Bruce for Vice President
Circular Letter re: Statement of Support for the Nomination of Blanche Kelso Bruce for Vice President
20 May 1880
Amongst the Gilder Lehrman Collection’s hundreds of letters and documents relating to African American Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce lies this seemingly modest but powerful draft of an address to the Republican Party. Signed by Chairman J. Milton Turner and Secretary W.H. Bell of the ‘Negro National Republican Committee’, this statement was prepared to support Senator Bruce’s nomination for the Vice Presidency of the United States at the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago.
Written on 20 May 1880, the statement argues that Bruce’s nomination “would give new life and vigour” to the South’s increasingly dejected Republican electorate who, at the time, were “on the verge of disfranchisement” and Democratic subjugation.
As can be seen in the collection’s material, Bruce was a very influential and highly regarded political figure during the 1870’s and he was elected as a Republican Senator for Mississippi in 1874, serving from 1875 to 1881. The son of a slave and slave-owner, he is perhaps most famous for being the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate and also the first African American to preside over the Senate. Growing up in Virginia, Bruce was well cared for by his master and received a good education. In 1864 he founded the first school for African American children in Missouri and became involved in Republican politics while living and working as a planter in Mississippi. His various political roles during this time include Bolivar County’s Sheriff, Tax Collector and Superintendent of Education, whilst he also served as a member of the Mississippi Levee Board from 1872.
Bruce’s election to the Senate came during a difficult period for the Republican Party. Towards the end of Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency the Party had divided owing to disagreements over the effectiveness of Radical Republicanism. Furthermore, the 1877 election of Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes was a controversial affair and lead to the end of the Reconstruction movement as remaining US Army troops in Southern states were relieved of their duty to enforce the Fourteenth and Fifteenth constitutional amendments. The South returned to a Democratic majority and the repercussions were soon felt with looming disfranchisement for African Americans, an increase in violence and racial hatred and the development of ‘Jim Crow’ laws which reinstituted segregation.
Perhaps, as this document argues, Bruce’s nomination could have been the key to reinvigorating Republican support, acting as a bold challenge to the increasingly powerful Southern Democrats. It was not to be, however, with future president Chester A. Arthur taking the nomination for Vice Presidency. Bruce would be put forward once more for a Vice Presidency nomination at the 1888 National Republican Convention but was again unsuccessful. After serving in the Senate, Bruce continued his work in politics acting as Register of the Treasury twice before his death at age 57 in 1898. His contribution to the education and welfare of African Americans in Mississippi and his political achievements are his legacy.
Written on 20 May 1880, the statement argues that Bruce’s nomination “would give new life and vigour” to the South’s increasingly dejected Republican electorate who, at the time, were “on the verge of disfranchisement” and Democratic subjugation.
As can be seen in the collection’s material, Bruce was a very influential and highly regarded political figure during the 1870’s and he was elected as a Republican Senator for Mississippi in 1874, serving from 1875 to 1881. The son of a slave and slave-owner, he is perhaps most famous for being the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate and also the first African American to preside over the Senate. Growing up in Virginia, Bruce was well cared for by his master and received a good education. In 1864 he founded the first school for African American children in Missouri and became involved in Republican politics while living and working as a planter in Mississippi. His various political roles during this time include Bolivar County’s Sheriff, Tax Collector and Superintendent of Education, whilst he also served as a member of the Mississippi Levee Board from 1872.
Bruce’s election to the Senate came during a difficult period for the Republican Party. Towards the end of Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency the Party had divided owing to disagreements over the effectiveness of Radical Republicanism. Furthermore, the 1877 election of Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes was a controversial affair and lead to the end of the Reconstruction movement as remaining US Army troops in Southern states were relieved of their duty to enforce the Fourteenth and Fifteenth constitutional amendments. The South returned to a Democratic majority and the repercussions were soon felt with looming disfranchisement for African Americans, an increase in violence and racial hatred and the development of ‘Jim Crow’ laws which reinstituted segregation.
Perhaps, as this document argues, Bruce’s nomination could have been the key to reinvigorating Republican support, acting as a bold challenge to the increasingly powerful Southern Democrats. It was not to be, however, with future president Chester A. Arthur taking the nomination for Vice Presidency. Bruce would be put forward once more for a Vice Presidency nomination at the 1888 National Republican Convention but was again unsuccessful. After serving in the Senate, Bruce continued his work in politics acting as Register of the Treasury twice before his death at age 57 in 1898. His contribution to the education and welfare of African Americans in Mississippi and his political achievements are his legacy.