When was hiram revels elected to the senate

When Hiram Rhodes Revels traveled to Washington in , he brought a historic piece of paper with him: a handwritten document certifying his right to serve in the United States Senate. Revels was poised to become the first Black person to serve in Congress. Instead, the United States-born politician faced stiff debate from future colleagues over whether he was a citizen. Revels was born in North Carolina in The son of free Black parents, he was trained as a barber, but later pursued an education and a career as a preacher.

Ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, he traveled extensively, preaching throughout the Midwest and South. Revels challenged the social order in states like Missouri, which forbade free Black people to immigrate to the state and outlawed both preaching to and teaching Black people. Though Revels tried to sidestep the law by avoiding sermons that might instigate rebellion—the supposed reason behind forbidding free Black people from moving to Missouri—he was imprisoned for preaching in and left Missouri soon after.

Afterward, he founded schools and even protested segregation when his family was assigned seats in the smoking car of a train despite paying for a first-class seat. After he protested, they took their place in the first-class car. In , Revels moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where he built a reputation as a respected community leader. It also brought him to the attention of Reconstruction Republicans, who encouraged him to run for political seats that were finally open to Black politicians.

In , he was elected alderman of Natchez. And in , under the old system in which state legislatures selected national senators, he accepted an appointment to the U.

When Revels went to Washington in February , though, he met with an obstacle: Democratic Senators determined to block him from national service. They argued he had only been an American citizen since , when the Supreme Court overturned its Dred Scott decision , which had claimed African Americans were not U. The first argument was that a Senate candidate had to be a United States citizen for at least nine years before assuming office. The issue came to a head on February 23, , when Mississippi was officially admitted back into the Union, and a floor vote came up to seat Revels in the Senate.

After two days of debate, the vote came to seat Revels. In an account from the New York Times , the historic nature of the moment was apparent. Revels, the colored Senator from Mississippi, was sworn in and admitted to his seat this afternoon at o'clock. Republicans cut off objections from the southern Democrats, and the vote was to let Revels take his Senate seat.

Revels showed no embarrassment whatever, and his demeanor was as dignified as could be expected under the circumstances.

Teaching Activity. This role play engages students in thinking about what freedpeople needed in order to achieve—and sustain—real freedom following the Civil War. It's followed by a chapter from the book Freedom's Unfinished Revolution.

By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. Unit with three lessons on voting rights, including the history of the struggle against voter suppression in the United States. By Adam Sanchez. If We Knew Our History series. This Day in History. The Supreme Court declared in horrific Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling that "Any person descended from Africans, whether slave or free, is not a citizen of U.

Hiram Revels was sworn into office as senator from Mississippi, becoming the first African American to serve in the U. He then served briefly in the Mississippi State Senate. In , the state congress selected Revels to fill a vacant seat in the United States Senate. Debate surrounding his eligibility hinged on the Dred Scott decision, which precluded African American citizenship. The decision was effectively reversed by the ratification of the 14th Amendment after the Civil War. Democrats argued that Revels did not meet the nine-year citizenship requirement to hold congressional office given his ineligibility for citizenship through the war years.

Ultimately, Revels and his Republican allies prevailed by citing Revels's mixed-race background, and Revels became the first African American to serve in the United States Senate. His appointment was particularly symbolic in that the seat he occupied had previously belonged to Jefferson Davis , the president of the Confederacy. During his time in Washington, the press praised Revels for his well-crafted speeches and diplomatic approach to a tense congressional environment.

His signature issue was civil rights, including the integration of schools and equal opportunities for Black workers. Revels urged a moderate view on the restoration of Confederate citizenship. While the Radical Republicans in Congress called for harsh punishments to be meted out to Civil War rebels, Senator Revels took a milder view. He argued for the immediate restoration of citizenship to former Confederates, along with the secure enfranchisement, education and employment eligibility of African Americans.