Under the 1780 Massachusetts constitution African-American men had the right to vote. Full participation in the democratic process remained elusive.
“In Massachusett' 's the blacks have the rights of citizenship, they may vote in elections, but the prejudice is so strong that it is impossible to receive their children in the schools.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville
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- Massachusetts State Library
Power Play
A friend and advisor of Civil War Governor John Albion Andrew, Lewis Hayden remained active in Republican politics after the war, serving one term in the legislature. Hayden and others wanted a substantial role in party politics including input on the nominee for governor. Most party leaders thought that abolition of slavery was enough. They took African-American support for granted and pushed Hayden and others to the side. The resilient Hayden worked as a messenger in the Secretary of State’s office.
Lewis Hayden
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
Harriet Hayden
Harriet Hayden was an active partner and advisor to her husband Lewis Hayden.
- Ohio History Connection
- Massachusetts Archives
Insufferable
In 1850 black women in
the Gilmore family petitioned for the right to vote,
one of the earliest petitions
from women on this subject.
The hand written words
“Women who ought to be
legal voters” appear on one
side. A nameless official
wrote “women who think
they out to be voters” on the
other.
- Massachusetts Archives
Lewis Hayden may have been the most politically active leader in the black community.
Born into slavery in Kentucky, his parents’ marriage ended when his father was sold. Later, Henry Clay, the famous statesman, broke up Hayden’s own marriage by selling his wife and one child. Remarried, Hayden eventually escaped and settled in Boston. During the 1850’s his clothing store and boarding house offered refuge to fugitive slaves. Later he recruited soldiers for the African-American regiments.
L. Hayden . . .
Lewis Hayden’s home . . .
This was a boarding house in the nineteenth century purchased with the help of abolitionists. Lewis and Harriet Hayden sheltered many fugitive slaves here. The doorway reflects a later remodeling.
- Massachusetts Archives
The Gilmore women . . .
The Gilmore women who signed the voting petition were descendants of Toby Gilmore, an African-American soldier, who “served forty two months in the Continental Army,” In 1782 he petitioned the government for help in retirement. The value of “State Securities” in his possession was devalued and inadequate to purchase property.
- Massachusetts Archives