Blanche Bruce, American Politician

Blanche Bruce, American Politician

Blanche Kelso Bruce (March 1, 1841 - March 17, 1898) was an African-American politician. He was born into slavery in 1841 to Polly Bruce, an African-American woman who served as a domestic. His father was her master, Pettis Perkinson, a white Virginia planter, who educated Bruce together with a legitimate half-brother. His father legally freed Blanche and arranged for an apprenticeship so he could learn a trade. In 1868, during Reconstruction, Bruce purchased a Mississippi Delta plantation and became a wealthy landowner. He was elected to sheriff and later held other positions, including tax collector and supervisor of education, while he also edited a local newspaper. In 1874, Bruce was elected to the U. S. Senate, he first elected black senator to serve a full term. In 1881, Bruce was appointed by President Garfield to be the Register of the Treasury, the first African American to have his signature featured on U.S. paper currency. Bruce served by appointment as the District of Columbia recorder of deeds from 1890-93. He also served on the District of Columbia Board of Trustees of Public Schools from 1892-95. He was appointed as Register of the Treasury a second time in 1897 by President McKinley and served until his death from diabetes complications in 1898.

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