On this day, Pinckney Benton Stewart (P.B.S.) Pinchback became the Governor of Louisiana, making him the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state. He assumed office following the impeachment of Governor Henry Clay Warmoth. Pinchback served as acting governor from December 9, 1872, to January 13, 1873.
Though his term was brief, his appointment was historic during the Reconstruction Era, symbolizing the political progress African Americans were beginning to make in post-Civil War America.
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