Hiram Rhoades Revels was born on September 27, 1827 to free parents in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Although he was born free, throughout his childhood, African Americans in the south, free or slaves were not allowed to learn, read, and write. However with the help of a free black woman, Revels was secretly taught these basics. Around the age of 15, Revel and his family moved to Lincolnton, North Carolina where he served as an apprentice in his brother Elias" barber shop; before it was handed down to him after his brother passed away. While in Lincolnton, NC in 1844, Revel wanted to continue his education so he decided to move to Indiana (a free state) to attend Beech Grove Seminary, a Quaker school. .
Revels attended various schools and seminaries. Around 1845, Revels became involved with the teachings of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a major religious and educational force amongst black communities. Revels carried on with his religious work in Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maryland before he was ordained as Minister of the AME Church in 1845 and later ordained as an Elder in 1849.
In the early 1850's, Revels got married to Phoeba A. Buss, while together they had six daughters. In 1854, Revels traveled to speak to slave and free states in which he was put in prison in Missouri for preaching Gospel to Negroes. In 1857, he attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois for two years. After leaving Knox College he moved and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he became a Minister in the Methodist Episcopal (ME) Church while also becoming the Principal of an African American high school.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Hiram Revels helped organize two union regiments and recruit soldiers of the first African American regiment in Maryland. He then moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1863 to establish a school for African Americans where he recruited the ex-slave men for service in the Missouri regiment.
Arguments for why Reconstruction was not a failure The Reconstruction implemented by Congress reorganized the Southern states after the Civil War, readmitted them into the Union, and defined the means by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. Reconstruction was succ...
When Jefferson Davis left Mississippi for the job as the President of the Confederate States of America, Reverend Hiram Rhoades Revels was elected to fill the shoes of Jefferson Davis as Senator of Mississippi. The election of Reverend Revels made him the first ever African-American United States Senator, the term was only a year and a month. ... Revels such as: the first African-American senator to serve a full six year term Senator Blanche K. ... Revels was making history as the first African-American Senator, Joseph Hayne Rainey was making history as the first African-American Representati...
The first victory for the Radicals was the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. One of the main obstacles the Radicals came across was the opposition by Andrew Jackson. Jackson immediately vetoed the Civil Rights Act as soon as he could. But the Radicals held most of the power in Congress and o...
On February 25, 1870, visitors in the Senate galleries burst into applause as Mississippi senator-elect Hiram Revels of Mississippi entered the chamber to take his oath of office. ... Revels was about to become the first African American to serve in the Senate. ...
Immediately following the Civil War the actions of Radical Republicans led to many changes in the South. Leading the way to Radical Reconstruction was Congressmen Charles Sumner and Thadeus Stevens. Their were many goals and motives the Radicals hoped to obtain. The first and main goal of the Radica...
Black Americans, like oppressed groups elsewhere, have rarely accepted the subordinate position forced upon them by the larger white society. American racism and exploitation have generated black protest. Social scientists have documented the rebellious spirit and acts of protest by blacks as they l...
February is Black History Month A full appreciation of the celebration of Black History Month requires a review and a reassessment of the social and academic climate that prevailed in the Western world, and especially in North America before 1926 when Black History Month was established. It is im...
Introduction In forming a government for the people, by the people, and of the people, our Founding Fathers developed the idea a bi-cameral legislature. This Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and Senate, thus became known as the people's branch of government. American children are ...
