Answer: African Americans were elected to positions in local, state, and national government.
After the Civil War, the Republicans took control of all Southern state legislatures and governorships, except for Virginia. In this Republican coalition, African Americans were elected to local, state and national offices. By 1870, about 15% of office holders in the South were black. Many of these leaders were freemen in the North that had returned to help rebuild the South. Others were community leaders, such as preachers.
