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Hiram Revels

Hiram Revels
Artist
Mathew Brady Studio, active 1844 - 1894
Sitter
Hiram Rhoades Revels, 27 Sep 1827 - 16 Jan 1901
Date
c. 1870
Type
Photograph
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 9.5 × 5.6 cm (3 3/4 × 2 3/16")
Mount: 10.7 × 6.4 cm (4 3/16 × 2 1/2")
Mat: 45.7 × 35.6 cm (18 × 14")
Topic
Interior
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Photographic format\Carte-de-visite
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Male
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Politics and Government\US Senator\Mississippi
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Pastor
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Politics and Government\State Senator\Mississippi
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Liljenquist Family Collection
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2019.90
Exhibition Label
Born Fayetteville, North Carolina
When Hiram Revels joined the U.S. Senate on February 25, 1870, he became the first African American to serve in Congress. Born in freedom, Revels was a clergyman and educator who settled in Mississippi after the Civil War. In 1869, he won election to the state legislature, where one of that body’s first orders of business was to fill the two U.S. Senate seats vacated when Mississippi seceded from the Union in 1861.
Elected by his colleagues to complete the Senate term that would expire in March 1871, Revels (a Republican) traveled to Washington, D.C., in January 1870 to claim his seat. Senate Democrats tried to bar his admission, but those efforts ultimately failed. During his brief tenure—Revels did not seek reelection—he voiced principled opposition to the continued segregation of Washington’s schools. Yet he also supported amnesty for former Confederates willing to pledge their loyalty to the United States.
Nacido en Fayetteville, Carolina del Norte
Cuando Hiram Revels se incorporó al Senado el 25 de febrero de 1870, era el primer afroamericano en el Congreso. Nacido libre, Revels fue un clérigo y educador que se radicó en Misisipi después de la Guerra Civil. En 1869 ganó las elecciones para la legislatura estatal, la cual debía llenar con urgencia las dos vacantes del Senado de EE.UU. producidas por la secesión de Misisipi en 1861.
Revels (republicano) fue elegido por sus colegas para completar el período senatorial que terminaría en marzo de 1871, y viajó a Washington D.C. en enero de 1870. Los senadores demócratas trataron de impedir su admisión, pero fracasaron. Durante su breve término—no buscó la reelección—Revels manifestó su oposición moral a la segregación en las escuelas de Washington. En cambio, apoyó la amnistía de los antiguos confederados que estuvieran dispuestos a jurar lealtad a EE.UU.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view