Legislature of Virginia, Photograph, 1871

The end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery in 1865 led to important changes in American politics, especially in the former slave states. The most dramatic were changes to state constitutions and the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that granted the vote to Black men.

The new Virginia constitution ratified in 1869 was drafted by a biracial group of delegates and codified the right of all men to vote (universal manhood suffrage) and to hold public office. As a result, the General Assembly became more diverse. In 1869, thirty Black men were elected to the General Assembly for the first time. One of the first acts at the Assembly's session in October 1869 was to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to prohibit state governments from denying any man the right to vote because of his "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." The General Assembly held four sessions between October 1869 and March 1871. One of the legislators' most significant actions was to approve a law creating Virginia's first statewide system of public schools. Despite the protests of Black legislators, the schools were required by law to be racially segregated. Black legislators always remained the minority in the Assembly and they had to work with white allies in order to pass legislation of importance to them, including abolishing the whipping post as a criminal punishment, establishing a college for Black men and women, and increasing funds for public schools as well as to rebuild Virginia's infrastucture in the post-Civil War era.

This composite photograph includes images of most of the members of the House of Delegates during the session of 1871–1872, including thirteen of the eighteen Black delegates. Although Black and white men worked together note the placement of the Black legislators in the composite. Despite African Americans' gains, many white Americans continued to treat African Americans as lesser citizens, both literally and figuratively.

Despite the obstacles, Black political leaders continued to fight for their communities. Some of these men had been born into slavery, but most of them obtained an education. Some were of interracial ancestery. They worked in a variety of professions, including as lawyers, storekeepers, skilled laborers, postmasters, farmers, ministers, and teachers. and worked as lawyers, storekeepers. These pioneering African American political leaders in Virginia, like those throughout the South, used the guarantee of suffrage in the Fifteenth Amendment to their full advantage and fought for Black education and access to political and economic opportunities.

Citation: Composite photograph of members of the Virginia Legislature, 1871–1872, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia (also available online in the Virginia Legislature Photograph Collection).

Learn more about the Black legislators in this photograph in their Dictionary of Virginia Biography entries online at Encyclopedia Virginia:
Peter Jacob Carter
Henry Cox
Ross Hamilton
William Harvey Patterson
Peter K. Jones
Rufus S. Jones
William Gilliam
Henry Turpin
Richard G. L. Paige
John W. B. Matthews
Jesse Dungey
Joseph P. Evans
Armistead S. Nickens

Related Document Bank entries:
Equal Suffrage Address, Norfolk, 1865
The First Vote, Engraving Published in Harper's Weekly, 1867
Copy of Fifteenth Amendment Sent to North Carolina Legislature, 1869

VS.8, USII.2, CE.6, CE.8, VUS.9, GOVT.6

Preview Activity

Take a Look: Look at the photograph. How are the men dressed? What do their demeanors and clothes tell you about their positions?

Post Activities

Be the Journalist: You are a journalist preparing to write a story about the start of the General Assembly session in 1871. Who would you interview, and why? What three questions would you ask, and why?

In Their Shoes: Imagine that you were one of the first Black legislators. What would your priorities be? How might you feel walking into the capitol building, and why? With whom would you seek out alliances, and why?

Another Perspective: If you were the person organizing the placement of these individual photographs on a single page, how would you arrange them? Why?