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The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a federal agency after the War, from 1865 to 1872, to direct "provisions, clothing, and fuel...for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen and their wives and children".
More than 1,500 African American officeholders served during the Reconstruction era (1865–1877) and in the years after Reconstruction before white supremacy, disenfranchisement, and the Democratic Party fully reasserted control in Southern states. Historian Canter Brown Jr. noted that in some states, such as Florida, the highest number of African Americans were elected or appointed to offices after the end of Reconstruction in 1877. The following is a partial list of notable African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900. Dates listed are the year that a term states or the range of years served if multiple terms.
This is a selected bibliography of the main scholarly books and articles of Reconstruction, the period after the American Civil War, 1863–1877.
Anthony Crawford was an African American man who was killed by a lynch mob in Abbeville, South Carolina on October 21, 1916.
Henry McNeal Turner was an American minister, politician, and the 12th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). After the American Civil War, he worked to establish new A.M.E. congregations among African Americans in Georgia. Born free in South Carolina, Turner learned to read and write and became a Methodist preacher. He joined the AME Church in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1858, where he became a minister. Founded by free blacks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the early 19th century, the A.M.E. Church was the first independent black denomination in the United States. Later Turner had pastorates in Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
Joseph Newman Clinton was a politician and public official in Florida. An African American, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from Alachua County from 1881 to 1883, was a member of the city council in Gainesville from 1883 to 1885, and was a federal official in Pensacola and Tampa.
Joseph Crews was a Reconstruction militia leader who served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1874 until his assassination in 1875. He was the state's highest-ranking military official in the 1870s and was put in charge of the state militia whose main purpose was to protect African-American voters. African-Americans were 58.9% of the population of South Carolina in 1870. He was reportedly murdered by Democrats in the run-up to the 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election.
Hiram W. Duncan was a state senator in South Carolina during the Reconstruction era.
Henry W. Webb was a political leader in Reconstruction era South Carolina. He was a delegate to the South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1868 and elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives the same year.
Thomas W. Stringer (1815–1893) was an American Christian minister in the A.M.E. Church, state senator in Mississippi, Prince Hall Mason, and the founder of the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. He helped organize churches, schools, and fraternal organizations. He was elected to the Mississippi Senate in 1869 and served from 1870 until 1871.
Alfred Rush was a state representative in South Carolina during the Reconstruction era, serving two non-consecutive terms between 1868 and 1876. Rush was one of four men who represented Darlington County, South Carolina, three of whom were African Americans and one was white. Rush was elected to serve just a few years after the Civil War (1861–1865). He was ambushed and murdered on May 13, 1876.
Andrew Jackson Junius was a carpenter, Baptist minister and state representative in Florida. He represented Jefferson County, Florida in the Florida House of Representatives in 1879.
Lucien Fisher, sometimes spelled Lucian Fisher, was a state legislator in Florida. He represented Leon County in the Florida House of Representatives. He served in 1875.
Allen Hudson was a constable and state legislator in South Carolina. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1874 to 1876 representing Lancaster County. He was African-American.
David Higgins was an African American preacher and state legislator in Mississippi between 1870 and 1872. He was a Republican.
James H. Alston was an American state legislator in Alabama. He served in the legislature in 1868 and from 1869 to 1879.
John E. Hussey was a grocer, boardinghouse owner, and state legislator in North Carolina. He was African-American and represented Craven County in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889.
Richard Tucker was a carpenter, undertaker, and state legislator in North Carolina. He represented Craven County in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1870 and in the North Carolina Senate in 1874 during the Reconstruction era.
William H. Moore was a state legislator in North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives during the Reconstruction era. He represented New Hanover County and served with other African Americans in the state legislature. His post office was in Wilmington, North Carolina. He served with Henry Brewington and Alfred Lloyd who also represented New Hanover in the 1874-1875 session. All three were African Americans.
Julius Caesar Tingman was an American soldier, South Carolina state legislator, and farmer.
References
- 1 2 Work, Monroe N.; Staples, Thomas S.; Wallace, H.A.; Miller, Kelly; McKinlay, Whitefield; Lacy, Samuel E.; Smith, R.L.; McIlwaine, H.R. (Jan 1920). "Some Negro Members of Reconstruction Conventions and Legislatures and of Congress". The Journal of Negro History. 5 (1). The University of Chicago Press: 63–119. doi:10.2307/2713503. JSTOR 2713503. S2CID 149610698.
- ↑ Maxwell, Steve (2020-08-25). "Guest column: Yes, Black lives do matter". Index-Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
- ↑ Rubin, Hyman S. III (2019-05-09). "Reconstruction". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
- ↑ "Legislative Proceedings". The Daily Phoenix. Columbia, South Carolina. 1868-11-29. Archived from the original on 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
- ↑ "An Atrocious Murder". The Abbeville Press. 1868-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2020-09-08.