The 43rd Congress (1873–1875) convened with a historic number of seven African American representatives, all elected during the Reconstruction Era:
Richard H. Cain, Robert Brown Elliott, Joseph H. Rainey, and Alonzo J. Ransier from South Carolina
James T. Rapier from Alabama
Josiah T. Walls from Florida
John R. Lynch from Mississippi
This was the largest number of Black congressmen to serve simultaneously during Reconstruction, marking a powerful moment in early Black political representation in the United States.
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