Benjamin F. Royal was a state senator in Alabama during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. He was elected to the state senate in 1868, and was the first African American to serve in the chamber. He represented Bullock County and served for nine years. He served as a Republican, and had stated that "he could as well be an infidel as to be anything else than a Republican". He was a

Union League The Union Leagues were quasi-secretive men’s clubs established separately, starting in 1862, and continuing throughout the Civil War (1861–1865). The oldest Union League of America council member, an organization originally called "The Leag ...

organizer. He was born to a white father and a mother who had been a slave. Photo 6286 full

In 1872, he and other Alabama state senators were photographed on the capitol steps. The photograph is held by the

Alabama Department of Archives and History The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the official repository of archival records for the U.S. state of Alabama. Under the direction of Thomas M. Owen its founder, the agency received state funding by an act of the Alabama Legislatu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal, Benjamin F. Year of birth missing Alabama state senators Reconstruction Era