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Event

Joseph H. Rainey becomes the First African American U.S. Representative in 1870

December 12, 1870
By: Oregon Education Association
Published: July 31, 2023

Joseph H. Rainey, from South Carolina, took his seat on Dec. 12, 1870, becoming the first African-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. On April 1, 1871, he gave his first major speech, arguing for the use of federal troops to protect African Americans from the Ku Klux Klan.

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