BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

Reconstruction Congress

On January 8, 1867, During The First Year Of The Reconstruction Era, Congress Passed A Bill To Allow Blacks In Washington, DC To Vote, Despite A Veto By President Andrew Jackson.

By March, A Series Of Congressional Bills Were Passed That Put Army Generals In Control Of Confederate States, Ordered Constitutional Conventions To Be Held And Gave Blacks And Poor Whites Throughout The South Suffrage.

While Reconstruction Was Not A Social And Economic Panacea For Most Black Americans, From 1867 To 1877, Conditions Were Improved In Southern Schools, To Roads, Bridges, Ferries And Water Systems. Charities, Hospitals, Universities Were Also Established For Blacks (Poor Whites Benefited As Well). Blacks Made Their Presence Felt In Politics Too. They Held Posts As Senators, U.S. Representatives, Lieutenant Governors, Secretaries Of State, U.S. Treasurers And Even Acting Governors.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.