US representative, born in Georgetown, South Carolina, USA. A barber with little formal education, he was the first elected black US congressman (Democrat, South Carolina, 18719), afterwards working as a banker and broker in Washington, DC.
| Joseph Hayne Rainey | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st district |
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Term of office: May 1870 - March 1879 |
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| Political party: |
Republican |
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| Preceded by: | Benjamin F. Whittemore |
| Succeeded by: | John S. Richardson |
| Religion | {{{religion}}} |
| Born: |
June 21, 1832 Georgetown, South Carolina |
| Died: |
August 1, 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. 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 1866, following the war's end, Rainey returned to South Carolina. In 1870, Rainey was elected to the State Senate of South Carolina. 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.
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