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Whites received instruction but blacks did not and suffered votes being disqualified as a result. Over the years, the discouragement of the system had caused a severe drop in voting turnout by blacks. The House
Committee of Elections ruled in Miller's favor, and he was finally seated in the Fifty-First Congress in 1890. He was defeated for his seat in the election by William Elliot in the fall election for the Congress starting in 1891.
327:(now the University of South Carolina), where black students were admitted for the first time under the Republican state legislature, and graduated in 1875. He was admitted to the bar that year. (After Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1876-1877, they forced black students out of the flagship college.)
481:, but he returned to Charleston. He died on April 8, 1938. He asked for the following to be inscribed on his gravestone: "Not having loved the white less, but having felt the Negro needed me more", related to his work for civil rights and his decision to identify as African American rather than white.
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challenged him and won the official vote count, 8,358 to 7,003 for Miller. Miller contested the election result, and pressed allegations that many properly registered black voters had not been able to cast their ballots, due to the confusion of the "eight-box ballot" system established in 1882.
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in 1880, serving one term until 1882. He was nominated for lieutenant governor but did not enter the race. He struggled his entire life to find acceptance in the black and white communities. African-American political rivals dismissed him as a white imposter attempting to take advantage of the
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277:, and his father a wealthy young white man, whose family rejected their relationship. They forced him to give up his son for adoption. He was adopted by former slaves Richard and Mary Ferrebee Miller, who were freed by 1850.
391:(also a mulatto) and Murray competed for the Republican nomination in the 7th "shoestring district" during the 1890s. Murray took it in 1892. Miller was re-elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1894.
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wrote that "in no other state was a single public figure identified so vividly and indisputably with disfranchisement." Tillman and other
Democratic leaders intended to go beyond the statutes to eliminate black voting.
430:, and $ 300 worth of property. Miller, Murray and four other black delegates to the convention opposed the document and refused to ratify it. They drew national attention to the issues by publishing accounts in the
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As
African-American candidates competed in "black" districts, men's ancestry became part of the political fodder; tensions became heightened between mulattoes like Miller and darker-skinned politicians such as
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newspaper. The
Democrats passed the constitution and effectively disfranchised most black voters for more than half a century, which also disqualified them from serving on juries or holding local office.
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Appointed by the governor as the
College's first president, Miller resigned as state representative. He continued to be politically active and, in 1910, opposed the election of
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era of the last decade of the nineteenth century, as disfranchisement reduced black voting. After that, no
African Americans were elected from the South until 1972.
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post–Civil War black electorate. Yet Miller, who embraced the black heritage nurtured by his adoptive parents, was also ostracized by white colleagues.
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Miller moved from
Orangeburg back to Charleston, where he worked on various community causes. Supporting United States participation in
214:(June 17, 1849 – April 8, 1938) was an American educator, lawyer and politician. After being elected as a state legislator in
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The new constitution was one of a number passed in southern states at the turn of the century that were designed to effectively
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African-American citizens by changes to voter registration rules. South
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641:"The Negroes’ Temporary Farewell: Jim Crow and the Exclusion of African Americans from Congress, 1887–1929"
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The boy's
European appearance long prompted speculation about his paternity. In 1851, his family moved to
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as governor. After his victory, Blease forced Miller's resignation because of his opposition.
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for white in the North, but chose to identify as black and return to the South to help the
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Republican Party members of the United States House of
Representatives from South Carolina
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2nd ed. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003; reprint of the 1952 edition).
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296:. Because of his appearance and high proportion of European ancestry, Miller could have
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Miller returned to South Carolina, where he was appointed as a school commissioner of
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683:. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. pp. 999–1000.
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Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina
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Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina
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college for African Americans in the segregated state school system. In 1896, the
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Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction,
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569:, Black Americans in Congress, United States Congress, accessed 4 June 2012
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African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
284:, where Miller attended a school for free colored children. When the
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Black Congressmen During Reconstruction: A Documentary Sourcebook
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Black Congressmen During Reconstruction: A Documentary Sourcebook
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in 1874, serving three terms until 1880. He was elected to the
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and Stephen Middleton found that his mother was a fair-skinned
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Struggle for Mastery: Disfranchisement in the South, 1888-1908
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revised edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996): 149
474:, he helped recruit 30,000 black men to the Armed Services.
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He married Anna Hume, and they had nine children together.
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African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era
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Despite the issues, he was elected chairman of the state
587:. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc. pp.
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Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
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List of African-American United States representatives
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Miller did gain the support of Tillman to establish a
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African-American state legislators in South Carolina
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Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
613:"Techniques of Direct Disenfranchisement, 1880-1965"
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237:. He was a school commissioner, state legislator,
229:Miller was a prominent leader in the struggle for
669:, University of North Carolina Press, 2001, p. 93
583:Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections
709:(Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2002): 227–228
525:(Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2002): 227–228
404:1895 South Carolina constitutional convention
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765:U.S. House of Representatives
892:Activists for African-American civil rights
771:South Carolina's 7th congressional district
304:. Receiving a scholarship, Miller attended
82:September 24, 1890 – March 3, 1891
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406:called by the white supremacist governor,
343:Miller was elected as a Republican to the
222:elected to Congress from the South in the
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30:For other people named Thomas Miller, see
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63:U.S. House of Representatives
867:Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
902:South Carolina State University faculty
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345:South Carolina House of Representatives
233:in the American South during and after
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323:that same year. He studied law at the
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249:established as a land-grant school.
862:University of South Carolina alumni
776:September 24, 1890 - March 3, 1891
654:, US Congress, accessed 5 June 2012
477:From 1923 to 1934, Miller lived in
426:administered by white supervisors,
738:South Carolina Negroes, 1877–1900,
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548:US Congress, accessed 5 June 2012
186:Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)
724:"Thomas E. Miller (id: M000757)"
458:South Carolina State University
243:South Carolina State University
27:American politician (1849–1938)
402:He was also a delegate to the
398:Miller with his wife, ca. 1924
316:, where he graduated in 1872.
32:Thomas Miller (disambiguation)
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877:South Carolina state senators
763:Member of the
748:U.S. House of Representatives
259:Ferrebeeville, South Carolina
546:Black Americans in Congress,
681:South Carolina Encyclopedia
652:Black Americans in Congress
275:Declaration of Independence
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535:"George Washington Murray"
454:historically black college
368:7th Congressional District
310:historically black college
247:historically black college
218:, he was one of only five
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882:Pennsylvania Republicans
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704:Stephen Middleton, ed.,
521:Stephen Middleton, ed.,
362:In 1888, Miller ran for
253:Early life and education
736:Tindall, George Brown.
567:"Thomas Ezekiel Miller"
679:Edgar, Walter (2006).
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325:South Carolina College
812:Robert Shaw Wilkinson
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349:South Carolina Senate
212:Thomas Ezekiel Miller
41:Thomas Ezekiel Miller
18:Thomas Ezekiel Miller
173:William Wilson Cooke
364:U.S. Representative
331:Marriage and family
288:ended, he moved to
271:Thomas Heyward, Jr.
257:Miller was born in
239:U.S. Representative
646:2012-04-21 at the
540:2009-03-25 at the
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306:Lincoln University
273:, a signer of the
269:daughter of Judge
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779:Succeeded by
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175:(son in-law)
164:Anna M. Hume
139:(1938-04-08)
100:Succeeded by
77:
842:1938 deaths
837:1849 births
472:World War I
387:. Miller,
88:Preceded by
831:Categories
807:1896-1911
622:2017-09-16
497:References
450:Orangeburg
442:land-grant
428:poll taxes
374:candidate
372:Democratic
282:Charleston
263:Eric Foner
192:Profession
181:Alma mater
155:Republican
366:from the
359:in 1884.
286:Civil War
169:Relations
78:In office
644:Archived
538:Archived
485:See also
302:freedmen
294:New York
224:Jim Crow
200:attorney
196:Educator
452:. The
267:mulatto
768:from
687:
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298:passed
290:Hudson
161:Spouse
67:from
685:ISBN
593:ISBN
308:, a
245:, a
134:Died
120:Born
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312:in
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