JOSEPH RAINEY
Name: Joseph Hayne Rainey
Born: 21 June 1832 Georgetown, South Carolina
Died: 1 August 1887 Georgetown, South Carolina
Joseph Hayne Rainey (June 21, 1832 – August 1, 1887) was the first African
American person to serve in the United States House of Representatives and the
second black person to serve in the United States Congress (U.S. Senator Hiram
Revels was the first).
Rainey was born in Georgetown, South Carolina. His parents were both slaves, but
his father, Edward, had a successful business as a barber, enabling him to
purchase his family's freedom shortly after Joseph Rainey's birth. As an adult,
Rainey followed his father by becoming a barber. In 1861, with the outbreak of
the American Civil War, Rainey was drafted by the Confederate government to work
on fortifications in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as to work as a laborer
on blockade runner ships. In 1862, he and his wife were able to escape to
Bermuda. They settled in the town of St. George, Bermuda, where Rainey worked as
a barber, while his wife established herself as a successful dressmaker. In 1865,
the couple moved to the town of Hamilton when an outbreak of yellow fever
threatened St. George. Rainey worked at the Hamilton Hotel as a barber and a
bartender, while becoming a respected member of the community.
In 1866, following the war's end, Rainey returned to South Carolina. He quickly
involved himself in politics, joining the executive committee of the state
Republican Party. In 1868, he was a delegate to the convention which wrote the
state's new constitution. In 1870, Rainey was elected to the State Senate of
South Carolina. Later that year, he was elected to fill a vacancy in the Forty-first
Congress of the United States as a Republican. This vacancy had been created
when the previous incumbent, Benjamin F. Whittemore, was censured by the House
for corruption and subsequently re-elected, after which the House refused to
seat him. Rainey was seated December 12, 1870 and was re-elected to Congress
four times; he served until March 3, 1879, which made him the longest-serving
black Congressmen prior to William L. Dawson in the 1950s.
During his term in Congress, Rainey focused on supporting legislation to protect
the civil rights of Southern blacks. This pursuit eventually proved unsuccessful,
with the end of Reconstruction effectively meaning that the black electorate
lost all political power. In 1876, Rainey won re-election against Democratic
candidate John Smythe Richardson. Richardson, however challenged the result as
invalid on the grounds of intimidation by federal soldiers and black militias.
Two years later, as the opponents of Reconstruction solidified their control
over South Carolina politics, Rainey was defeated in a second contest with
Richardson.
After leaving Congress, Joseph Rainey was appointed internal-revenue agent of
South Carolina. He held this position for two years,after which he began a
career in private commerce. Rainey retired in 1886 and died the following year
in Georgetown, the city in which he was born.
Name: Joseph Hayne Rainey
Born: 21 June 1832 Georgetown, South Carolina
Died: 1 August 1887 Georgetown, South Carolina
Joseph Hayne Rainey (June 21, 1832 – August 1, 1887) was the first African
American person to serve in the United States House of Representatives and the
second black person to serve in the United States Congress (U.S. Senator Hiram
Revels was the first).
Rainey was born in Georgetown, South Carolina. His parents were both slaves, but
his father, Edward, had a successful business as a barber, enabling him to
purchase his family's freedom shortly after Joseph Rainey's birth. As an adult,
Rainey followed his father by becoming a barber. In 1861, with the outbreak of
the American Civil War, Rainey was drafted by the Confederate government to work
on fortifications in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as to work as a laborer
on blockade runner ships. In 1862, he and his wife were able to escape to
Bermuda. They settled in the town of St. George, Bermuda, where Rainey worked as
a barber, while his wife established herself as a successful dressmaker. In 1865,
the couple moved to the town of Hamilton when an outbreak of yellow fever
threatened St. George. Rainey worked at the Hamilton Hotel as a barber and a
bartender, while becoming a respected member of the community.
In 1866, following the war's end, Rainey returned to South Carolina. He quickly
involved himself in politics, joining the executive committee of the state
Republican Party. In 1868, he was a delegate to the convention which wrote the
state's new constitution. In 1870, Rainey was elected to the State Senate of
South Carolina. Later that year, he was elected to fill a vacancy in the Forty-first
Congress of the United States as a Republican. This vacancy had been created
when the previous incumbent, Benjamin F. Whittemore, was censured by the House
for corruption and subsequently re-elected, after which the House refused to
seat him. Rainey was seated December 12, 1870 and was re-elected to Congress
four times; he served until March 3, 1879, which made him the longest-serving
black Congressmen prior to William L. Dawson in the 1950s.
During his term in Congress, Rainey focused on supporting legislation to protect
the civil rights of Southern blacks. This pursuit eventually proved unsuccessful,
with the end of Reconstruction effectively meaning that the black electorate
lost all political power. In 1876, Rainey won re-election against Democratic
candidate John Smythe Richardson. Richardson, however challenged the result as
invalid on the grounds of intimidation by federal soldiers and black militias.
Two years later, as the opponents of Reconstruction solidified their control
over South Carolina politics, Rainey was defeated in a second contest with
Richardson.
After leaving Congress, Joseph Rainey was appointed internal-revenue agent of
South Carolina. He held this position for two years,after which he began a
career in private commerce. Rainey retired in 1886 and died the following year
in Georgetown, the city in which he was born.