1870s

The ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870, completing the trio of Reconstruction Amendments, legally abolished slavery, established birthright citizenship and equal protection, and guaranteed Black men the right to vote. These three amendments fundamentally transformed the constitutional order and remain the legal foundation for civil rights.

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution — prohibiting denial of the vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude — is ratified. Black communities across the South celebrated with parades and church services. Within months, Black voters had elected dozens of Black officials to local, state, and federal offices across the former Confederacy.

AME minister Hiram Revels of Mississippi is sworn into the U.S. Senate, occupying the seat once held by Jefferson Davis. Born free in North Carolina, Revels had organized Black Union regiments during the Civil War. His election by the Mississippi legislature broke the color barrier in the upper chamber of Congress.

Joseph Rainey of South Carolina, born enslaved, is sworn into the House of Representatives, becoming the first Black man to serve in that chamber. A skilled orator, he served five terms and forcefully advocated for the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and civil rights protections for Black Southerners.

Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback assumes the governorship of Louisiana after the impeachment of Gov. Henry Warmoth, serving until January 13, 1873. The son of a Mississippi planter and an enslaved woman, he remains the only Black governor in American history until Douglas Wilder in 1990.

Edward Bouchet became the first Black American to earn a PhD in the United States, completing his doctorate in physics at Yale University. He was only the sixth person of any race to earn a physics PhD in the US. Despite his credentials, he was barred from research universities and spent his career teaching at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia.

Meharry Medical College was founded in Nashville in 1876 by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, largely funded by Samuel Meharry. It became the first medical school in the South open to Black students and has trained more than 40 percent of all Black physicians and dentists in U.S. history.

Joseph Rainey of South Carolina became the first Black man seated in the House of Representatives in December 1870, joined by several others during Reconstruction including Jefferson Long and Robert Brown Elliott. This cohort represented the first substantial Black presence in Congress.

Hiram Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as the first African American to serve in the United States Senate, filling the seat once held by Jefferson Davis. His election by the Mississippi state legislature marked a defining moment of Reconstruction-era Black political power.

Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was sworn in December 12, 1870, as the first Black man to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Formerly enslaved, he had escaped to Bermuda during the war. He served five terms, advocated for the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and became the first Black man to preside over the House as Speaker pro tempore.

Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was sworn in on December 12, 1870 as the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. A former enslaved man who had served the Confederate Navy before escaping to the Bahamas, Rainey served five terms and became a forceful advocate for civil rights legislation and the enforcement of Reconstruction amendments.

Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was seated in the House of Representatives on December 12, 1870, becoming the first African American to serve in the U.S. House. Formerly enslaved, he served four terms and was a powerful advocate for civil rights legislation and the enforcement of the 14th Amendment.

Charlotte E. Ray graduates from Howard University Law School and is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, becoming the first Black woman attorney in the United States and only the third woman of any race admitted to the U.S. bar. She specialized in corporate law and real estate, though discrimination ultimately forced her to abandon her practice.

P.B.S. Pinchback served as Acting Governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873, after Governor Henry Clay Warmoth was impeached. Son of a white Mississippi planter and a formerly enslaved woman, Pinchback was the first Black governor in U.S. history. He later won election to both the Senate and House, though Congress denied him both seats.

P.B.S. Pinchback served as Acting Governor of Louisiana December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873, after Gov. Henry Clay Warmoth was impeached — the first Black governor in U.S. history. Son of a white planter and a formerly enslaved woman, Pinchback later won election to the Senate and House, though Congress denied him both seats.

Blanche Kelso Bruce of Mississippi became the first Black American to serve a full term in the US Senate and the first to preside over the Senate. Unlike Revels, he was elected to a complete six-year term, representing the high-water mark of Black political representation in the 19th century.

Edward Alexander Bouchet received a PhD in physics from Yale University in 1876, becoming the first African American to earn a doctorate from an American institution and only the sixth person in the U.S. to receive a physics PhD. Despite his brilliance, racism barred him from research universities; he taught at Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth.

Between 1870 and 1898, eighteen Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry receive the Medal of Honor for extraordinary valor in frontier service. Recipients include Sergeant Emanuel Stance (1870), the first Black Medal of Honor recipient since the Civil War, honored for repelling raids and rescuing captives near Fort McKavett, Texas.

The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Black communities celebrated with parades in cities across the North and South. Frederick Douglass called it "the most important event that has occurred since the nation came into existence." The amendment's reach was immediately contested: Southern states deployed poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and terrorism to nullify it in practice.

Sergeant Emanuel Stance of the 9th Cavalry receives the Medal of Honor for repelling raids and rescuing captives near Fort McKavett, Texas — the first Black Medal of Honor recipient since the Civil War. Between 1870 and 1898, eighteen Buffalo Soldiers total would receive the Medal of Honor for extraordinary frontier service.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers embarked on their first fundraising tour in 1871, performing African American spirituals for white audiences across America and Europe. Singing for Queen Victoria in 1873, they raised enough money to build Jubilee Hall — Fisk's first permanent building. They brought spirituals to international attention as a distinct American art form.

Nine students depart Fisk University in Nashville on a fundraising concert tour under director George White. Near-broke and facing racism at every turn, the ensemble introduced spirituals — 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,' 'Go Down, Moses' — to white Northern audiences. The tour raised $20,000 (equivalent to roughly $500,000 today), saving Fisk from closure.

Nine formerly enslaved students and freedpeople from Fisk University in Nashville began a world tour in 1871 to raise money for their cash-strapped institution. The Jubilee Singers introduced the African American spiritual — "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down Moses," "Deep River" — to Northern and European audiences. They raised $150,000, saved Fisk, and permanently established the spiritual as a recognized art form, performing for President Grant and Queen Victoria.

Nine Fisk University students began a world tour in 1871 to save their cash-strapped institution. The Jubilee Singers introduced African American spirituals — "Swing Low," "Go Down Moses," "Deep River" — to Northern and European audiences. They raised $150,000, saved Fisk, and performed for President Grant and Queen Victoria, permanently establishing the spiritual as a recognized art form.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers, students from Fisk University in Nashville, embarked on a fundraising tour that introduced African American spirituals to national and international audiences for the first time. Their performances before Queen Victoria and European royalty transformed the perception of Black music and culture, and their tours ultimately saved Fisk University from financial collapse.

John Roy Lynch, a formerly enslaved man from Natchez, Mississippi, was elected Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1872 at the age of 24, making him one of the youngest Speakers in the state's history. He subsequently won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served three terms and became a prominent voice for Reconstruction policy.

John Roy Lynch, formerly enslaved and self-taught to read, was elected Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1872 at age 24 — the youngest Speaker in state history. The following year he was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served three terms and delivered one of the key speeches for the Civil Rights Act of 1875. He later wrote The Facts of Reconstruction (1913).

John Roy Lynch, born enslaved in Louisiana, is elected Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives at age 24, the youngest Speaker in state history. He later served three terms in the U.S. Congress and wrote 'The Facts of Reconstruction' (1913), a definitive firsthand account refuting Lost Cause mythology.

John Roy Lynch, born enslaved, was elected Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1872 at age 24 — the youngest speaker in Mississippi history. He went on to serve three terms in the U.S. Congress, presiding over the 1884 Republican National Convention as temporary chairman, the first Black American to chair a major party national convention.

Charlotte E. Ray was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia in February 1872, becoming the first Black woman lawyer in the United States and the first woman admitted to the DC bar. She graduated from Howard University School of Law. Though racial and gender prejudice limited her practice, her admission was a landmark for both Black and women's professional equality.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers embark on a European tour, performing before Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm I, and other heads of state. Their renditions of African American spirituals earn standing ovations and introduce the world to a distinctly Black American art form. Total fundraising across multiple tours exceeded $150,000, building Jubilee Hall.

Henry Ossian Flipper entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1873 as the first African American cadet. Born enslaved in Georgia, he endured four years of total social ostracism from white classmates — eating, living, and drilling alone. He graduated in 1877, the first Black West Point graduate, and served as an officer with the Buffalo Soldiers on the western frontier.

Rep. Robert Brown Elliott of South Carolina delivered a celebrated speech on the House floor on January 6, 1874, rebutting former Confederate VP Alexander Stephens' opposition to the Civil Rights Act. Elliott's command of constitutional law and oratory electrified the chamber. Harper's Weekly called it 'the best speech of the session.' The speech was reprinted as a pamphlet and distributed nationwide.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers completed their second European tour in 1875, performing for Queen Victoria and heads of state across Europe. Their performances systematically preserved and presented Black spirituals in concert settings for the first time, raising over $150,000 for Fisk University and introducing African American sacred music as high art to international audiences.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers, founded in 1871 to raise funds for Fisk University, completed their second European tour in 1875, performing before Queen Victoria and heads of state across Europe. Their performances of Black spirituals — the first time these songs were systematically preserved and performed in concert settings — raised over $150,000 for Fisk and introduced the world to African American sacred music as high art.

Robert Smalls, who in 1862 had commandeered the Confederate vessel Planter and delivered it to Union forces — becoming a celebrated war hero — was elected to the U.S. House from South Carolina in 1875. He served five terms and was present on the floor when the Civil Rights Act of 1875 passed. He fought disenfranchisement into the 1890s and witnessed the reversal of all he had built.

Edmonia Lewis, the first professionally recognized Black American sculptor, exhibited her monumental marble Death of Cleopatra at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Lewis, who was also of Ojibwe heritage, trained in Rome and became the first Black American woman to receive international acclaim as a fine artist and sculptor. Her work confronted race, gender, and slavery through neoclassical form.

Sculptor Edmonia Lewis — of Chippewa and African American heritage — exhibited her monumental marble sculpture The Death of Cleopatra, weighing over 3,000 pounds, at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The work broke with idealized tradition to show Cleopatra realistically in death, and Lewis became the first professionally successful Black sculptor in American history.

Howard University Medical School, founded in 1868 in Washington, D.C., trained the majority of Black physicians in the United States during the late 19th century. By 1900 it had graduated hundreds of Black doctors who served communities almost entirely without access to white medical care. With Meharry Medical College (founded 1876), Howard produced over 90 percent of all Black doctors in America.

Meharry Medical College was founded in Nashville in 1876, the first medical school for Black students in the South. Together with Howard University Medical School, Meharry trained over 90 percent of all Black doctors in America through the late 19th century, serving communities with almost no access to white medical care.

Fisk University completes Jubilee Hall, a permanent brick building funded entirely by the Fisk Jubilee Singers' international concert tours. The $150,000 raised through performances for Queen Victoria, European royalty, and American audiences transformed a struggling freedpeople's school into an enduring institution. Jubilee Hall was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

Fisk University completes Jubilee Hall, a permanent brick building funded entirely by the Jubilee Singers' international concert tours. The $150,000 raised through performances for royalty and American audiences transformed a struggling freedpeople's school into an enduring institution. Jubilee Hall was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

Providence-based painter Edward Mitchell Bannister won the bronze medal for landscape painting at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition — the first Black artist to receive a major national art prize in the United States. His win was contested by judges who were surprised by his race, but fellow exhibitors rallied to uphold it.

Lewis Howard Latimer, a self-taught draftsman and son of fugitive slaves, drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone in 1876 — drawings so precise and compelling that they helped Bell secure the historic patent. Latimer went on to become a pioneering inventor in his own right, most notably developing an improved carbon filament that made Thomas Edison's incandescent lightbulb practical and affordable.

Sculptor Edmonia Lewis exhibited her massive 3,015-pound marble sculpture 'The Death of Cleopatra' at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The work depicted Cleopatra in the moments after death — a radical departure from idealized neoclassical convention. Lewis, of Black and Ojibwe heritage, was one of the first professionally successful Black American sculptors.

Providence painter Edward Mitchell Bannister wins the bronze medal at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition for his landscape 'Under the Oaks.' When organizers initially refused to believe a Black artist had won, fellow competitors vouched for him and insisted the medal stand. Bannister later co-founded the Providence Art Club, which became the Rhode Island School of Design.

President Rutherford Hayes appointed Frederick Douglass as U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia in 1877, making him the first African American to hold a presidentially appointed office confirmed by the Senate. The position had significant ceremonial and law-enforcement duties at the nation's capital.

Henry Ossian Flipper, born into slavery in Georgia, became the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 14, 1877. Despite four years of social ostracism from white cadets who refused to speak to him, he persevered and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, going on to serve with the Buffalo Soldiers' 10th Cavalry.

Canadian-born Black inventor Elijah McCoy patented his automatic lubricating cup for steam engines, allowing locomotives to be oiled while in motion. His device became so trusted that engineers insisted on 'the real McCoy,' giving rise to the popular phrase and marking a landmark in industrial innovation.

John Henry Conyers of South Carolina, appointed by Congressman Joseph Rainey, becomes the first African American to be admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Though he faced intense harassment and was ultimately forced out without graduating, his appointment demonstrated Black political power in Reconstruction and cracked open the door of military service academies.

Wilberforce University in Ohio, the first university owned and operated by African Americans (since 1856 under AME Church control), expands its programs in the 1870s and becomes a model for Black higher education. Under Bishop Daniel Payne and later presidents, it offers classical, theological, and normal education and graduates generations of Black teachers and ministers who fan out across the South.

Wilberforce University in Ohio, the first university owned and operated by African Americans (under AME Church control since 1856), expands its programs in the 1870s. Under Bishop Daniel Payne it offers classical, theological, and normal education, graduating teachers and ministers who spread Black education across the South.

Robert Brown Elliott, Black congressman from South Carolina, delivered a powerful speech on the House floor on January 6, 1874 in support of the Civil Rights Act, directly rebutting the arguments of former Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens. Elliott's eloquent defense of Black citizenship rights was widely reprinted and celebrated as one of the great speeches of the Reconstruction era, and his portrait hung in Black homes across the South for decades.

Richard Robert Wright Sr., born enslaved, became principal of Augusta's Ware High School in 1876 — a model Black institution — at age 21. When President Grant asked if he had a message for the North, the young Wright replied 'Tell them we are rising.' He later founded the Georgia State Industrial College and was a pioneering Black educator and banker.

Nat Love, born enslaved in Tennessee, won roping and shooting competitions at the 1876 Deadwood, South Dakota rodeo, earning the nickname 'Deadwood Dick.' His autobiography (1907) documented the role of Black cowboys — estimated at 25 percent of all trail hands — in the cattle industry. Love embodied Black participation in the mythologized American West.

Benjamin 'Pap' Singleton, a formerly enslaved Tennessee man, distributed over 60,000 circulars promoting Black emigration to Kansas and organized multiple colonization companies. Testifying before the Senate in 1880, he claimed credit for the entire Exodus movement. His organizing represented one of the most sophisticated mass-migration campaigns in 19th-century Black American history.

Nat Love, formerly enslaved in Tennessee, won the roping and shooting championship at Deadwood City's Fourth of July rodeo in 1876 and earned the nickname Deadwood Dick. His 1907 autobiography documented the significant but often overlooked role of Black cowboys, estimated to make up about a quarter of all cowboys in the post-Civil War West.

Pinchback serves as Louisiana governor — the first Black governor in US history.

Bouchet becomes the first African American to earn a doctorate in the US (physics, Yale).