Hiram Parks Bell (January 19, 1827 – August 16, 1907) was a white supremacist, slave owner,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and a Confederate Representative from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Early life and education

Bell was born January 19, 1827, near

Jefferson, Georgia Jefferson is a city and the county seat of Jackson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,233 at the 2020 census, up from 9,432 at the 2010 census. As of 2024 the estimated population was 16,459. History Jefferson was founded in ...

. He taught school for two years, studied law, was admitted to the Georgia bar later in 1849 and became a practicing lawyer in

Cumming, Georgia Cumming is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, Georgia, United States, and the sole incorporated area in the county. It is a suburban city, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In the 2020 census, the population is 7,318, up fro ...

. According to his autobiographical memoirs, "Men and Things," he owned at least two slaves.

Secession and war

Bell was a member of the Georgia secession convention, voting against secession as imprudent, but then signing the

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the American Civil War, by which each seceding slave-holding Southern state or territory formally Secession in ...

. He believed that "the Northern States were astonished that the Southern States would secede; the Southern people were surprised that the government would attempt to hold the States together by force." Hearing that Georgia must "grasp in fraternity the bloody hand of Massachusetts, or align yourselves with gallant South Carolina" shook his views on the need to secede. He served as a Georgia commissioner to work with the state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in the formation of a

southern confederacy The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

American Civil War

In 1861, Bell served in the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

; however, he resigned to join the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He was later promoted to lieutenant colonel and then

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the

43rd Georgia Infantry Regiment {{Infobox military unit , unit_name=43rd Georgia Infantry Regiment , image=Flag of Georgia non official.svg , image_size = 100 , caption=Georgia State flag prior to 1879 , country={{flag, Confederate States of America , allegiance={{flagicon im ...

. Bell was a Georgia representative to the

Second Confederate Congress The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia ...

in 1864 and 1865.

Post-war politics

After the war, Bell opposed the

Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended, in the wake of the Ame ...

as "legislative folly… intended to harass and humiliate the white people. He was a member of the Democratic State executive committee from 1868 to 1871. Elected as a Democratic Representative to the

43rd United States Congress The 43rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873, ...

representing Georgia's 9th congressional district, Bell served from March 4, 1873, until March 3, 1875. He served as a delegate to the

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

and was chosen an at-large member from Georgia to

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. Bell was elected to the U.S. Congress again to represent the 10th district of Georgia during the 45th Congress to fill the vacant seat resulting from the resignation of Benjamin Harvey Hill and served from March 13, 1877, to March 3, 1879. Bell lost his bid for reelection to that in 1878. He then served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

in 1898 and 1899 and the Georgia Senate in 1900 and 1901. In his memoirs, Bell praised the Ku Klux Klan as "a saving factor in the preservation of order and the prevention of lawlessness" for opposing

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. He also described himself as one of the "able and patriotic" white Georgian men who "established a Constitution that secured white over black domination."

Death

Bell died in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, on August 16, 1907, and was buried in the Cumming Cemetery.

Legacy

* Bell Street in Atlanta is possibly named for him. * In June, 2020, residents of Cumming, Georgia called for the removal of his statue from the town square.

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-13

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Hiram Parks 1827 births 1907 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Jackson County, Georgia People from Cumming, Georgia 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly Neo-Confederates