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Blanche Kelso Bruce was born a slave in 1841, yet, remarkably, amassed a real-estate fortune and became the first black man to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. He married Josephine Willson—the daughter of a wealthy black Philadelphia doctor—and together they broke down racial barriers in 1880s Washington, D.C., numbering President Ulysses S. Grant among their influential friends. The Bruce family achieved a level of wealth and power unheard of for people of color in nineteenth-century America. Yet later generations would stray from the proud Bruce legacy, stumbling into scandal and tragedy. Drawing on Senate records, historical documents, and personal letters, author Lawrence Otis Graham weaves a riveting social history that offers a fascinating look at race, politics, and class in America.
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THE S E N AT O R AND THE SOCIALITE �� The True Story of America’s First Black Dynasty L AW R E N C E O T I S G R A H A M To my mother, Betty Johnyce Walker Graham, for challenging bias with courage and grace. To my father, Richard Charles Graham, for remembering our people’s history. To my wife, Pamela Thomas-Graham, for everything else. Contents �� Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Preface and Acknowledgments vii Cast of Characters xv 1875 A Senator Is Sworn In and a Dynasty Begins 1841–1861 Blanche Bruce’s Slave Family in Virginia and Missouri 1841–1860 The Free Aristocratic Family of Josephine Willson 1862–1870 Bruce Finds Kansas Freedom, Ohio Education, and Mississippi Reconstruction 1870–1874 Bruce Builds a Base of Power in Mississippi and Is Elected to the U.S. Senate 1875–1877 The Start of a Senate Career 1877–1878 A Senator and a Socialite Marry Despite Family and Class Conflicts 1878 A Black Dynasty Begins 1879–1880 A New Child and a New Redemption Congress 1880–1888 Bruce Leaves the Senate, Joins the Treasury Department, Then Enters Private Life 1889–1895 Bruce Persuades President Harrison to Give Him a Job and His Wife Gains Her Independence 1 9 25 32 45 63 87 97 110 122 149 v Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Contents 1895–1898 The Senator Gets Appointed by President McKinley as His Son Breaks Barriers at Phillips Exeter; the Senator Dies March 1898–June 1902 The Senator’s Son Begins a Courtship at Harvard, and the Senator’s Widow Carries Out a Legacy 1902 Roscoe Builds an Alliance with Booker T. Washington 1903 A Marriage of the Second Generation, and Life in Tuskegee December 1903–1906 Roscoe and Clara Build the Next Generation 170 194 217 230 246 Photographic Insert Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 1906–1914 A Triumphant Return to Washington Life: The Bruce Family’s Second Generation Emerges 1915–1922 Roscoe’s Downfall in Washington 1923–1924 Roscoe Struggles with Harvard’s President, His Family Finances, and His Children’s Success 1925–1929 The Family Moves to Cambridge and New York, and Roscoe Builds an Alliance with John D. Rockefeller Jr. 1930–1939 The Third Generation Makes News, and the Senator’s Grandson Goes to Prison 1940–1967 The Third Bruce Generation Erases a Proud History 380 Timeline Notes Bibliography Photography Credits Index 393 405 431 437 439 268 288 308 329 354 About the Author Other Books by Lawrence Otis Graham Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher Preface and Acknowledgments �� he was a former slave who lived in mississippi and understood how to exploit the harsh rules that governed black-white relations during the post–Civil