That's the Black Fact: Introducing Hiram Rhodes Revels
Hiram Rhodes Revels
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By: Ervin Green
Introducing Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African American to serve on the United States Senate!
Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827 - 1901)
Hiram Rhodes Revels was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on September 27, 1827. Despite being born in the South in a time of widespread slavery, Revels was a member of a free family. He and his brother both apprenticed as barbers. Revels' in 1845 moved from North Carolina to study in Ohio and Indiana.
Revels participated in the Civil War, organizing two Black regiments for the Union Army. He also fought for the Union at the Battle of Vicksburg. He quickly grew to be a respected member of the community, known for his keen intelligence and oratorical skills. Having no previous government experience, Revels garnered enough community support to win election to the position of alderman in 1868, during the first phase of Reconstruction.
In 1870, the state congress selected Revels to fill a vacant seat in the United States Senate. Debate surrounding his eligibility hinged on the
1857 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.
He only held the seat for one year. He accepted the Presidency of HBCU Alcorn A&M College back in Mississippi. In addition to his administrative and teaching roles, Revels remained involved in the Methodist church, preaching until the end of his life on January 16, 1901.
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