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Henry Plummer Cheatham (December 27, 1857 – November 29, 1935) was an educator, farmer and politician, elected as a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from 1889 to 1893 from North Carolina. He was one of only five African Americans elected to Congress from the South in the Jim Crow era of the last decade of the nineteenth century, as disfranchisement reduced black voting. After that, no African Americans would be elected from the South until 1972 and none from North Carolina until 1992.


Early life

Born into slavery in 1857 in what is now
Henderson, North Carolina Henderson is a city and the county seat of Vance County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2020 census. History The city was named in honor of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson, w ...
, Cheatham had an enslaved mother and a white father who was rumored to be a prominent local man during the 1850s. After the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and emancipation, he attended the first public schools for black children in Vance County, established by the state legislature in the Reconstruction era. With the financial aid of a white friend, Robert A. Jenkins, Cheatham attended Shaw University, a
historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...
in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...
, where he graduated in 1883."Henry Plummer Cheatham"
, ''Black Americans in Congress'', US Congress, accessed 5 June 2012
He worked briefly as a school principal before being elected as the
Register of Deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...
for Vance County (1884–1888), which was majority black and Republican. In this period, the Democrats had regained control of the state legislature, but many blacks continued to be elected to local office, as the state was more than 30% black.


Marriage and family

In 1884, Cheatham married Louisa (or Louise) Cherry, who had been a fellow student at Shaw. She taught music at the school where he had been principal. They had three children: Charles, Mamie, and Henry Plummer, Jr. Her sister Cora Lee Cherry married
George Henry White George Henry White (December 18, 1852 – December 28, 1918) was an American attorney and politician, elected as a Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district between 1897 and 1901. He later became a banker ...
in 1886, who also became active in politics and was elected as a U.S. Congressman after Cheatham had served. The proposed Cheatham-White Scholarship program, intended for
North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...
and
North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...
students, is named for both congressmen. After Louisa Cheatham died in 1899, Henry married Laura Joyner. They also had three children: Susie, Richard, and James.


Political career

Cheatham became active in Republican politics. He encouraged the establishment of institutions for African Americans, such as the Colored Orphan Asylum in Oxford in 1883 and the founding of state normal schools for the training of black teachers.


U.S. Congressman

In 1888, Cheatham was narrowly elected to Congress from
North Carolina's 2nd congressional district North Carolina's 2nd congressional district is located in the central part of the state. The district contains most of Wake County. Prior to court-mandated redistricting in 2019, it also included northern Johnston County, southern Nash County, ...
over the incumbent Furnifold M. Simmons. (Simmons would later lead the
white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
campaigns that resulted in a new state constitution that disfranchised black citizens.) During the campaign, Cheatham was reported by North Carolina papers to have allegedly told black voters that Simmons and President
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
would re-enslave them. Other press outlets of the time dismissed these allegations by the press as hyperbole or having misrepresented Cheatham's words. In a period of
disfranchisement Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
of blacks in the South, Cheatham was one of five African Americans elected to Congress during the Jim Crow era of the late nineteenth century. There were two from South Carolina, his brother-in-law
George Henry White George Henry White (December 18, 1852 – December 28, 1918) was an American attorney and politician, elected as a Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district between 1897 and 1901. He later became a banker ...
who followed him from North Carolina, and one from Virginia. After them, no African Americans would be elected from the South until 1972, after federal civil rights legislation enforcing constitutional rights for citizens,"The Negroes’ Temporary Farewell: Jim Crow and the Exclusion of African Americans from Congress, 1887–1929"
, ''Black Americans in Congress'', U.S. Congress, accessed 5 June 2012
and no African American would be elected to Congress from North Carolina until 1992. Cheatham, then the only black North Carolina congressman, supported federal aid to education, and the
McKinley tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress, framed by then Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fift ...
. He also supported the Federal Elections Bill in 1890, introduced by
Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850 November 9, 1924) was an American Republican politician, historian, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served in the United States Senate from 1893 to 1924 and is best known for his positions on foreign policy. ...
, to provide federal enforcement to safeguard the voting rights of African Americans in the South. House Republicans had been concerned about the discriminatory practices of the Democrats and trying to gain passage of a bill since the 1880s. Lodge's bill narrowly passed the House but died in the Senate. Republicans were unable to get federal legislation passed on this issue as the Southern Democratic voting block became more powerful. Cheatham tended mostly to the needs of his constituents (of both races) but did not succeed in getting his own bills passed. Cheatham served on the House committees on
Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
, Expenditures on Public Buildings, and
Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
, one of the more powerful. In 1890, Cheatham defended his seat and defeated the Democrat James M. Mewborne, with 16,943 votes to 15,713. But nationwide, Democrats re-took the House of Representatives, which meant that measures to protect black civil rights would not be passed. Cheatham was the only black congressman in the Fifty-second Congress (he also had been the only black congressman in the first half of the 51st Congress). He unsuccessfully sought re-election to a third term in 1892, after the North Carolina legislature changed the boundaries of his congressional district. Competition from a
Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
on the ballot split some of the vote, contributing to the victory of
Frederick A. Woodard Frederick Augustus Woodard (February 12, 1854 – May 8, 1915) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who served two terms as a Democratic U.S. Representative from North Carolina between 1893 and 1897. Early life and education B ...
, a Democrat. Cheatham ran against Woodard again in 1894 without success. In 1896, he competed for the Republican nomination for the district against his brother-in-law,
George Henry White George Henry White (December 18, 1852 – December 28, 1918) was an American attorney and politician, elected as a Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district between 1897 and 1901. He later became a banker ...
, who won as the next (and last) late nineteenth-century black congressman from North Carolina.


Later life

In 1897, President
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
's administration appointed Cheatham as federal
Recorder of Deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...
for the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, a prestigious and lucrative patronage position which he held through 1901 and the change in administrations. Cheatham, a friend and ally of
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
, was criticized for standing by McKinley, as the Republican administration did little to offset the rising tide of Jim Crow racism and segregation in the South. New state constitutions were passed in the South from 1890 to 1908 that disfranchised black citizens for more than half a century, but their provisions generally survived US Supreme Court review. If one provision was declared unconstitutional, Southern states passed new ones to create new obstacles. After four years in Washington, D.C., Cheatham returned to farm in
Littleton, North Carolina Littleton is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 674 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Littleton was named after William Little, a ...
. He moved to
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
when appointed as superintendent of the state
Colored Orphan Asylum The Colored Orphan Asylum was an institution in New York City, open from 1836 to 1946. It housed on average four hundred children annually and was mostly managed by women. Its first location was on Fifth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets in M ...
, which was located there. He served in that position for 28 years. Cheatham had supported the state legislation to establish the orphanage in 1883, as part of Reconstruction-era programs to provide for the welfare of people. He "was its superintendent and to him more than any man, is due the credit for the remarkable progress and development of the institution.""My Future Depends Upon You!"
The Colored Orphanage of North Carolina, (Oxford, N.C.), 1939, ''Documenting the American South'', University of North Carolina
He died in Oxford in 1935. Known as an educated, discreet, and diplomatic man, Cheatham impressed even the white-supremacist Democrat Josephus Daniels. He said that he regarded Cheatham highly as a man who had gained the confidence of both races.


See also

*
Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era in the United States, especially in the Southern United States, was based on a series of laws, new constitutions, and practices in the South that were deliberately used to prevent black citizens from ...
*
List of African-American United States representatives The United States House of Representatives has had 156 elected African Americans, African-American members, of whom 150 have been representatives from U.S. states and 6 have been Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives, ...


References


External links

*
North Carolina Historical MarkerAfrican American RegistryFrom American National Biography, published by Oxford UniversityHenry P. Cheatham, "What One of the Race's Most Powerful Leaders Says of President McKinley's Administration"
Ohio History
Cheatham's 1884 marriage license
''Documenting the American South'', University of North Carolina

* ttp://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/murray:@field(DOCID+@lit(lcrbmrpt0c09div17)) "Henry P. Cheatham" ''Baptist Magazine,'' American Memory, Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheatham, Henry P. 1857 births 1935 deaths People from Henderson, North Carolina African-American people in North Carolina politics Shaw University alumni African-American members of the United States House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina People from Littleton, North Carolina District of Columbia Recorders of Deeds