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John Mercer Langston photograph
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John Mercer Langston photograph
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Description
Title
John
Mercer
Langston
photograph
Subject
Langston, John Mercer, 1829-1897
Underground Railroad--Ohio
Abolitionists
Lawyers--Ohio
Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law
Time Period
1860s
Description
This
image
of
John
Mercer
Langston
(1829-1897)
is
a
reproduction
of a
full-length
portrait
, but
it
has been
cropped
so
that
only
the
subject's
head
is
visible
. The
bearded
Langston
wears
a
stern
expression
.
Langston
was an
attorney
,
U.S
.
Representative
,
statesman
,
reformer
, and an
unwavering
advocate
of
equal
rights
for
African
Americans
. He was the
first
African
American
man
to be
admitted
to the
Ohio
bar
Langston
was
born
on
December
14
,
1829
, in
Louisa
County
,
Virginia
. His
father
,
Ralph
Quarles
, was a
wealthy
white
planter
and
slaveholder
. His
mother
,
Lucy
Langston
, was an
emancipated
slave
.
Langston's
parents
died
from
unrelated
illnesses
in
1834
. He
received
an
inheritance
that
ensured
his
financial
independence
.
Langston
and his
brothers
Gideon
and
Charles
went
to
live
with
one
of his
father's
friends
,
William
Gooch
, in
Chillicothe
,
Ohio
. In
1838
,
Gooch
moved
to
Missouri
, a
slave
state
.
Fearing
that he
might
lose
his
inheritance
if he
accompanied
Gooch
,
Langston
remained
in
Ohio
,
settling
in
Cincinnati
. In
1843
the
fourteen-year-old
Langston
enrolled
in
Oberlin
College's
Preparatory
Department
and
eventually
graduated
from the
Collegiate
Department
in
1849
. He was the
fifth
African-American
man
to
graduate
from
Oberlin
. He then
earned
a
master’s
degree
at
Oberlin's
School
of
Theology
.
Langston
was
denied
admittance
to
law
school
on the
basis
of his
race
, but he
studied
the
law
privately
with
attorney
Philemon
Bliss
in
Elyria
,
Ohio
. He
passed
the
bar
exam
in
1854
,
becoming
Ohio's
first
African-American
attorney
.
Langston
established
a
law
practice
in
Brownhelm
,
Ohio
, and
won
election
as the
town's
clerk
. In
1856
he
moved
to
Oberlin
,
where
he
continued
to
practice
law
. He also
served
on the
Oberlin
Town
Council
and on the
school
board
. He was
active
in the
black-rights
movement
. He and his
brothers
organized
antislavery
organizations
at the
state
and
local
level
. He
assisted
runaway
slaves
along
the
Underground
Railroad
in
Ohio
. He also
supported
and
helped
plan
John
Brown's
raid
on
Harper's
Ferry
,
although
he
did
not
participate
in the
attack
.
During
the
Civil
War
he
recruited
African-American
soldiers
for the
Union
cause
.
Langston
helped
form
the
45th
Massachusetts
(the
nation’s
first
black
regiment)
, the
55th
Massachusetts
, and the
5th
Ohio
Volunteer
Infantry
Regiment
.
Langston
also
called
upon
the
federal
government
to
grant
African-American
men
the
right
to
vote
. He
became
the
leader
of the
National
Equal
Rights
League
in
1864
and
organized
suffrage
campaigns
in
several
states
,
including
Ohio
.
Following
the
Civil
War
,
Langston
joined
the
Freedman's
Bureau
as its
Educational
Inspector
.
After
leaving
this
position
in
1868
, he
organized
the
law
department
of
Howard
University
in
Washington
,
DC
. He
permitted
both
women
and
racial
minorities
to
enroll
. From
1875
to
1883
he
served
as
United
States
Consul-General
to
Haiti
and in
1885
became
president
of the
Virginia
Normal
and
Collegiate
Institute
. In
1888
he
won
election
to the
United
States
House
of
Representative
,
becoming
the
first
African
American
from
Virginia
elected
to the
U.S
.
Congress
. He
failed
to
win
reelection
in
1890
. He
retired
from
public
life
in
1894
.
Langston
died
on
November
15
,
1897
.
Date of Original
ca.
1865
Collection
John
Mercer
Langston
Source
SC
3512
Format
Picture
;
Black-and-white
photograph
Submitting Institution
Ohio Historical Society
Rights
Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to
http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
Type
StillImage
File Name
AL05836.tif
Image Height
2070
Image Width
2070
File Size
17398564 Bytes
Date created
2011-08-05
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