Benjamin Franklin Perry

Benjamin Franklin Perry (November 20, 1805 – December 3, 1886) was the

On June 30, 1865, U.S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Perry as the provisional Governor of South Carolina,^[1] because of the strong unionist views he had held prior to the war. Perry was directed by the president to enroll voters and to lead the state in the writing of a new state constitution. The delegates at the constitutional convention largely followed Perry's guidelines for the constitution, but they strayed by adopting the black codes to prevent black suffrage. President Johnson, as well as several leading statesmen of South Carolina, urged the granting of suffrage to blacks while also including a property qualification clause. A property qualification would essentially disenfranchise all blacks without giving the appearance of impropriety towards blacks and prevent the imposition of harsh terms by the Radical Republicans.

Benjamin Franklin Perry said in 1865, "The African ... has been in all ages, a savage or a slave. God created him inferior to the white man in form, color, and intellect, and no legislation or culture can make him his equal... His hair, his form and features will not compete with the caucasian race, and it is in vain to think of elevating him to the dignity of the white man. God created differences between the two races, and nothing can make him equal".

Later life

Upon the completion of the constitution, elections were called and Perry sought election to the

External links

• SCIway Biography of Benjamin Franklin Perry
• NGA Biography of Benjamin Franklin Perry