Party Alliance

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In national politics, there is a distinct Black presence during the Reconstruction Era - two served in the Senate and 20 in the House of Representatives. The two Senators, Hiram R. Revels (left) and Blanche Bruce (right) though from different backgrounds were from Mississippi. What seems amazing about this period is that the North could not boast of the same gains, doing Reconstruction, as the South.

Hiram R. Revels was born in North Carolina a free man. He spent time in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois were he was educated and ultimately became an A.M.E. minister.

(Side note: Revels attended Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce.) He served one year in the Senate where he was responsible for an appointment of a Black cadet to West Point.

Blanche K. Bruce was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1874 and the only Black to serve a full-term until nearly 100 years later in 1966. Unlike Revels, Bruce was born a slave. He escaped while in St. Louis, Missouri, eventually settling in Mississippi, where he entered politics, serving as tax collector, sheriff and superintendent of schools. While in the Senate, his interests were in education and race-relations.

The �rst of the 20 African-Americans to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives were seated in 1869. Eight from South Carolina, 4 from North Carolina, 3 from Alabama and one each from Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia. Most had served at some level in a state capacity before election to national of�ce James Rainey and Robert Smalls both of South Carolina, each served �ve consecutive terms. While about half of the men had been freeborn, Smalls was a former slave.

It should be interesting to observe that none of the Black men who served as national legislatures were Northern born. Northern politicians who served during Reconstruction were somewhat con�icted - They celebrated Black participation, but did not want Black control and called for economic reform, but were extreme protectionist of White owned property. Perhaps surprisingly, Black politicians were generally in agreement with their Northern colleagues.

By the time Reconstruction was overthrown in 1877, African-Americans had voted, held of�ce and exercised some degree of power in the political system, both at the local and national levels. Political participation became increasing more dif�cult for African-Americans. Laws were enacted to keep Blacks disenfranchised (remember the literacy test you took earlier?). In reality the laws and the violence that erupted surrounding Black political participation, effectively kept the community disenfranchised for decades.

Let s take a look at South Carolina. If Black political participation could have been successful anywhere during Reconstruction it would have been in South Carolina. There, the Black population clearly outnumbered the White population. There, the political leadership was stronger, both numerically and in in�uence The problem is that after the Compromise of 1877, Blacks were unable to maintain political power. Thomas Holt in the book Black Over White wrote: "Within Negro political leadership in South Carolina during Reconstruction a major struggle emerged between the freeborn mulattos and slave-born Blacks and mulattos." Out of 255 African-Americans elected to both state and federal of�ce between 1868 and 1876, one-quarter had been born free, one-third were mulatto.

Mary Frances Berry, author of Long Memory, argues that though on the surface it appears there was a division based on color, classism is a more precise cause of the division between the two groups. The mulatto group had more wealth. Most were formally educated. Teachers and preachers dominated their professions. Those engaged in agriculture tended to be land owners, not laborers.

Another signi�cant reason for the ultimate disenfranchisement of Blacks politically after Reconstruction was the way in which Blacks entered into politics The reality is that they had no political experience in partisan politics, as elected of�cials. Keep in mind during the Antebellum period, Blacks were �ghting for the mere right to vote. Leadership experience had previously been limited to the church, organizations within the church, and to a limited degree the Army. All a far cry from being in the trenches as an elected of�cial to local, state, or federal of�ce.

Blacks loss of power to Democrats in South Carolina started early in 1876 when President Rutherford B. Hayes withdrew federal troops from the State. The in mid-1876, the Hamburg attack of a Black militia company during an attack by Whites on a barracks, marked the end of Republican rule in South Carolina. Wade Hampton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate along with his militia, the Red Shirts, forced Republican of�cials to resign their of�ces and took control of the local government - in effect, a coup.

It can be argued that greater unity among Republicans would have prevented the overthrow of Reconstruction. However, keep in mind the Black politicians were not experienced and Northern White support intermittent and often more radical than the time period dictated. Given the restrictions of the period, it can be celebrated that a Black presence was seen during the period of Reconstruction, even in spite of the limitations placed on these men.

Berry, M. F. (1983). Long Memory: The Black Experience In America. New York: Oxford University Press.