People, Locations, Episodes

The Joint Committee of Reconstruction Established

*On this date in 1865, The Joint Committee on Reconstruction was established.  Also known as the Joint Committee of Fifteen, this committee of the 39th United States Congress played a major role in Reconstruction in the wake of the American Civil War. It was created to “inquire into the condition of the States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America, and report whether […]

The 13th Amendment Of America’s Constitution is Adopted

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified on this date in 1865.

Sharecropping In America, a story

*On this date in 1865, sharecropping is briefly described.  Sharecropping historically is a system of agriculture or agricultural production in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land (e.g., 50 percent of the crop). We chose this date because of the […]

The Devil’s Punchbowl (Mississippi), a story

*The Devil’s Punchbowl episode is remembered on this date in 1865.  This post-American Civil War episode in Black history occurred in Natchez (Adams County), Mississippi.  As Black slaves made their way to freedom, the town of Natchez quickly went from a population of 10,000 to nearly 100,000 people. To deal with the population influx of […]

Land For Former American Slaves Amendment is Offered in Congress

*On this date in 1866 Congressman and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens offered real-estate compensation to Black slaves for emancipation.

This was an amendment to Freedmen’s Bureau bill authorizing the distribution of public land and confiscated land to freedmen and loyal refugees in forty-acre lots. The measure was defeated in the House by a vote of 126 to 37. A Black delegation, led by Frederick Douglas called on President Johnson and urged ballots for former slaves.

The meeting ended in disagreement and controversy after Johnson reiterated his opposition to Black suffrage.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is Passed

On this date in 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.

Black Citizens Celebrate The End of Slavery in Washington D.C.

On this date in 1866, the Black citizens of
Washington, D.C., celebrated the abolition of slavery.

A demonstration of 4,000 to 5,000 people assembled at the White House there they were addressed by (then) President Andrew Johnson. Marching past 10,000 cheering spectators, the procession, led by two Black regiments, continued up Pennsylvania Avenue to Franklin Square for religious services and speeches by prominent politicians.

A sign on top of the speaker’s platform read: “We have received our civil rights. Give us the right of suffrage and the work is done.”

The ‘Celebration of Freedom by the Colored People in Washington D.C.’ Drawing is Created

*On this date in 1866, this sketch, “Celebration of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia by the colored people in Washington D.C.,” was created.   The artist, Frederick Dielman. served as a topographer and draughtsman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fortress Monroe and Baltimore from 1866 to 1872.  It was published in Harper’s Weekly on May […]

The Memphis Tennessee Race Riot Occurs

*The Memphis riot occurred on this date in 1866. It was a race riot that lasted for three days and resulted in the deaths of forty-six Blacks and two Whites. A Joint Congressional Committee reported seventy-five persons injured, one hundred persons robbed, five women raped, ninety-one homes burned, four churches and eight schools burned and destroyed, and seventeen thousand dollars in federal property destroyed. Hundreds of Blacks were jailed, and almost all other freedmen fled town until the disturbance ended.

The ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ Military Units are Created

*On June 28, 1866, an Act of Congress authorized the creation of two cavalry and four infantry regiments, “which shall be composed of colored men.” They were organized as the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 38th through 41st Infantry.

The 9th and 10th Cavalry would go on to play a major role in the history of the West, as the “Buffalo Soldiers”

The Treaty with the Cherokee Nation is Signed

*On this date in 1866. The Treaty with the Cherokee Nation was signed.  This document constituted articles about African Cherokee Citizens and ended Slavery in the Cherokee Nation. It also exemplified the historic intersectionality of the African American and Native American communities. This voided a “pretended treaty” with Confederate Cherokees, granted amnesty to Cherokees, established a […]

The 24th Infantry Regiment Is Organized

*On this date in 1866, the 24th Infantry Regiment (one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments) was organized.   The United States Congress reorganized the regular army into five artillery, ten cavalries, and forty-five infantry regiments. Six regiments were reserved for black enlisted personnel in partial recognition of black soldiers’ role during the civil war.   All the enlisted soldiers were […]

The New Orleans Riot Occurs

On this date in 1866, the New Orleans riot occurred.

Angered by the enactment of the Black Codes in Louisiana, and by the legislature’s refusal to give black men the vote, the Radical Republicans in Louisiana reconvened the Constitutional Convention of 1864. Only 25 white delegates met in New Orleans, but another 200 supporters, who were primarily African American veterans from the Civil War, joined them.

Alabama State University Begins Classes

*On this date, in 1867, Alabama State University (ALASU) was founded.  They are a public Historically Black University (HBCU).   Founded in Montgomery, Alabama, ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.   ALASU began as the Lincoln Normal School of Marion in Marion, Ala. In December 1873, the State Board accepted the transfer of title to the school after a legislative act was […]

The Peabody Fund Is Established

*On this date in 1867. The Peabody Fund was established. The Peabody Fund provided monies for construction, endowments, scholarships, teacher and industrial education for newly freed slaves.

It is considered by scholars to be one of the first truly modern philanthropies because of the way it went about giving its capital. The Peabody trustees devised a system of self-help by which the Foundation would provide challenge grants to local communities. Thus, the relatively meager return on the Fund’s principal could be leveraged. Help would be targeted strategically.