Between 1867 and 1869, approximately 1,000 men attended state constitutional conventions throughout the South. Some 265 of them were African Americans: at least 107 were former slaves. Many were veterans of the Union army, ministers, artisans, farmers, and teachers. African Americans held high office in the South during Reconstruction, thought the number of such officials was small relative to the African American population. African Americans were, after all, a majority in Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. One African American, P.B.S. Pinchback, briefly served as governor of Louisiana. Six African Americans were lieutenant governors, and several others held high state office. Meanwhile, sixteen Africn Americans went to congress and Hiram Revels, an educator and minister, became a United States senator from Mississippi in 1870. Mississippi also sent former sherrif Blanche K. Bruce to the senate in 1874.In addition, 600 African Americans were members of various state legislatures and hundreds of others held local offices. While some were illiterate-70 percent of African Americans could not read or write in 1880, compared to under 10 percent of whites-many were educated and virtually all were capable of making informed judgments about major issues. Many southern whites criticized the presence of African Americans in reconstruction governments. They accused African Americans of being corrupt or incompetent. In reality, the South’s African American officials appeared to have been no worse or no better than their white counterparts. Many served with distinction.Republican policiesState governments controlled by Republicans did bring change to the South. They committed state governments to systems of public education, although these systems were divided along racial lines. They passed civil rights legislation that guaranteed African Americans access to transportation and hotels, though this legislation was largely unenforced...
