African American Heritage: Tour Back in Time and Meet the Greatest Black Americans in History

by John L. Travel Writer

When we study the Black history of the United States, we often only recall the last 50 years to the time of the fantastic civil liberties activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Freedom Riders. Nevertheless, African American heritage extends beyond the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. As early as the very first servant ships docked in the New World, the African American struggle likewise began. During the Revolutionary War, African American patriots side by side with their white associates. The American Civil War saw the United States Colored Troops played a considerable role in the triumph of the Union Army. During the Reconstruction Era, African American political leaders fanned the flames of desire for equality and acknowledgment.

With their own freedom and liberty as the greatest stake, around 9,000 African American patriots served in the Continental Army throughout the American Revolutionary War. Among them is Peter Salem. A slave born in 1750 in Framingham, Province of Massachusetts Bay. Originally owned by Jeremiah Belknap, he was later sold to Major Lawson Buckminster who offered Salem his liberty for him to join the patriot militia. Peter Salem fought for the Continental Army for numerous years including his well-known involvement at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Siege of Boston.

Another Black patriot is James Armistead Lafayette. He was born a slave in New Kent County, Virginia. He was owned by William Armistead. Throughout the transformation, we served the Continental Army under Marquis de Lafayette. He rose to popularity when he became a mole for the innovative soldiers after his supposed defection to the British. He fed the British army with incorrect details while acquiring valuable understanding for the American troops.

The life of Prince Whipple is somehow famous. He was a previous servant from Ambou, Ghana under General William Whipple. The great general offered Prince his liberty however he continued to accompany his previous master during the Revolutionary War. Many say that the African American accompanying General George Washington at the well-known painting of the crossing of Delaware was Prince Whipple.

Lots of African Americans also rose to popularity outside the military service during the time of the reconstruction. Lemuel Haynes became noteworthy as the very first African American to be ordained as a minister. He worked as an indentured laborer to Deacon David Rose, a farmer in Granville, Massachusetts, who significantly affected his spiritual childhood. He became a preacher as a young kid and was later on ordained as a minister in the Congregational Church. He did not only serve God however likewise his country by serving in the militia throughout the transformation.

Another African American intellectual was Benjamin Banneker. Banneker became famous as an almanac publisher and property surveyor. He also has a huge understanding of mathematics and astronomy, most of which are self-learned. He became a known property surveyor when he was asked to join the group led by Major Andre Elliott to map out the initial borders of the District of Columbia. His contributions to the history of Washington DC will forever be remembered. Seemingly appropriate, the National Museum of African American History, the hub for black history tours of Washington DC is located in what is now the Benjamin Banneker Park at the National Mall.

Later on, after the revolution, many African Americans rose to prominence in politics. The very first of which is Wentworth Cheswell. He was born in Newmarket, New Hampshire to a bi-racial father and a European mom. He acted as a town constable in 1768 and after that served other city government positions every year however one up until he passed away in 1817. He also held several government positions as an assessor, auditor, Justice of the Peace, teacher, and historian. Cheswell is recognized as the very first African American to be chosen in any public work in the United States.

Another politician who rose to the ranks after the revolution is Robert Brown Elliot. Elliot was born in Liverpool, England. He lived in England and ended up law until he joined the Royal British Navy. Later on, he moved and settled in South Carolina in 1867 and was confessed to the state's Bar and practiced law in Columbia. A year later he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives and later on was designated as assistant adjutant-general and ended up being the first African-American commanding general of the South Carolina National Guard. His outstanding political career concerned a peak when he was elected as South Carolina's agent to the Forty-second United States Congress.

The American Civil War age and the Reconstruction duration that followed made substantial impacts on the lives and struggles of the African Community. Many of us would think about that this time of US history as the supreme fight for emancipation and freedom of thousands of black slaves. Throughout this duration, a number of them likewise rose to the ranks and prominence and made crucial contributions to defend civil liberties.

Robert Smalls from Beaufort, South Carolina led the way for African Americans to be accepted in the Union Army. President Abraham Lincoln appreciated his bravery and guts when he freed himself, his team, and their households by taking control over a Confederate transport ship and cruising it through treacherous waters until they reached a Union blockade. Because of this act of courage, President Lincoln allowed African Americans to get to the Union troops throughout the Civil War. After the war, Robert Smalls continued to act as a chosen representative to the South Carolina House of Representatives and then later to the United States Congress.

Josiah Thomas Walls is another fantastic Civil War hero. Walls was born as a servant in 1842 near Winchester, Virginia. He was required to sign up with the Confederate army together with many other black servants. He was caught by the Union Army in 1842 in the town of Yorktown and later on promised his obligation to the Union when he acted as part of the US Colored Troops. After the war, he settled in Florida and ended up being a state senator for 4 terms and later on chosen as the very first African American to represent Florida to the United States Congress.

Mentioning firsts, let us not forget Hiram Rhodes Revels. Revels is acknowledged as the first-ever African American to be elected in any house of the United States Congress when he won as a United States senator in 1870 and 1871. He was likewise a Civil War veteran where he arranged 2 regiments of the US Colored Troops. Revels is not simply a soldier but he also acted as a pastor of the Union Army throughout the war. After his stint in politics, he became the very first president of Alcorn Agricultural College (now Alcorn State University) for 2 terms from 1971 to 1873 and 1876 to 1882.

Another very first in United States history is Joseph Hayne Rainey, the first African American to be chosen to the United States House of Representatives and the 2nd to the US Congress after Hiram Rhodes Revels. Rainey was born into a servant family in Georgetown, South Carolina. He and his family ended up being totally free when his daddy purchased their flexibility in the 1840s. At the start of the Civil War, he was among the totally free black males forcefully conscripted by the Confederates to construct the fortifications in Charleston.

Benjamin S. Turner is another slave-turned-free man who rose to the political ranks after emancipation. Turner was born into slavery in Halifax County, North Carolina, and was required to move to Alabama with his mom at the age of 5 because of the internal slave trade. Historians assume that Turner remained as a slave up until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. After he was granted flexibility. He became a businessman and established a livery stable in Selma, Alabama. He later joined politics and became part of the Republican Party of Alabama. He was chosen tax collector of Dallas County, Alabama in 1867 then councilman of the city of Selma in 1869. He later served the US Congress as the agent of the first congressional district of Alabama.

Lots of other people of color played crucial roles in the history of this nation. Though many of them frequently take back seats to their white equivalents, their contributions to the United States must be celebrated and commemorated. Learning how African American predecessors, patriots, and heroes equally compromised their lives and courageously fight for this nation's liberty and democracy can considerably assist the black neighborhood's continuing battle towards acceptance and equality. An excellent and enjoyable method to learning more about the black history and culture of the United States is by taking an African American heritage tour and exploring many fantastic locations celebrating black history.