Former slave Joseph Hayne Rainey entered the Capitol building as the first African American member of the U.S House of Representatives in December 1870. His great-granddaughter can only wonder what that was like for him. “He was the only one, the only Black man,” Lorna Rainey told VOA. She was just three years old when family members began sharing stories about Joseph Rainey’s place in history. “You know, there was something inside of him that said, ‘I’m not going to quit, and once I get to Washington, just watch what I’m going to do,’” she said. Bobby Donaldson said, “Joseph Rainey is someone who can be described as the founding father of our nation.” Donaldson is a history professor at the University of South Carolina. “He…helped to envision a nation following emancipation during this…era called Reconstruction,” Donaldson told VOA. The Reconstruction Era is the ten year period after the American Civil War. The United States struggled to reunite the North and the South and to establish the legal rights of African Americans during that time.
What was the Reconstruction Era?
the ten year period after the Civil War
the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
an amendment to the U.S. Constitution
the five year period after the Spanish American War
How can Joseph Rainey be described?
as an influential educator
as an activist
as a founding father of our nation
as a student
Joseph Hayne Rainey was the first African American member of the U.S House of Representatives.
the Supreme Court
the U.S House of Representatives
NASA
the Library of Congress