On this day in 1873, P.B.S. Pinchback, the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state (Louisiana), was elected to the U.S. Senate. Having also been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Pinchback traveled to Washington with the rare distinction of being both a senator-elect and a congressman-elect. Despite his achievements, he was ultimately denied his Senate seat due to political disputes and racial prejudice.
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