Hiram Revels

Synopsis

• Hiram R. Revels was born in 1822 to 1901.
• He was the first African American to serve in congress.
• He represented Mississippi in senate from 1870 to 1871.
• Hiram's mother died when he was young and his father ran out on their family

early life

• Hiram Rhodes Revels was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on September 27, 1827.
• Though 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's brother subsequently owned his own barbershop.
• After his brother's death, Revels inherited and ran the shop before leaving North Carolina to study at seminaries in Indiana and Ohio. In 1845, he was ordained as a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, working as an itinerant preacher.

Political career

• Hiram participated in the Civil War, organizing two black regiments for the Union Army. He also fought for the Union at the Battle of Vicksburg. then after the war, Hiram settled in Natchez, Mississippi, with his wife and daughters, and continued his career in the clergy. While their he quickly grew to be a respected member of the community, known for his keen intellect and oratorical skills. though he had no actual government experience, Revels gathe enough community support to win election to the position of alderman in 1868, during the first phase of Reconstruction. He then served briefly in the Mississippi State Senate.
• In 1870, the state congress selected Hiram to fill a vacant seat in the United States Senate. Thus arousing a Debate surrounding his eligibility hinged on the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which precluded African-American citizenship. Then 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 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.
• During his time in Washington, the press praised Revels for his well-crafted speeches and diplomatic approach to a tense congressional environment.

later life

• Revels resigned from the Senate after a year to accept the presidency of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, located in Claiborne County, Mississippi. He also served as an instructor in philosophy. This position at the historically black Alcorn allowed Revels to directly participate in the intellectual enrichment of African Americans—a cause for which he had fought while serving in the Senate.
• Also to his great leadership, and administrative teaching roles, Revels remained involved with the Methodist Church, continuing to preach publicly until the end of his life. Revels died on January 16, 1901.

famous quotes

• Educate the heart. Let us have good men.

how have he inspired me

• he has showed me that when people give you a no don't give up keep going until you get to the place you want to be at.
• also race has nothing to do with success you have to be willing to put in the work.

how have he affected our goverment

• he showed the goverment and people around the world just because african- Americans have a different skin complexity it changes nothing if i cut my arm i still have the same blood has white american's we shouldn't be treated differently and will not be treated differently
• A lot more african-american's are in senate for example our president