Notable Americans: Hiram Revels

In this week before the election, I think we've all heard quite enough (and then some) from and about the candidates in our area. Over the next few days, TBL will endeavor to remain in the political spirit of the season without beating the metaphorical dead horses, by presenting information on some interesting characters from our nation's political past.

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Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827 – 1901)

The first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate, Hiram Revels represented Mississippi during Reconstruction. The son of a free man of mixed race and an emancipated slave, Revels was born free in 1827 and trained as a barber before studying at a Quaker seminary, Knox College, and a black seminary prior to being ordained as a minister. He served as both chaplain and soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, returning to the ministry at war's end.

After being elected to the post of city Alderman in Natchez, MS, then to the state senate, he was selected to fill the last year of the Senate term formerly held by Jefferson Davis, who had left the US Senate to become President of the Confederate States of America. During his short term in the Senate, he worked with little success toward racial equality.

After leaving the Senate, he went on to serve as president of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College and later as interim Secretary of State for Mississippi.

Read the Wikipedia article on Hiram Revels here.