Monday, February 19, 2007
Looking at Reconstruction
Our textbook gives a brief discussion of Reconstruction.
I think George Henry White would be a good figure for us to look at in this class as we think about Reconstruction...
I learned about Representative White when I was looking at the list of African Americans who have served in Congress. The chart on page 443 lists the number of African Americans elected in each decade, but does not show the total number serving during any one year. It also seems to show a great increase, but it does not point out that when representation jumps to the top of the charts, at nearly 40 members, that represents far less than 10% of the 535 members of congress (100 Senators, plus 435 Representatives). It also conceals how few African American Senators there have been in the past 100 years.
There have been three:
and the one current African American Senator,
There were NO African American Senators from 1881-1967, from 1979-93, and from 1999-2005.
Another interesting figure is Representative Oscar De Priest of Chicago.
And a final comparison point is the number of women in Congress today.
I think George Henry White would be a good figure for us to look at in this class as we think about Reconstruction...
I learned about Representative White when I was looking at the list of African Americans who have served in Congress. The chart on page 443 lists the number of African Americans elected in each decade, but does not show the total number serving during any one year. It also seems to show a great increase, but it does not point out that when representation jumps to the top of the charts, at nearly 40 members, that represents far less than 10% of the 535 members of congress (100 Senators, plus 435 Representatives). It also conceals how few African American Senators there have been in the past 100 years.
There have been three:
| Edward W. Brooke | Republican | Massachusetts | 1967-1979 |
| Carol Moseley Braun | Democrat | Illinois | 1993-1999 |
and the one current African American Senator,
| Barack Obama | Democrat | Illinois | 2005-present |
There were NO African American Senators from 1881-1967, from 1979-93, and from 1999-2005.
Another interesting figure is Representative Oscar De Priest of Chicago.
And a final comparison point is the number of women in Congress today.
# posted by Mr. G : 2/19/2007 06:11:00 PM
