1872 Alonzo Ransier Black Congressman Autograph

Click thumbnails for expanded view.

$595.00

Quantity Available: 1

Alonzo Ransier South Carolina Republican Congressman Autograph C. 1872 from a congressional autograph book. Signature of another congressman included on same page. Excellent Condition Alonzo Ransier 1824-1882 He was an African American politician known for his honesty. Born free in Charleston, South Carolina, he received limited education becoming a shipping clerk at the age of sixteen. After the Civil War he was appointed as that states registrar of elections. Ransier's activity in gaining equality for blacks was based not on politics. He traveled to Washington with a petition from a Charleston meeting of the Friends of Equal Rights, pushing for more consideration for the rights of blacks. In 1868 he was a presidential elector for Ulysses S. Grant and two years later he was nominated for lieutenant governor. Ransier urged blacks to not support Horace Greeley for president though he was widely admired. In 1872 he ran for and won the second district's Republican Congressional seat. Responding to attacks from Democrats, Ransier defended the record of black soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War, recalling their support for President Grant in his 1872 reelection bid.