Hiram Rhodes Revels, US, First African American Senator

January 20. Hiram Rhodes Revels. Revels was a US citizen, never a slave, not the son of slaves. In fact, there was no history of slavery in his family. Still, some history books refer to him as a freedman—an emancipated slave. It just wasn’t true.

Today’s story takes place immediately after the Civil War, when—for many people—prejudice and slavery were life-and-death issues.

Revels stepped into history at this point to represent the people of the State of Mississippi. On this date in 1870, the US Senate chose Revels to fill a Mississippi seat. But it turned out, in effect, Revels represented all the African Americans in the country. Here’s how that happened.

When we drop old grievances, we gain powerful voices.

Before the Civil War, Revels had been an ordained minister and a high-school principal. And during the Civil War, he was a US Army Chaplain.

Then, after the Civil War—with the United States in the middle of reconstruction—Revels helped Mississippi settle “on a basis of justice and political-and-legal equality.” In a state where, before the war, fewer than 1,000 African Americans could get a basic education, Mississippi needed this articulate, principled man of education.

But Revels was reluctant to take a political office. It might interfere with his work of spreading the gospel. That was a serious obstacle, but Revels saw the need. African Americans needed to be represented, and they certainly needed change.

Revels also saw the opportunity to serve, and he earned a seat in the state’s reconstructive government as an alderman. His political stance was moderate and compassionate, so he gained the respect of a wide spectrum of voters.

On opening day, Revel prayed with passion, and that took him from a little-known politician to the one everyone noticed. The top responsibility of the new state legislature was to fill Mississippi’s empty seats in the US Senate—seats vacated by Jefferson Davis and Albert Brown when Mississippi seceded from the Union in 1861.

Mississippi chose Revels. On February 23rd, 1870, when Mississippi was readmitted to the Union, Revels was waiting in Washington.

But controversy flared. Senate Republicans fought to swear Revels in immediately, but Democrats tried to block it.

Some Democrats argued Mississippi was under military rule and lacked the civil government necessary to confirm Revel’s appointment. Others said that Revels wasn’t a US Citizen until the 14th Amendment passed in 1868, so he was disqualified to serve because he had only been a US citizen for two years—even though, before the war, he had voted in Ohio.

The Republicans rallied for Revels.

“All men are created equal, says the great Declaration,” Republican Senator Charles Sumner roared, “and now a great act attests this verity. Today we make the Declaration a reality.” The US Senate voted for Revels’s appointment 48 to 8. And Revels proved himself as “a representative of the State, irrespective of color.”

Revels’s Christian beliefs played out in his politics. He staunchly advocated for amnesty for former Confederates who were willing to swear allegiance to the Union. He also promoted peace and strove to allay fear as he promoted the rights of his race. He said that African Americans “can be built up and assisted … in acquiring property, in becoming intelligent, valuable, useful citizens, without one hair upon the head of any white man being harmed.”

Congress required Georgia to reinstate its African American legislators—those forced from office when the state seceded—before it could re-enter the Union, but other Georgians did not want to comply, and the African American legislators appealed for help to the federal government.

Revels’s first speech was to fight for their reinstatement. That day the gallery was full of freedmen and women. He “rose to plead for protection for the defenseless race that now sends their delegation … to sue for that which this Congress alone can secure to them.” He said that the people of the North owed a deep obligation to their African American citizens. Revels’s stand against segregation hinged on the favor of God. “I find that the prejudice in this country to color is very great, and I sometimes fear that it is on the increase. … If the nation should take a step for the encouragement of this prejudice … can they have any ground upon which to predicate a hope that Heaven will smile upon them and prosper them?”

Jesus said: “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25 NIV).

Is there a situation in your life that you could speak healing into? When we drop old grievances, we gain powerful voices.

Lawson, Elizabeth. The Gentleman From Mississippi: Our First Negro Representative, Hiram R. Revels. New York: privately printed, 1960. “REVELS, Hiram Rhodes.” Accessed September 1, 2020. HISTORY, ART & ARCHIVES: UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/R/REVELS, -Hiram-Rhodes-(R000166)/. Congressional Globe, Senate, 41st Cong. , 2nd sess. February 25, 1870: 1567. Congressional Globe, Senate, 41st Cong. , 2nd sess. March 16, 1870: 1986–1988. Congressional Globe, Senate, 41st Cong. , 3rd sess. February 8, 1871: 1059–1060. Congressional Globe, Senate, 41st Cong. , 2nd sess. May 17, 1870: 3520.

Story written by: Paula Moldenhauer, http://paulamoldenhauer.com/