Nineteenth Century Leaders of the Colored Race

J. Hoover. Heroes of the Colored Race Philadelphia, 1881. Color lithograph with portraits of Blanche Kelso Bruce, Frederick Douglass, and Hiram Revels. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC2-10180

The only two African Americans to serve as United States Senators in the nineteenth century were Blanche K. Bruce and Hiram Revels, both of Mississippi. Frederick Douglass was appointed to several important governmental positions in the years after the Civil War, including Minister Resident and Counsel General to Haiti, Recorder of Deeds, and U. S. Marshall.