Title Reminiscences of an active life : the autobiography of John Roy Lynch / edited and with an introduction by John Hope Franklin

Published Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2008

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Description 1 online resource (1 volume) Series Negro American biographies and autobiographies Negro American biographies and autobiographies. Contents Cover; CONTENTS; INTRODUCTION; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; PREFACE; 1 His Father's Keeping; 2 Into Bondage Again; 3 The War Came; 4 Confederate Looting; 5 Looking for Employment; 6 In the Photography Business; 7 A Constitution for Mississippi; 8 Justice of the Peace; 9 1869: State Elections and Reorganization; 10 Electing a Legislature; 11 Financing State Reconstruction; 12 Speaker of the House Lynch; 13 1872: Election to Congress; 14 Visit to Saint Louis; 15 1873: Mississippi Senatorial Elections; 16 Governors Alcorn and Ames; 17 The Colored Vote: Mississippi; 18 The Colored Vote: The South Summary Born into slavery on a Louisiana plantation, John Roy Lynch (1847-1939) came to adulthood during the Reconstruction Era and lived a public-spirited life for over three decades. His political career began in 1869 with his appointment as justice of the peace. Within the year, he was elected to the Mississippi legislature and was later elected Speaker of the House. At age twenty-five, Lynch became the first African American from Mississippi to be elected to the United States Congress. He led the fight to secure passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. In 1884, he was elected temporary chairman of the Eighth Republican National Convention and was the first black American to deliver the keynote address. His autobiography, Reminiscences of an Active Life, reflects Lynch's thoughtful and nuanced understanding of the past and of his own experience. The book, written when he was ninety, challenges a number of traditional arguments about Reconstruction. In his experience, African Americans in the South competed on an equal basis with whites; the state governments were responsive to the needs of the people; and race was not always a decisive factor in the politics of Reconstruction. The autobiography, which would not be published until 1970, provides rich material for the study of American politics and race relations during Reconstruction. It sheds light on presidential patronage, congressional deals, and personality conflicts among national political figures. Lynch's childhood reflections reveal new dimensions to our understanding of black experience during slavery and beyond. An introduction by John Hope Franklin puts Lynch's public and private lives in the context of his times and provides an overview of how Reminiscences of an Active Life came to be written Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject Lynch, John Roy, 1847-1939. SUBJECT Lynch, John Roy Lynch, John Roy, 1847-1939 fast Subject Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) African American politicians -- Mississippi -- Biography BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Historical. HISTORY -- State & Local -- General. BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Political. Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) African American politicians Politics and government SUBJECT United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1900. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140445 Mississippi -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85086199 Subject Mississippi United States Genre/Form Electronic books autobiographies (literary works) Autobiographies Biographies History Autobiographies. Biographies. Autobiographies. Biographies. Form Electronic book Author Franklin, John Hope, 1915-2009. ISBN 9781604733303 1604733306 1283282429 9781283282420 1604731141 9781604731149

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