Blanche Bruce
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| Blanche Kelso Bruce | |
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| In office January 1875 – January, 1881 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Pease |
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| Succeeded by | James Z. George |
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| Born | March 1, 1841 Farmville, Virginia |
| Died | March 17, 1898 Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Josephine Willson |
Blanche Kelso Bruce (March 1, 1841 – March 17, 1898) was an American politician. Bruce represented Mississippi as a U.S. Senator from 1875 to 1881 and was the first black to serve a full term in the Senate.
[edit] Biography
Bruce was born in Farmville, Virginia to Pettis Perkinson, a white Virginia plantation owner, and a black house slave named Polly Bruce. He was treated "tenderly" and was not treated very harshly. Bruce was educated just as his legitimate half-brother was. When he was young, he played with his master's son, and was taught to read and write with the son. Bruce was a very good student.
In 1850, Bruce moved to Missouri after becoming a printer's apprentice. After the Union Army rejected his application to fight in the Civil War, Bruce taught school and briefly attended Oberlin College in Ohio before working as a steamboat porter on the Mississippi River. In 1864, he moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where he established Missouri's first school for blacks.
During Reconstruction, Bruce became a wealthy landowner in Mississippi and was appointed to the positions of Tallahatchie County registrar of voters and tax assessor before winning an election for sheriff in Bolivar County. He later was elected to other county positions, including tax collector and supervisor of education, while also editing a local newspaper. In February 1874, Bruce was elected by the state Legislature to the Senate as a Republican. In 1880, James Z. George was elected to succeed Bruce.
In 1881, Bruce was appointed by President James Garfield to be the register of the Treasury, making Bruce the first black whose signature was represented on U.S. currency. Bruce served as the District of Columbia recorder of deeds in 1891-93, and again register of the Treasury until his death in 1898.
[edit] External links
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography
- Black Excellence in World History
- Review of The Senator and the Socialite
| Preceded by Henry R. Pease |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Mississippi 1875–1881 Served alongside: James L. Alcorn, Lucius Q. C. Lamar |
Succeeded by James Z. George |
