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William Woods Holden was an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th governor of North Carolina. He was appointed by President Andrew Johnson in 1865 for a brief term and then elected in 1868. He served until 1871 and was the leader of the state's Republican Party during the Reconstruction Era.
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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.
The 1868 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held for two days from June 2 to June 3, 1868, to elect the governor of South Carolina; elections for statewide offices were held following the ratification of the South Carolina Constitution of 1868 on April 16. Republican Robert Kingston Scott won the election largely with the support of the newly enfranchised black vote and became the state's 74th governor.
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John Lee was a state legislator who served in the South Carolina State Senate during the Reconstruction era from 1872 until 1874.
Robert Simmons was a farmer and state legislator who served in the South Carolina State Senate from 1882 until 1886.
Henry Eppes was a seven-term Republican senator in the North Carolina General Assembly between 1868 and 1900. He was one of about 111 African Americans to serve in North Carolina's state legislature between 1868 and 1900 and one of the few who served during and after reconstruction. Because of Jim Crow Laws, no African American followed Eppes in the North Carolina legislature until 1968 when civil rights were restored. Eppes also served as a delegate for Halifax County to North Carolina's 1868 Constitutional Convention.
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References
- 1 2 3 Foner, Eric (1 August 1996). Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8 . Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "Robert Fletcher - Republican convention in Richmond County Jul 1870". Wilmington Journal. 1 July 1870. p. 3. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ↑ "Official: Headquarters Second Military District". The Daily Standard. 21 May 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "Third District: Sub-Electors". The Weekly Standard. 21 October 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "Richmond County". The Charlotte Democrat. 5 July 1870. p. 2. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "1870 Robert Fletcher running against H.S.Wade". The Eagle. 7 July 1870. p. 2. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "Robert Fletcher favors Holder Impeachment". The Tarborough Southerner. 1 September 1870. p. 1. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "Members of the State Legislature". The People's Press. 2 September 1870. p. 3. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "To the Colored People of North Carolina". Tri-Weekly Era. 20 January 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "The Next House of Representatives". The Raleigh News. 12 September 1872. p. 1. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "The Richmond Radicals". The Daily Journal. 14 June 1874. p. 4. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ↑ "Victory Assured! Richmond County Republican Convention". Spirit of the South. 9 September 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
