The U.S. Congress IN 1807 passed an act to “prohibit the importation
of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United
States…from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.”

Hiram Rhodes Revels (September 27, 1827 – January 16, 1901)

Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, 
was sworn into the U.S. Senate on February 25, 1870, becoming
the first African American ever to sit in Congress.

During the Civil War, Revels, a college-educated minister, helped
form African American army regiments for the Union cause,
started a school for freed men, and served as a chaplain for the
Union army.

Drawing of Revels being sworn in.

On January 4, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered the
first televised evening State of the Union Address.

Johnson laid out for Congress a laundry list of legislation needed
to achieve his plan for a Great Society.

As a result Congress enacted sweeping legislation in the areas of
civil rights, health care, education and the environment. 

The 1965 State of the Union address heralded the creation of Medicare/Medicaid, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil
Rights Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development
and the White House Conference on Natural Beauty.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson signs the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.

Actor Gary Cooper being questioned by the  Congressional
committee.

On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicked into high gear
in Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating
Communist influence in one of the world’s richest and most
glamorous communities: Hollywood.

After World War II, the Cold War began to heat up between the
world’s two superpowers—the United States and the communist-
controlled Soviet Union. In Washington, conservative watchdogs
worked to out communists in government before setting their
sights on alleged “Reds” in the famously liberal movie industry.

In its investigation, the House Un-American Activities Committee
grilled a number of prominent witnesses, asking bluntly “Are you
or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” Some
witnesses—including director Elia Kazan, actors Gary Cooper and
Robert Taylor and studio honchos Walt Disney and Jack Warner—
gave the committee names of colleagues they suspected of being
communists.

A small group known as the “Hollywood Ten” (below) resisted,
complaining that the hearings were illegal and violated their
First Amendment rights. They were all convicted of obstructing
the investigation and served jail terms.

A group of Hollywood stars pose against the Capitol dome as they arrived
in Washington, D.C. for a session of the committee.

Hiram Rhodes Revels (September 27, 1827 – January 16, 1901)

On this day in 1870 Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from
Natchez, Mississippi, was sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming
the first African American ever to sit in Congress.

During the Civil War, Revels, a college-educated minister, helped
form African American army regiments for the Union cause,
started a school for freed men, and served as a chaplain for the
Union army. Posted to Mississippi, Revels remained in the
former Confederate state after the war and entered into
Reconstruction-era Southern politics.

Hiram Revels taking the oath of office.