Incredible as it may sound to the twentieth century reader, the
Commonwealth of Mississippi was for six years ably represented in the
United States Senate by a distinguished Negro Senator, the Honorable
B. K. Bruce. So inspiring is the story of Senator Bruce's efforts in
the defense of humanity that it ought not to be permitted to lie in
obscurity for want of a sympathetic pen. The present venture,
therefore, is an attempt, though belated, to recount some of the
achievements of this statesman whose public career looms up as a
monument to the American Negro's self-confidence, resolution, and
persistency.
Senator Bruce's career in the upper chamber of Congress began on March
5, 1875, at the special session of the Forty-fourth Congress, called
by President Grant. His name appears in the _Congressional Record_ of
that session as "Branch" K. Bruce, Floreyville, Mississippi. He was
assigned to the _Committee on Manufactures_ and to the _Committee on
Education and Labor_ and later to the _Committee on Pensions_ and the
_Committee on the Improvement of the Mississippi River and its
Tributaries_.[1]
Antedating his election to the United States Senate, Senator Bruce had
held positions of trust and honor in the State of Mississippi. He had
been Sheriff, Tax-Collector, Commissioner of the Levees Board, and
County Superintendent of Education. Moreover, he had served as
Sergeant-at-Arms of the first State Senate after the Reconstruction
Period, and Commissioner of Elections in a county that was reputed as
being the most lawless in the State. In all these positions, Senator
Bruce had displayed such integrity of purpose, sagacious
statesmanship, and tireless industry that his election to the United
States Senate followed as a logical and merited promotion.[2]
Senator Bruce's "maiden speech" in the Senate was delivered shortly
after he took his seat during the special session. The speech was a
vigorous protest against the proposed removal of the troops from the
South, Mississippi in particular, where the military authorities were
still in control. The speech made a profound impression on the Senate
and clearly indicated the manly stand which Senator Bruce was
preparing to take against the injustices practised against Negro
citizens both North and South.[3]
The regular session of the Forty-fourth Congress, which convened on
Monday, December 6, 1875, gave Senator Bruce numerous opportunities
for energetic efforts. Early in the session, he presented a petition
of the Sons of Temperance of the District of Columbia, praying for
legislation for the District of Columbia and the Territories; for the
prohibition of the importation of alcoholic liquors from abroad and
that total abstinence be made a condition of the civil, military, and
naval service. Later he introduced a Bill "to provide for the payment
of bounties, etc., to colored soldiers and sailors and their
heirs."[4] His first important opportunity for valuable service came
during the discussion of the resolution to admit former Governor
Pinchback as a Senator from Louisiana. The resolution had been
presented on March 5, 1875, at the special session of the
Senate--"That P. B. S. Pinchback be admitted as a Senator from the
State of Louisiana for the term of six years, beginning with the
fourth of March 1873." Senator Bruce delivered the following address:
When I entered upon my duties here as Senator from Mississippi,
the question ceased to be novel, and had already been elaborately
and exhaustively discussed. So far as opportunity has permitted
me to do so, I have dispassionately examined the question in the
light of the discussion, and I venture my views now with the
diffidence inspired by my limited experience in the consideration
of such questions and by a just appreciation of the learning and
ability of the gentlemen who have already attempted to elucidate
and determine this case.
I believe, Mr. President, whatever seeming informalities may
attach to the manner in which the will of the people was
ascertained, Mr. Pinchback is the representative of a majority of
the legal voters of Louisiana, and is entitled to a seat in the
Senate. In the election of 1872, the white population of the
State exceeded, by the census of 1872, the colored population by
about two thousand, including in the white estimate 6,300
foreigners, only half of whom were naturalized. This estimate, at
the same ratio in each race, would give a large majority of
colored voters. The census and registration up to 1872
substantially agree, and both sustain this conclusion. The census
of 1875, taken in pursuance of an article of the State
constitution, gives, after including the foreign population
(naturalized and unnaturalized) in the white aggregate, a
majority of 45,695 colored population.
This view of the question is submitted not as determining the
contest, but as an offset to the allegation that Mr. Pinchback
does not fairly represent the popular will of the State, and as a
presumption in favor of the legal title of the assembly that
elected him.
The State government elected in 1872, and permanently inaugurated
in January 1873, in the face of contest and opposition, obtained
for its authority the recognition of the inferior and supreme
courts of the State. When organized violence threatened its
existence and the United States Government was appealed to for
troops to sustain it, the national Executive, in pursuance of his
constitutional authority and duty, responded to the demand made
for help, prefacing said action by an authoritative declaration,
made through the Attorney General, addressed to
Lieutenant-Governor Pinchback, then Acting Governor, of date of
December 12, 1872, that said Pinchback was "recognized as the
lawful executive of Louisiana, and the body assembled at
Mechanics' Institute as the lawful Legislature of the State"; and
similar recognition of his successor was subsequently given. When
in September 1874, an attempt was made to overthrow the
government, the President again interposed with the Army and Navy
for its protection and the maintenance of its authority.
This government has proceeded to enact and enforce laws for three
years, which not only affect life, liberty, and property, but
which have received the general obedience of the citizens of the
State. The present government also has frequently been brought in
official contact with the United States Congress--through its
legislatures of 1873 and 1875, by memorials and joint resolutions
addressed to the respective Houses; and through its executive, by
credentials, borne by Congressmen and by Senators--and in no case
has the legitimate authority of the Legislature been excepted to
save in the action of electing a United States Senator; and in no
instance has the sufficiency of the executive's credentials been
questioned, in either House, except in the matter of the
senatorial claimant.
Now, sir, shall we admit by our action on this ease that for
three years the State of Louisiana has not had a lawful
Legislature; that its laws have been made by an unauthorized mob;
that the President of the United States actively, and Congress,
by non-action at least, have sustained and perpetuated this
abnormal, illegal, wrongful condition of things, thereby
justifying and provoking the indignant and violent protests of
one portion of the people of that State, and inviting them to
renewed and continued agitation and violence? Such action by us
would be unjust to the claimant, a great wrong to the people who
sent him here, and cruel even to that class who have awaited an
opportunity to bring to their support the overwhelming moral
power of the nation in the pursuit of their illusion--which has
so nearly ruined the future of that fair State--a government
based upon the prejudices of caste.
I respectfully ask attention of Senators to another view of this
subject, which is not without weight in determining the
obligations of this body to the State of Louisiana and in
ascertaining the title of the claimant. If the assumption that
the present government inaugurated in 1873 is without legal
authority and usurpation is true, the remedy for the state of
things was to be found in the exercise of Congress through the
joint action of the two Houses of the powers conferred under the
guaranteeing clause of the Constitution relative to republican
forms of government in the several States.
Failing to exercise her power and perform her duty in this
direction, and thus practically perpetuating the present
government, I submit that, in my judgment, we cannot now ignore
our obligation to give the State her full representation on the
score of the alleged irregularity of the government through which
she has expressed her will; and there does seem to me, in this
connection, something incongruous in the proposition that we may
impose upon the people a government without legal sanction and
demand their obedience to and support thereof, said government
meanwhile determining the character of its successors and thus
perpetuating its talent, and yet are powerless to admit a Senator
elected thereby.
In my judgment, this question shall at this juncture be
considered and decided not on abstract but practical grounds.
Whatever wrongs have been done and mistakes made in Louisiana by
either party, the present order of things is accepted by the
people of the State and by the nation, and will be maintained as
a final settlement of the political issues that have divided the
people there; and no changes in the administration of public
affairs can or will be made except by the people, through the
ballot, under the existing government and laws of the
Commonwealth.
Under these circumstances, holding the question in abeyance is,
in my judgment, an unconstitutional deprivation of the right of a
State, and a provocation to popular disquietude; and in the
interest of good-will and good government, the most judicious and
consistent course is to admit the claimant to his seat.
I desire, Mr. President, to make a personal reference to the
claimant. I would not attempt one or deem one proper were it not
that his personal character has been assailed.
As a father, I know him to be affectionate; as a husband, the
idol of a pleasant home and cheerful fireside; as a citizen,
loyal, brave, and true. And in his character and success we
behold an admirable illustration of the excellence of our
republican institutions.[5]
This speech, printed in its entirety, is an honest, frank, and
convincing enunciation of republican truths. It is an unselfish and
sober appeal for justice to another member of the Negro race. Bereft
of all rhetorical embellishments, as the speech is, it may well pass
for a masterpiece of logical thought and dynamic expression. It is the
forerunner of even mightier utterances.
Long before Senator Bruce donned his senatorial toga, rioting in
Mississippi had become prevalent. In fact, his own county, Bolivar,
was perhaps the only one in the State which had not furnished a stage
for bitter race feuds; and even this county narrowly averted a
calamity. Back in the early seventies, a report gained currency that
in a few days there was to be a "shooting up" in Bolivar. Guns and
ammunition were being stored, and the outlook became menacing. The
riot, however, was averted because Senator Bruce went personally to
the controlling citizens and succeeded in arousing a strong sentiment
against the threatening disorder. Bolivar County was thus enabled to
boast that it had never been stained with bloodshed, and even today
the memory of Senator Bruce is held in highest respect in Bolivar
County.
In other sections of the State, rioting became so prevalent,
especially on election days, that the returns of the elections were
open to serious doubt. The United States Senate was forced to take
cognizance of this condition. On Friday, March 31, 1876, a Resolution
was introduced appointing a Committee "to investigate the late
election in Mississippi." Senator Bruce embraced this opportunity to
give a clear exposition of the condition of affairs in his State. His
speech on this occasion reveals him as a broad-minded and courageous
statesman free from the curse of narrow dogma and paltry aim. He began
by announcing the basic principles of a democracy that will survive:
The conduct of the late election in Mississippi affected not
merely the fortunes of the partisans--as the same were
necessarily involved in the defeat or success of the respective
parties to the contest--but put in question and jeopardy the
sacred rights of the citizens; and the investigation contemplated
in the pending resolution has for its object not the
determination of the question whether the offices shall be held
and the public affairs of the State be administered by Democrats
or Republicans, but the higher and more important end, the
protection in all their purity and significance of the political
rights of the people and the free institutions of the country.[6]
He continued by referring to the evidence which proved that the voters
of Mississippi in the "late election" had not had an actual
opportunity to cast their votes:
The evidence in hand and accessible will show beyond peradventure
that in many parts of the State corrupt and violent influences
were brought to bear upon the registrars of voters, thus
materially affecting the character of the voting or poll lists;
upon the inspectors of election, prejudicially and unfairly,
thereby changing the number of votes cast; and finally threats
and violence were practiced directly upon the masses of voters in
such measure and strength as to produce grave apprehensions for
personal safety and as to deter them from the exercise of their
political franchises.
It was in this speech that Senator Bruce replied to the erstwhile
criticism that the Negro was a coward because he endured every kind of
indignity without retaliating. Taking the prevalent view of
progressive thought of the nineteenth century, he spoke as follows:
It will not accord with the laws of nature or history to brand
colored people a race of cowards. On more than one historic
field, beginning in 1776 and coming down to the centennial year
of the Republic, they have attested in blood their courage as
well as a love of liberty. I ask Senators to believe that no
consideration of fear or personal danger has kept us quiet and
forbearing under the provocations and wrongs that have so sorely
tried our souls. But feeling kindly towards our white
fellow-citizens, appreciating the good purposes and offices of
the better classes, and, above all, abhorring war of races, we
determined to wait until such time as an appeal to the good sense
and justice of the American people could be made.[7]
This pronouncement of Senator Bruce exalting the manly virtue of
patience, even in the face of grave injustices, was preeminently
representative of the most highly educated Negro thought of the
century in which Senator Bruce lived, and must be interpreted in terms
of the philosophy of his day. If it should be objected to by some of
the most highly developed Negro thought of the present day, the
increasing tendency towards retaliation should be attributed partly to
the American Negro's metamorphosis since the colossal struggle for
that Utopian dream--a World's Democracy.
Perhaps the part of Senator Bruce's speech which has given most
impetus to similar modern expression is contained in the following
excerpt:
The sober American judgment must obtain in the South as elsewhere
in the Republic, that the only distinctions upon which parties
can be safely organized and in harmony with our institutions are
differences of opinion relative to principles and policies of
government, and that differences of religion, nationality, or
race can neither with safety nor propriety be permitted for a
moment to enter into the party contests of the day. The unanimity
with which the colored voters act with a party is not referable
to any race prejudice on their part. On the contrary, they invite
the political cooperation of their white brethren, and vote as a
unit because proscribed as such. They deprecate the establishment
of the color line by the opposition, not only because the act is
unwise, but because it isolates them from the white men of the
South and forces them, in sheer self-protection, and against
their inclination, to act seemingly upon the basis of a race
prejudice that they neither respect nor entertain. They not only
recognize the equality of citizenship and the right of every man
to hold without proscription any position of honor and trust to
which the confidence of the people may elevate him; but owing
nothing to race, birth, or surroundings, they above all other
classes, in the community, are interested to see prejudices drop
out of both politics and the business of the country, and success
in life proceed upon the integrity and merit of the man who seeks
it.... But withal, as they progress in intelligence and
appreciation of the dignity of their prerogatives as citizens,
they as an evidence of growth begin to realize the significance
of the proverb, "When thou doest well for thyself, men shall
praise thee"; and are disposed to exact the same protection and
concession of rights that are conferred upon other citizens by
the Constitution, and that too without humiliation involved in
the enforced abandonment of their political convictions.
The speech closes with an enthusiastic expression of confidence in
American institutions and in the American Negro:
I have confidence, not only in my country and her institutions,
but in the endurance, capacity and destiny of my people. We will,
as opportunity offers and ability serves, seek our places,
sometimes in the field of letters, arts, science and the
professions. More frequently mechanical pursuits will attract and
elicit our efforts; more still of my people will find employment
and livelihood as the cultivators of the soil. The bulk of this
people--by surroundings, habits, adaptation, and choice will
continue to find their homes in the South and constitute the
masses of its yeomanry. We will there, probably of our own
volition and more abundantly than in the past, produce the great
staples that will contribute to the basis of foreign exchange,
aid in giving the nation a balance of trade, and minister to the
wants and comforts and build up the prosperity of the whole land.
Whatever our ultimate position in the composite civilization of
the republic and whatever varying fortunes attend our career, we
will not forget our instincts for freedom nor our love for
country.[8]
A careful study of the speech shows what a model it has been for
speakers and writers of a much later period. It deals openly and
frankly with the Southern question, and is prophetic of President
Harding's recent utterances on the Negro's political status in the
South.
During the second session of the Forty-fourth Congress, Mr. Bruce
confined his efforts largely to the relief of the legal heirs of Negro
soldiers who had fought to preserve the Union. Consequently, he
introduced a number of bills praying that arrears of pensions be
granted. In this way, he became the benefactor of many persons who
otherwise might never have received their pensions. In addition to
such relief legislation, he presented for the second time a petition
praying for a general law prohibiting liquor traffic, and introduced a
bill for certain improvements in the Mississippi River.[9]
The Forty-fifth Congress was not especially eventful. Senator Bruce,
however, continued to introduce bills for the relief of legal heirs of
soldiers. During the second session of this Congress, he took an
active interest in the Chinese Exclusion Bill, registering his vote
against the measure which seemed to him to be contrary to American
principles. His denunciation of the selfish policy of the United
States toward the Indian was more pronounced than that of his
dissatisfaction with the restriction of the immigration of the
Chinese. He believed that the attitude of the Americans toward the
Indian bred hatred and discontent and made the Indian a fugitive and a
vagabond. He believed that the United States Government should do
something to civilize the Indian rather than to restrict him. The
Indian could be made a desirable citizen if the best elements of his
nature were developed to enable him to exercise the functions of
citizenship. He early advocated, therefore, that the Indians should
cease to be dealt with as tribes and should receive consideration as
individuals, "subject to American law and beneficiaries of American
institutions." The Indian then, when no longer branded as an outlaw,
would in the very near future advance to the position when the
cooperation and the protection of the white man would be welcomed as
that of friends.[11]
It was during the Forty-sixth Congress that Senator Bruce was most
active. Senator Bruce did most constructive work in advocating the
improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi river. The importance
of this question today is not so striking as it was at that time for
the reason that little had been done to protect life and property from
the inundations of that stream. Senator Bruce kept this important
problem before Congress urging not only that the interest of the
people in the valley itself be taken care of, but that this river
should by adequate facilities be made the highway of interstate and
foreign commerce. Toward this end Senator Bruce offered several bills
meeting the exigencies of the time and providing for future needs. As
the foresight of a majority of the members of Congress at that time
was not sufficient to appreciate this statesmanlike effort of Senator
Bruce, his program for this important internal improvement was not
carried out, although some important efforts since then to supply this
need in our economic development must be considered as due in some
measure to the persistence and the courage of Senator Bruce in keeping
this question before Congress.[12]
Senator Bruce, moreover, had been watching, with increasing
misgivings, the affairs of that notorious banking bubble, more
pretentiously known as the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company. To
protect the rights of the depositors of the defunct institution, he
offered the following resolution, on April 7, 1879:
That the President of the Senate appoint a committee of five on
the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company to take into
consideration all matters relating to said institution, and that
said committee be authorized to employ a clerk, and that the
necessary expenses be paid out of the "miscellaneous items" of
the contingent fund of the Senate.[13]
The resolution was considered by unanimous consent and agreed to. The
Vice President, the Honorable William A. Wheeler, subsequently
appointed Senator Bruce as Chairman of this committee. The other
members were Senators Cameron of Wisconsin, Gordon, Withers, and
Garland. To head such a committee was, indeed, an enviable privilege,
but the real opportunity lay in the kind of service which the
entangled affairs of the bank made possible. At this time, the affairs
of the bank were in the hands of three commissioners, each receiving
$3000 a year, and no promise of winding up the business of the bank
was foreshadowed. Thus the available assets were reduced annually by
the total amount of these salaries. The assets, of course, were to be
paid _pro rata_ to the depositors.
In order that his committee might have more power to go into the
management of the bank, Senator Bruce offered the following resolution
on May 16, 1879:
That the Select Committee on the Freedman's Savings and Trust
Company appointed by resolution of the Senate of April 7, 1879,
is authorized and directed to investigate the affairs of said
savings and trust company and its several branches, to ascertain
and report to the Senate all matters relating to the management
of the same and the cause or causes of failure, with such other
facts relating thereto as may be important to a full
understanding of the management and present condition of the
institution and to a more economical administration and speedy
adjustment of its affairs.
Following this resolution, Senator Bruce presented a petition of R. M.
Hall, M.D., and others, citizens of Baltimore, Maryland, praying the
passage of an act requiring the commissioners of the Freedman's
Savings and Trust Company to close up the affairs of the institution
and distribute the assets among the creditors thereof. This petition
was presented on May 27, 1879.
The resolution and the petition had their desired effect. The services
of the commissioners were dispensed with, thus saving $9000 a year for
the depositors; and the final settlement of the claims was turned over
to the Controller of the Treasury. To Senator Bruce's Committee,
therefore, goes the credit of bringing a speedy close to the affairs
of the defunct Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, with the minimum
of further loss to the depositors. Later, Senator Bruce made a strong,
but vain, appeal to reimburse the colored depositors of the Freedman's
Savings and Trust Company for losses incurred by the failure of the
bank.
His final dealings with the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company came
in the third session of the Forty-sixth Congress, when he introduced
the following bill:
That the Senate authorize and direct the purchase by the
Secretary of the Treasury, for public use, the property known as
the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, and the real estate and
parcels of ground adjacent thereto, belonging to the Freedman's
Savings and Trust Company, and located on Pennsylvania Avenue
between Fifteenth and Fifteenth-and-a-half Streets, Washington,
District of Columbia.