Francis Lewis Cardozo
Francis Lewis Cardozo | |
---|---|
23rd Secretary of State of South Carolina | |
In office 1868–1872 | |
Governor | Robert Kingston Scott |
Preceded by | Ellison Capers |
Succeeded by | Henry E. Hayne |
South Carolina Treasurer | |
In office August 1, 1872 – May 1, 1877 | |
Governor | Robert Kingston Scott Franklin J. Moses Jr. Daniel Henry Chamberlain Wade Hampton III |
Preceded by | Niles G. Parker |
Succeeded by | Sherob Luther Leaphart |
Personal details | |
Born | Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. | February 1, 1836
Died | July 22, 1903 | (aged 67)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Catherine Romena Howell
(m. 1864) |
Children | 7 |
Relatives | Henry Weston Cardozo (brother) Thomas Whitmarsh Cardozo (brother) Eslanda Goode Robeson (granddaughter) Benjamin N. Cardozo (distant relative) |
Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
Profession | Clergyman, politician, educator |
Francis Lewis Cardozo (February 1, 1836 – July 22, 1903) was an American clergyman, politician, and educator. When elected in South Carolina as Secretary of State in 1868, he was the first African American to hold a statewide office in the United States.
Born free during the time of
After working in South Carolina during
Early years
Francis Cardozo was born free in 1836 in Charleston as the second of three sons of Lydia Williams Weston,
Isaac died in 1855, disrupting the stability and economic safety of the family.[3]
Francis Cardozo went to Scotland for higher education. In 1858, he enrolled at the
After returning to the United States in 1864, Francis Cardozo became pastor of the Temple Street Congregational Church in New Haven, Connecticut. On December 20, 1864, he married Catherine Romena (a.k.a. Minnie) Howell, a stepdaughter of the Rev. Amos Beman, noted abolitionist and former pastor of the same Temple Street Church. Francis and Minnie had seven children through their marriage; two died young, leaving four sons and a daughter.[4]
Return to South Carolina, 1865
In 1865, Francis Cardozo returned to Charleston as an agent of the
Cardozo developed this school as the Avery Normal Institute, one of the first free secondary schools for African Americans. It was established to train teachers, as freedmen sought education for their children and themselves as one of their highest priorities.[4] In the 21st century, the Avery Institute has been incorporated as part of the College of Charleston.
Political career
Francis Cardozo became active in the Republican Party in South Carolina and was elected as a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina constitutional convention. As chair of the education committee, he advocated establishing integrated public schools in the state. The legislature ratified a new constitution in 1868 that provided for public schools for the first time in the state and supported them to be integrated.
He was elected Secretary of State in South Carolina in 1868 and was the first African American to hold a statewide office in the United States. Cardozo reformed the South Carolina Land Commission, which distributed limited amounts of land to former slaves. During his term as secretary of state, he was chosen as professor of Latin at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and advised the governor of his intention to resign. The governor helped approve an arrangement by which Cardozo could retain his state office and also teach at Howard. A deputy was appointed during this period. He taught at Howard until March 1872.[4]
Francis Cardozo was elected as state treasurer in 1872. After he did not cooperate with corruption, some Democrats legislators unsuccessfully tried to impeach Cardozo in 1874.[citation needed] He was reelected in 1874 and 1876, although the latter election was one in which Democrats swept most offices and took over control of the state legislature and governor's seat.
South Carolina elections, as in other southern states, had been increasingly marked by violence as Democrats sought to suppress the black Republican vote. The
The Hampton administration and the Democrats prosecuted Cardozo for "conspiracy to defraud the state" in November 1877. Many former government officials were indicted for corruption charges and fled the state, Cardozo was one of three that remained and was soon arrested and convicted in "connection of a 'pay certificate' worth $4,000, drawn to the order of C. L. Frankfort and paid by Cardozo." Cardozo's appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court was dismissed.[5] Despite questionable evidence, he was found guilty and served over six months in jail. After the federal government dropped election fraud charges against some Democrats, Cardozo was pardoned in 1879 by Democratic Governor William Dunlap Simpson.
In 1878 Cardozo was appointed to a Washington, D.C., position in the Treasury Department under Secretary John Sherman.[6] He served in that position for six years, during which time he worked on education policy for the city of Washington. It was administered by the federal government[4][6]
Educator
In 1884, Francis Cardozo returned to education as a principal of the
He introduced a business curriculum and made it a leading school for African Americans. He served as principal until 1896.
Cardozo was a distant relative of future
Legacy and honors
In 1928, the Department of Business Practice was reorganized as a high school in Northwest Washington, D.C. It was named
In popular culture
In the 1994 historical drama North and South, Book III, Francis Cardozo was portrayed by actor Billy Dee Williams.
References
- ^ US Census Records 1830, 1840, 1850 for Lydia Weston in Charleston, South Carolina
- ThoughtCo.
- ^ Euline W. Brock, "Thomas W. Cardozo: Fallible Black Reconstruction Leader." The Journal of Southern History 47.2 (1981): 183–206. in JSTOR
- ^ a b c d e f g Simmons, William J. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p428-431
- JSTOR 2713550.
- ^ a b c "Who is Francis L. Cardozo". Cardozo Senior High School website. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
- ^ "Biographical Sidebar: Francis L. Cardozo". Digital History University of Houston.
- Chafets, Zev (April 2, 2009). "Obama's Rabbi". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ^ "Who is Francis L. Cardozo". Francis L. Cardozo Senior High School. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
Further reading
- Burke, W. Lewis (Fall 2001). "Reconstruction Corruption and the Redeemers' Prosecution of Francis Lewis Cardozo". American Nineteenth Century History. 2 (3): 67–106. .
- Burke, W. Lewis (2002). "Post-Reconstruction Justice: The Prosecution and Trial of Francis Lewis Cardozo". South Carolina Law Review. 53 (2). 6 – via University of South Carolina Libraries.
- Kinghan, Neil (2023). A Brief Moment in the Sun: Francis Cardozo and Reconstruction in South Carolina (PDF) (PhD thesis). Institute of the Americas, University College London.
- Reese Smith, Pamela (2021). Francis Lewis Cardozo: An Unsung Hero, The Untold Story of the First African American Elected to Statewide Office in United States History 1865-1877. ISBN 978-0998160610.
- Richardson, Joe M. (Winter 1979). "Francis L. Cardozo: Black educator during reconstruction". JSTOR 2294618.