On Oct. 19, 1870 the first African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives.
Black Republicans won three of the four congressional seats in South Carolina: Joseph H. Rainey, Robert C. Delarge, and Robert B. Elliott. (Hiram Revels had been elected in 1869 and seated in 1870 to the Senate.)
![](https://s36500.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/First-House-of-Reps-650x492.jpg)
Senator Hiram R. Revels and Representatives Benjamin S. Turner, Josiah T. Walls, Joseph H. Rainey, Robert Brown Elliot, Robert D. De Large, and Jefferson H. Long. Source: Library of Congress.
The Reconstruction era of the United States is one the most important yet mis-represented (or ignored) periods in U.S. history.
Though often overlooked in classrooms across the country, Reconstruction was a period where the impossible suddenly became possible.
For lessons and resources, visit the #TeachReconstruction campaign to teach outside the textbook.
Learn more in the Zinn Education Project national report, “Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction,” and find teaching resources on Reconstruction below.
Twitter
Google plus
LinkedIn