Feb 25, 1870:African American congressman sworn in
.article-header
.date-nav
Hiram Rhoades Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, is sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress.
During the Civil War, Revels, a college-educated minister, helped form African American army regiments for the Union cause, started a school for freed men, and served as a chaplain for the Union army. Posted to Mississippi, Revels remained in the former Confederate state after the war and entered into Reconstruction-era Southern politics.
In 1867, the first Reconstruction Act was passed by a Republican-dominated U.S. Congress, dividing the South into five military districts and granting suffrage to all male citizens, regardless of race. A politically mobilized African American community joined with white allies in the Southern states to elect the Republican party to power, which in turn brought about radical changes across the South. By 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and most were controlled by the Republican Party, thanks in large part to the support of African American voters.
On January 20, 1870, Hiram R. Revels was elected by the Mississippi legislature to fill the Senate seat once held by Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy. On February 25, two days after Mississippi was granted representation in Congress for the first time since it seceded in 1861, Revels was sworn in.
Although African Americans Republicans never obtained political office in proportion to their overwhelming electoral majority, Revels and some 15 other African American men served in Congress during Reconstruction, more than 600 served in state legislatures, and hundreds of African Americans held local offices.
.article.copy
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us!
.date-nav
This Week in History, Feb 25 – Mar 3
- Feb 25, 1870
- African American congressman sworn in
- Feb 25, 1986
- Marcos flees the Philippines
- Feb 26, 1935
- Hitler organizes Luftwaffe
- Feb 26, 1949
- Lucky Lady II begins nonstop global flight
- Feb 26, 1984
- Last U.S. Marines leave Beirut
- Feb 26, 1993
- World Trade Center bombed
- Feb 27, 1897
- Britain recognizes U.S. authority over Western Hemisphere
- Feb 27, 1922
- Supreme Court defends women’s voting rights
- Feb 27, 1964
- Leaning Tower needs help
- Feb 27, 1973
- AIM occupation of Wounded Knee begins
- Feb 28, 1982
- Getty Museum endowed
- Feb 28, 1993
- ATF raids Branch Davidian compound
- Feb 28, 1994
- First NATO Military Action
- Mar 01, 1692
- Salem Witch Hunt begins
- Mar 01, 1954
- Puerto Rican nationalists wound five representatives
- Mar 01, 1961
- Peace Corps established
- Mar 01, 1966
- Soviet probe crashes into Venus
- Mar 02, 1807
- Congress abolishes the African slave trade
- Mar 02, 1836
- Texas declares independence
- Mar 02, 1972
- Pioneer 10 launched to Jupiter
- Mar 03, 1820
- Congress passes the Missouri Compromise
- Mar 03, 1863
- Congress passes Civil War conscription act
- Mar 03, 1918
- Russia makes a separate peace
- Mar 03, 1931
- “The Star-Spangled Banner” becomes official
- Mar 03, 1991
- Police brutality caught on video
.this-week-in-history
StephenKMackSD's Blog 