and later in 1870 joseph rainey of south carolina won a special election to the u.s. house of representatives becoming the first african-american to serve in our institution. the arrival of rebels and rainey ranks among the great paradoxes in american history. just a decade earlier these african-americans' congressional seats were held by southern slave holders. in so many aspects menard's background and his experiences foreshadowed those of african-americans who would shortly follow him into congress. as phil just alluded to, he was young. he was just 30 years old when he made that speech on the house floor. like a lot of the men who would follow him in the 1870s and 1880s. he was born into a mixed race family. he was exceedingly well educated relative to his contemporaries, and like all those who would follow him in the next decade, he was from a reconstructed republican government in the south, and as did menard, african-americans elected after him found allies among radical republicans on capitol hill. menard's contested election, too, was a preview of what awaite