“SECURING TO US OUR JUST AND EQUITABLE RIGHT TO VOTE”: BLACK ACTIVISTS, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF SUFFRAGE IN OHIO, 1830-1873

Black Americans shaped many aspects of American society and politics in the nineteenth century, but none more than the Civil War and Reconstruction era. To that end, there is a growing body of scholarship tracing the activism of Black Americans through the Civil War era (1850s-1870s) and their influence during Reconstruction. The focus, however, largely centers around African Americans in the East and the Southern states, where the broader conflicts around civil rights were fought. But the influence of Black Americans extends far beyond these temporal and geographic boundaries. This project traces the development of African Americans political thought and activism in Ohio from the 1830s to the 1870s, focusing on the influence of Black activists on the pursuit of Black suffrage in Reconstruction-era Ohio. Through decades of grassroots activism and political organizing, Black Ohioans built an ideological defense for their rights, eventually convincing Ohio Republicans that Black Americans were in fact Americans and deserved the same rights as white Americans. In so doing, this project emphasizes the successful efforts of Black Ohioans in shaping party politics, highlighting the influence of “western” Black activists who are often overshadowed by those in the East. Despite myriad setbacks, a hostile atmosphere, and significant legal prohibitions against them, Black Ohioans embarked upon one of the most influential and successful pursuits of civil rights in any of the northern states.