On todays date in 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, was sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American to sit in Congress. Born a free man to parents of African and European ancestry, Revels trained as a barber before studying religion in seminary school. As a chaplain in the United States Army, Revels helped to recruit and organize two black Union regiments during the Civil War, taking part at the battle of Vicksburg in Mississippi. During Southern Reconstruction, Revels was elected alderman in Natchez, Mississippi, moved onto the State Senate, and was eventually elected by his fellow state senators to fill one of Mississippis vacant seats in the U.S. Senate. During his single year in the position, Revels vigorously supported racial equality and argued to offer amnesty to ex-Confederates.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 18:00:00 +0000
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