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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC09400.007 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of letters of the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate |
| Title | A Policy for the Blacks. Letter to a Colored Mississippian |
| Date | 14 April 1877 |
| Author | Redpath, James (1833-1891) |
| Document Type | Broadside |
| Content Description | This broadside is titled "A Policy for the Blacks. Letter to a Colored Mississippian" and is summarized at the top in a paragraph "The President's Policy Discussed by a Radical Republican - Duty Of The Colored People - No Further Allegiance due to the Republican Party - Why the Blacks should join the Democratic Party" The main part of the broadside is a detailed step by step argument of why African Americans should join the Democratic party. It is all a reaction to President Hayes polices that the author feels have abandoned the African Americans and will not help them. The author James Redpath was an abolitionist, friend and follower of John Brown. Senator Bruce is mentioned in the 11th section of the argument. |
| Subjects | African American History African Americans in Government Congress Reconstruction Government and Civics Politics Republican Party Democratic Party President |
| People | Bruce, Blanche Kelso (1841-1898) Redpath, James (1833-1891) |
| Place written | Washington, D.C. |
| Theme | Government & Politics; African Americans |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | Blanche Kelso Bruce was born into slavery near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Va. on March 1 1841. He was tutored by his master's son, but left his master at the beginning of the civil war and taught school in Hannibal Mo. After the civil war Bruce became a planter in Mississippi, and a member of the Mississippi Levee Board, and Sheriff and Tax Collector for Bolivar County from 1872-1875. Bruce was then elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, where he served from March 4 1875 - March 3 1881. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. In 1881 Bruce was appointed by President James Garfield as the Register of the Treasury. Bruce then went on to serve as the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Colombia from 1891-1893, returning to the office of Register of the Treasury from 1897 until his death on March 17, 1898. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |