We tend to think of slavery and the Civil War as our distant past, and in some respects both are. The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves on Jan. 1, 1863, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery, was ratified was two years later.
Yet former slave owners were very much alive well after the Civil War ended in 1865 and still shaping our country’s laws and society. In fact, some were even serving in Congress in the late 19th and into the early 20th century, making laws that affected every citizen of the U.S. – including newly freed African-Americans. Â
To determine which member of Congress was the last from his or her state to own slaves, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a database of Congressional slaveholders compiled by the Washington Post. According to the Post’s research, based on censuses and other historical records, more than 1,700 people who served in the U.S. Congress in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries enslaved Black people at some point in their lives.Â
The Post considered more than 5,500 members of Congress who were born before 1840 and had reached age 21 at the time of the census taken just before the start of the Civil War in 1860. In addition to senators and members of the House of Representatives, the list includes half a dozen delegates to Congress who represented their territories before they had achieved statehood. (Images of slaves are among these 50 photos from American life in the 19th century.)Â
Most slaveholders had left Congress by the mid- to late-1800s. Massachusetts Representative Theodore Sedgwick was the earliest to exit, leaving in 1801. After Northern states abolished or phased out slavery, the number of slave-owning Congressmen from that part of the country declined – though some legislators kept their slaves for decades longer. Â
Click here to see the last slaveholder in Congress from every state
The last former slave owner to serve in Congress was white supremacist and lynching advocate Rebecca Latimer Felton, appointed to the Senate when she was almost 88 years old as a placeholder for Georgia governor Thomas W. Hardwick, who was running for the office. When another candidate, Walter F. George, won instead, he allowed Felton to take his seat – to gain political capital – for a single day when Congress reconvened. She became the nation’s first female senator, though she served for only 24 hours. (In contrast to Felton, here are 36 Black women who changed American history.)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Alabama: William Richardson
> Start date: March 4, 1899
> End date: March 31, 1914
> Congresses served: 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd (Representative)
[in-text-ad]
Source: ilbusca / iStock via Getty Images
Arkansas: Poindexter Dunn
> Start date: March 18, 1879
> End date: March 4, 1889
> Congresses served: 46th, 47th 48th, 49th, 50th (Representative)
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
California: Marion Biggs
> Start date: March 4, 1887
> End date: March 3, 1891
> Congresses served: 50th, 51st (Representative)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Connecticut: Gideon Tomlinson
> Start date: Dec. 6, 1819
> End date: March 3, 1837
> Congresses served: 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th (Representative); 22nd, 23rd, 24th (Senator)
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: internetarchivebookimages / Flickr
Delaware: John Henry Hoffecker
> Start date: March 4, 1899
> End date: Junee 16, 1900
> Congresses served: 56th (Representative)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Florida: Wilkinson Call
> Start date: March 4, 1879
> End date: March 3, 1897
> Congresses served: 46th, 47th 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 50th, 53rd, 54th (Senator)
[in-text-ad]
Source: iip-photo-archive / Flickr / Public Domain
Georgia: Rebecca Latimer Felton
> Start date: Nov. 21, 1922
> End date: Nov. 22, 1922
> Congresses served: 67th (Senator)
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Iowa: Timothy Davis
> Start date: March 4, 1857
> End date: March 3, 1859
> Congresses served: 35th (Representative)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Illinois: Carter Henry Harrison
> Start date: Dtc 5, 1875
> End date: March 3, 1879
> Congresses served: 44th, 45th (Representative)
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Indiana: Jesse David Bright
> Start date: March 4, 1845
> End date: Feb 5, 1862
> Congresses served: 29th, 30th, 31th, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th (Senator)
Kentucky: James Bennett McCreary
> Start date: March 4, 1885
> End date: March 3, 1909
> Congresses served: 49th, 50th 51st, 50th, 53rd, 54th (Representative), 58th, 59th, 60th (Senator)
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Louisiana: Donelson Caffery
> Start date: Dec. 31, 1892
> End date: March 3, 1901
> Congresses served: 52nd, 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Massachusetts: Theodore Sedgwick
> Start date: March 4, 1789
> End date: March 3, 1801
> Congresses served: 1st, 2nd, 3rd (Representative); 4th (Representative, Senator); 5th, 6th (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Maryland: Barnes Compton
> Start date: March 4, 1885
> End date: May 15, 1894
> Congresses served: 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd (Representative)
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Maine: George Evans
> Start date: Dec. 7, 1829
> End date: March 3, 1847
> Congresses served: 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th (Representative); 26th (Representative, Senator); 27th, 28th, 29th (Senator)
Source: statephotos / Flickr
Michigan: Lewis Cass
> Start date: March 4, 1845
> End date: March 3, 1857
> Congresses served: 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th (Senator)
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Missouri: Francis Marion Cockrell
> Start date: March 4, 1875
> End date: March 3, 1905
> Congresses served: 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th, 57th, 58th (Senator)
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Mississippi: James Gordon
> Start date: Dec. 27, 1909
> End date: Feb. 22, 1910
> Congresses served: 61st (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
North Carolina: Zebulon Baird Vance
> Start date: Dec. 7, 1858
> End date: April 14, 1894
> Congresses served: 35th, 36th (Representative); 46th, 47th 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd (Senator)
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: ilbusca / iStock via Getty Images
New Hampshire: Obed Hall
> Start date: Nov. 4, 1811
> End date: March 3, 1813
> Congresses served: 12th (Representative)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
New Jersey: Robert Field Stockton
> Start date: March 4, 1851
> End date: Jan. 10, 1853rd
> Congresses served: 32nd (Senator)
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
New Mexico: José Francisco Chaves
> Start date: March 4, 1865
> End date: March 3, 1871
> Congresses served: 39th, 40th, 41th (Territorial Delegate)
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
New York: Amos Phelps Granger
> Start date: March 4, 1855
> End date: March 3, 1859
> Congresses served: 34th, 35th (Representative)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Ohio: Henry Roelif Brinkerhoff
> Start date: March 4, 1843
> End date: April 30, 1844
> Congresses served: 28th (Representative)
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Oregon: Joseph Lane
> Start date: March 4, 1851
> End date: March 3, 1861
> Congresses served: 32th, 33rd, 34th, 35th (Territorial Delegate); 36th (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Pennsylvania: William Constantine Culbertson
> Start date: March 4, 1889
> End date: March 3, 1891
> Congresses served: 51st (Representative)
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Rhode Island: James De Wolf
> Start date: March 4, 1821
> End date: Oct. 31, 1825
> Congresses served: 17th, 18th, 19th (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
South Carolina: William Elliott
> Start date: March 4, 1887
> End date: March 3, 1903
> Congresses served: 50th, 51st, 52nd, 54th, 55th, 56th, 57th (Representative)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Tennessee: George Washington Gordon
> Start date: March 4, 1907
> End date: Aug. 9, 1911
> Congresses served: 61st, 62nd, 62nd (Representative)
[in-text-ad-2]
Texas: Roger Quarles Mills
> Start date: March 4, 1873
> End date: March 3, 1899
> Congresses served: 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st (Representative); 52nd (Representative, Senator); 53rd, 54th, 55th (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Utah: William Henry Hooper
> Start date: March 4, 1859
> End date: March 3, 1873
> Congresses served: 36th, 39th, 40th, 41st, 42nd (Territorial Delegate)
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Virginia: James Alexander Walker
> Start date: March 4, 1895
> End date: March 4, 1899
> Congresses served: 54th, 55th (Representative)
Source: ilbusca / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Washington: James Patton Anderson
> Start date: March 4, 1855
> End date: March 3, 1857
> Congresses served: 34th (Territorial Delegate)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Wisconsin: Henry Dodge
> Start date: March 3, 1841
> End date: March 2, 1857
> Congresses served: 27th, 28th (Territorial Delegate); 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th (Senator)
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
West Virginia: Johnson Newlon Camden
> Start date: March 4, 1881
> End date: March 3, 1895
> Congresses served: 47th, 48th, 49th, 52nd, 53rd (Senator)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Wyoming: Stephen Friel Nuckolls
> Start date: March 4, 1869
> End date: March 3, 1871
> Congresses served: 41st (Territorial Delegate)
Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
