Other editions of book The Sword and the Broom: The Exceptional Career and Accomplishments of John Mercer Langston

A retelling of John Mercer Langston's 1894 autobiography From the Virginia Plantation to the National Capital. Langston, the son of a wealthy white plantation owner and his freed slave, in Louisa County, Virginia, was orphaned at age four, led a remarkable life in Ohio where he received two degrees, became the first African American to be accepted by the Ohio bar and the U.S. Supreme Court bar; was perhaps the first to be elected to any office in the nation; was a famed orator and abolitionist, fighting for the rights of all under the Constitution; helped draft a Civil Rights bill; was a friend of presidents; was appointed inspector general of the Freedmen's Bureau after the Civil War; founded and was appointed dean of Howard University's Law School and was later the university's acting president; was named the first president of what is now Virginia State University; was appointed resident minster of Haiti, and in the bitter and fraudulent election of 1888, finally contested and won his seat in Congress--the first black person to be elected to Congress from Virginia. (It took him 19 months to be seated due to the rigged election.) He was a contemporary and rival of Frederick Douglass. His grand-nephew is Langston Hughes. The retelling uses Langston's words and stories as often as possible as highlights of his life have been selected for modern readers. The author has added details, images and photographs to bring context and additional information to readers.

Linda Salisbury's retelling of John Mercer Langston's autobiography From the Virginia Plantation to the National Capital brings to life to this almost forgotten African-American statesman. Despite discrimination and blatant racism before and after the Civil War, Langston's achievements are many in the field of education, as an attorney, as an elected official before he had the right to vote, as inspector general of the Freedmen's Bureau, as founder of Howard University's law school and its dean and later acting president. He received two degrees from Oberlin College, was an abolitionist, and was the first president of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute in Petersburg, Virginia (now Virginia State University). He was a contemporary and rival of Frederick Douglass, and finally was seated in the disputed election of 1888 as the first black congressman from Virginia. Salisbury has added photos and images to her book, as well as additional details to provide historical context.