All rights reserved. 1  Huguenots: Wars of Religion and the Edict of Nantes-Wars of Religion and the Edict of Nantes The conspiracy of Amboise (1560; see Amboise, conspiracy ...
Wentworth Cheswell is said to be the first African-American to be elected to office in America. He was one quarter Black and three quarters White. He was elected as town constable of Newmarket, New Hampshire, in 1768 and served in some government position thereafter until his death â well, to be precise, every year but one.
The sudden addition of millions of black voters resulted in a number of African Americans being voted into Congress. The first African American elected to the U.S. Senate was Hiram Rhodes Revels, who in 1869 filled the seat vacated by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Also in 1869, fellow Republican Joseph H. Rainey became the first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives.