Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
"Let the World Know What We Have Suffered:" Black Testimony at Virginia's 1867-1868 Constitutional Convention371 views
Author
Patterson, Kathryn, History - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia
Advisors
Janney, Caroline, AS-History (HIST), University of Virginia
Varon, Elizabeth, AS-History (HIST), University of Virginia
Abstract
This essay explores the contributions of Black delegates at the Virginia constitutional convention from December 1867 to April 1868, highlighting their struggle for freedom, recognition, and expression in the wake of the Civil War. In 1867, Congress assumed control over Reconstruction in the South and mandated that each state hold a constitutional convention, draft a new constitution, and ratify the 14th Amendment before it could be readmitted to the Union. While an unintended outcome of the decision to include both Black and white delegates in the constitutional conventions, Black delegates to Virginia’s reframed the assembly as a platform from which to testify about the complexities of freedom and the persistent institutional erasures they faced in the postwar era.
Degree
MA (Master of Arts)
Keywords
African American; testimony; Civil War; Reconstruction; slavery; state constitutional conventions; Virginia
Language
English
Rights
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
Patterson, Kathryn. "Let the World Know What We Have Suffered:" Black Testimony at Virginia's 1867-1868 Constitutional Convention. University of Virginia, History - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, MA (Master of Arts), 2025-04-28, https://doi.org/10.18130/dsby-q818.