Brooke
of Massachusetts took office.
In 1992 Carol Moseley Braun
of Illinois became the first
black woman in the Senate.
I~
The most recently elected
II.
black senator was Barack
II
Obama, who was elected to
the Senate in 2004.
BLACKS IN THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA
I~
1 Sl
Black Representatives
Reading Check
4. Identify Which four prominent black men served in the U.s.
Congress during Reconstruction?
A total of20 African Americans served in the US. House of Representatives from
1870 to 1901. The first black congressman in the House was Joseph Rainey of South
Carolina. Born into slavery, Rainey had escaped during the Civil War. After the war,
he became involved in state politics and briefly served in the South Carolina Senate.
He later won election to the US. House of Representatives, where he served three
terms from 1871 until 1879. While in office, Rainey focused on improving civil
rights for African Americans.
Another prominent black congressman was Robert B. Elliott. Highly educated,
Elliott graduated from Eton College in England before going to South Carolina to
practice law. After holding several state offices, he served in the US. House from
1871 to 1874. Outspoken in his views, Elliott fought, without success, to have the
vote taken away from all southern white men. if'
Republican Control in the South
<,
The Republican-dominated state governments in the South made many progressive
reforms under Congressional Reconstruction. These reforms included improvements in civil rights, education, state facilities, and transportation. At the same time,
African Americans formed their own institutions to improve their lives in the South.
Southern State Governments
c
.,8
40
til
:i
a.
...8.
30
~
20
o
til
C
GI
~
:.
10
Year
Source: Historical Statistics of the
United States
Skills
FOCUS
IN1UPRETING'
GRAPHS
~
.
5. How much did the percentage of
African Americans enrolled in schools
increase from 1870 to 1880?
152 CHAPTER 6
The South's Republican state governments worked to expand and
protect citizens' rights, including those of African Americans. The
new state constitutions had already expanded voting rights and made
government more democratic. Building on this foundation, all southern states repealed the Black Codes. Furthermore, some states in the
Lower South made discrimination against African Americans illegal
in hotels, on trains, and in other public facilities. Several states also
expanded rights for married women.
Republican governments improved state services and facilities
as well. One of the most significant improvements was the creation
of public school systems, which were virtually nonexistent in the
South before Reconstruction. With the spread of public education,
the number of black children enrolled in school skyrocketed between
1870 and 1880, as the graph on the left shows. In addition, Republican governments built badly needed state facilities, such as hospitals,
orphanages, and mental institutions. However, in most of the South
white and black citizens were not allowed to use the same schools or
state facilities.
To help rebuild the South and its economy, Republicans funded an
extensive building program. Workers built new bridges and thousands
of miles of new roads and railroads. Black leaders sought land reform
as well to help freedpeople achieve economic independence, but with
little success. A few states passed laws to try to help freedpeople buy
land, but none approved seizing Confederate lands.
-0
0:::
"'
~
~
o
~
0:::
1;
C1
.~
(3
The needs in the South were great, and the Reconstruction state governments
spent millions of dollars on improvements and building programs. To raise this
money, the governments issued bonds and raised taxes, particularly taxes for large
landowners. Meanwhile, Republicans decreased taxes for poor southern farmers.
These government changes angered many of the white southern leaders and planters
who had previously controlled the South. This anger further inflamed the hatred that
many white southerners had for African Americans and white Republicans.
Black Institutions
While Republican state leaders worked to reform the South, industrious African
Americans established institutions to help themselves. Black groups raised money to
form institutions such as soup kitchens, orphanages, schools, and employment agencies. Some of the most important black institutions were churches. Under slavery,
African Americans had often been forced to worship in white churches. With freedom, however, black men and women began to found and build their own churches.
In addition, many black southerners joined northern black religious groups, such as
the American Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, founded in Pennsylvania in the
1790s. In the South, black churches quickly began to serve as important community
centers; and black ministers, as community leaders-roles that continue today.
Some black churches founded southern black colleges to provide African Americans with greater access to a higher education. Springfield Baptist Church founded
Morehouse College in Georgia in 1867 to educate ministers and teachers. Today the
college is best known for its most famous graduate-Martin
Luther King lr., who did
his early studies there. The Freedmen's Bureau and other groups founded black colleges as well. Howard University, named after the head of the Freedmen's Bureau, was
founded in Washington, in 1867. A Union general who had led black troops during
the Civil War founded Hampton Institute in Virginia in 1868. Hampton's focus on job
training became the model for most black colleges in the South. The American Missionary Association founded seven black colleges during this period, including Fisk
University in Nashville, Tennessee. Unlike many other black colleges, Fisk stressed
obtaining a higher education rather than job training. it'
Skills .
FOCUS
DiSTINGUISHING
FROM OPINION
.
FACT
-
'
-
,
6. Is the underlined sentence
in the paragraph to the left a
fact or an opinion? How can
you tell?
V'Reading Check
7. Summarize What did the
Republican-dominated
state
governments accomplish under
Congressional Reconstruction?
.,,;
~
~
~
~ Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People
0'>
~
Choosethe letter of the name at right that best matches each description.
8. The first African American to serve in the U.s, House of Representatives
9. The black congressman who unsuccessfully tried to have the right to vote
taken away from all southern white men
.g::c
10. The first African American to serve a full six-year term in the U.s. Senate
-
11. The first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate
a. Hiram
Revels
b. Blanche K. Bruce
c. Joseph Rainey
d. P.B.S. Pinch back
e.
Robert B. Elliott
e-,
.0
e
.s:
.S!'
~
.3
__
12. The black lieutenant governor who briefly served as governor of Louisiana
BLACKS IN THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA
153