Document 4
Source: Mr. Blanche Kelso Bruce. Encyclopedia of American History: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1856 to 1869, vol. 5 (2000)
After a short time at Ohio's Oberlin College, he settled in the Delta region in
postwar Mississippi. Bruce was popular with white planters in Bolivar County
because of his intelligence, eloquence, and moderate politics. He held the offices
of sheriff, tax collector, and superintendent of education simultaneously. However,
as an educated biracial man from out of state, Bruce had little in common with the
black population of the Delta.
In 1874 he purchased a 1,000-acre plantation. Regardless, his black supporters
were loyal because of his status as a black political leader and because he turned
the school system in Bolivar County into one of the strongest in the state.
With the support of Governor Adelbert Ames, Bruce was selected senator from
the state of Mississippi in 1875, the first African American to serve a full term in
the U.S. Senate. As a senator, he strongly defended civil rights for African
Americans and demanded that the federal government stop violence against black
voters. Bruce was a consistent supporter of federal aid for railroads and
Mississippi River improvements. He chaired the committee that investigated the
failure of the freedman's savings bank.

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