Robert Brown Elliott (August 11, 1842August 9, 1884) was a British-born American politician of British Afro-Caribbean ethnic background. He was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, serving from 1871 to 1874.

Early life and education

He was born in 1842 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

,to parents likely from the British

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. He attended High Holborn Academy in London, England and then studied law, graduating from

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in 1859. From there he joined the British Royal Navy. Elliott arrived in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1867, and by late that year he was living in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

.Black Americans in Congress - Robert Brown Elliott: Representative, 1871–1874, Republican from South Carolina http://history.house.gov/People/Listing/E/ELLIOTT,-Robert-Brown-(E000128)/ He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1868 and began practicing law in Columbia, the state capital.

Career

Elliott arrived in

in 1867 at the age of 25, where he established a law practice. Elliott helped organize the local Republican Party and served in the state constitutional convention in 1868 as a delegate from the Edgefield district. In the late 1860s he was hired by AME bishop and fellow future congressman Richard H. Cain to be an associate editor of the paper, the ''South Carolina Leader'' (renamed the ''Missionary Record'' in 1868), along with another future congressman,

Alonzo J. Ransier Alonzo Jacob Ransier (January 3, 1834 – August 17, 1882) was an American politician in South Carolina who served as the state's first black Lieutenant Governor and later was a United States Congressman from 1873 until 1875. He was a Recon ...

. Around the same time, Elliott formed the nation's first known African-American law firm, Whipper, Elliott, and Allen, with

William Whipper William Whipper (February 22, 1804 – March 9, 1876) was a businessman and abolitionist in the United States. Whipper, an African American, advocated nonviolence and co-founded the American Moral Reform Society, an early African-American aboli ...

and Macon B. Allen. In 1868, he was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

. The next year he was appointed assistant adjutant-general; he was the first African-American

commanding general The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the

South Carolina National Guard The South Carolina National Guard (SCNG) consists of the South Carolina Army National Guard and the South Carolina Air National Guard. History The South Carolina National Guard, or Carolina militia as it was originally known, was born from the ...

. As part of his job, he helped form a state militia to fight the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

. Elliott was elected as a Republican to the

Forty-second United States Congress The 42nd 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, 1871, ...

, defeating Democrat John E. Bacon. He was re-elected to the

Forty-third 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, ...

, defeating Democrat William H. McCann. In Congress in April 1871 he gave a notable speech on the " Bill to Enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution", also known as the "Ku Klux Bill". He again "delivered a celebrated speech" in favor of the

Civil Rights Act of 1875 The Civil Rights Act of 1875, sometimes called the Enforcement Act or the Force Act, was a United States federal law enacted during the Reconstruction era in response to civil rights violations against African Americans. The bill was passed by the ...

. He resigned on November 1, 1874, to serve as sheriff and fight

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

in South Carolina. He served again in the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he was elected as Speaker of the House. He ran successfully for

South Carolina Attorney General The attorney general of South Carolina is a statewide elected attorney and South Carolina's chief legal officer and prosecutor. They are a constitutional officer responsible for providing legal opinions to the legislative and executive branch, repr ...

in 1876. In the state elections that year, white Democrats regained dominance of the state legislature. The following year, 1877, when the last of the federal troops were withdrawn from South Carolina, he was forced out of office. In 1878 he formed a law partnership with D. Augustus Straker and T. McCants Stewart. He continued to be involved in politics, working on then-Treasury Secretary

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio who served in federal office throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U. ...

's campaign for President in 1880, and was a delegate to the

1880 Republican National Convention The 1880 Republican National Convention was held from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York (state), N ...

. In January 1881 he was part of a black delegation that met with President

James Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until Assassination of James A. Garfield, his death in September that year after being shot two months ea ...

to protest the lack of civil and political rights in the South. However, his law practice faltered. In 1879, he was appointed a customs inspector for the Treasury Department in

. He contracted malaria while working in that capacity on a trip to Florida. In 1881, he was transferred to New Orleans, and in 1882 he was dismissed. In New Orleans he again attempted to practice law, but found few clients. Impoverished, he died in New Orleans on August 9, 1884.

Legacy

In 1998, the South Carolina House of Representatives unveiled a portrait of Elliott, painted by South Carolina artist

Larry Francis Lebby Larry Francis Lebby, (September 8, 1950 – July 21, 2019) is a native South Carolinian. He was a nationally known painter, printmaker and artist working in Columbia, South Carolina. Early life and education Lebby was one of the Black student ...

. The portrait now hangs in the gallery of the House chambers. "Week In Review" (PDF). March 24, 1998. Retrieved August 9, 2023.

References

External links

African American Registry Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Robert B. 1842 births 1884 deaths African-American state legislators in South Carolina Speakers of the South Carolina House of Representatives African-American members of the United States House of Representatives South Carolina attorneys general People educated at Eton College Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina People from Aiken County, South Carolina People from Barnwell County, South Carolina African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era English emigrants to the United States Politicians from Liverpool Black British politicians American politicians of Caribbean descent 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly

Early life and education

Career

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links