First African American Senator

Date: February 25, 1870 • Location: Shaw, United States

Mississippi senator Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American to be seated in the U.S. Congress.

The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, and the U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the Constitution to make and pass or defeat federal legislation.