1860s: Freedom at Last | 1870s: Representation | 1880s: Repression | 1890s: End of an Era | The Biographies | Conclusions

Home

The 1870s: Representation

 
The Freedmen's Bureau | The Union League | Representation | The Constitutional Convention of 1875 | William H. Holland | Matthew Gaines | Education

African-American representation in Texas government flourished in the 1870s, with 36 of the 52 politicians serving during this era. Imagine the oddity of this situation. In the late 1850s, African Americans were enslaved in the South and totally dependent upon whites to determine virtually every aspect of their lives. Just ten years later, ten African Americans were elected to serve in the 1868-69 Constitutional Convention.

Continue>>

Page last modified: April 22, 2015