CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
With the end of the Civil War came the end of slavery in the American South. When the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 9, 1865, slavery was officially outlawed. Racial hostilities towards formerly enslaved men and women continued, and many white southerners opposed extending full rights of citizenship to African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment making African Americans full citizens was ratified in 1868 and the Fifteenth Amendment granting African American men the right to vote was ratified in 1870.
Black men in Virginia were able to vote for the first time in 1867 as a result of a law passed by Congress that year. Known as the First Reconstruction Act, the law required the former Confederate states to hold conventions to write new state constitutions. African American men were eligible to vote and to be elected to those conventions. On October 22, 1867, more than 90,000 Black men out of the 105,832 who had registered to vote in Virginia went to the polls to elect delegates to the convention in the election that was overseen by United States military officers. Of the 105 men elected to the convention, twenty-four were African Americans. The constitution was ratified in July 1869 and its democratic reforms included the right to vote for Black men.
In this engraving, artist Alfred Rudolph Waud depicted "The First Vote" of African Americans in Virginia. In the image, a white man is seen conducting the election while the new voters drop their ballots in the glass bowls. The engraving was published in the November 16, 1867, issue of Harper's Weekly magazine to commemorate that historic moment.
Citation: "The First Vote" drawn by A.R. Waud. Harper's Weekly, vol. 11, no. 568 (November 16, 1867), Special Collections, Library of Virginia.
Standards
History: VS.1, VS.7, USI.1, USI.9, VUS.1, VUS.7, GOVT.3,GOVT.4, GOVT.5
Art: 4.1, 5.1
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look closely at the lithograph depicting "The First Vote." What can you conclude about the three featured voters and why? Be specific in your answers.
Post Activities
Food For Thought: Given the tensions between the United States government and the former Confederate states at this time, why might the former Confederate states have been required to write new state constitutions?
Artistic Expression: Design a commemorative pin or button that could have been handed out to African Americans as they cast their first ballots. How would it differ from today's "I Voted" sticker and why?
Current Connections: What important political changes from today do you think are worthy of a Harper's Weekly cover? Why? Explain your answer.