P. B. S. Pinchback
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was a significant figure in American history, known for being the first African American governor of a U.S. state. Born in 1837 to a white plantation owner and a former enslaved woman, he faced numerous challenges early in life, including the death of his father and the upheaval of his family's circumstances. By the age of twelve, Pinchback was working to support his family, eventually becoming involved in the Union Army during the Civil War. Following the war, he emerged as a prominent political leader in Louisiana, where he was active in the Republican Party and participated in key legislative roles, including serving in the state senate and briefly as governor in 1872.
Pinchback's tenure as governor, although short, came during a tumultuous period in Louisiana politics marked by division within the Republican Party. His political career included attempts to secure a seat in Congress, involvement in the establishment of Southern University, and a later legal career in Washington, D.C. Pinchback's legacy is noteworthy for his pioneering role in Reconstruction-era politics and his contributions to education and civil rights, highlighting his resilience and determination in the face of racial adversity. He passed away in 1921, leaving a lasting impact on Louisiana and American history.
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Subject Terms
P. B. S. Pinchback
Soldier, politician, and lawyer
- Born: May 10, 1837
- Birthplace: Macon, Georgia
- Died: December 21, 1921
- Place of death: Washington, D.C.
Pinchback was a prominent Reconstruction-era politician who served in the Louisiana state legislature and was briefly the state’s governor in 1872-1873.
Early Life
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was the son of a white plantation owner, William Pinchback, and one of his former slaves, Eliza Stewart. William and Eliza lived together as man and wife, first in Virginia and then in Mississippi; Pinchback was the eighth child born of their relationship. He and his older brother Napoleon were sent to high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a year and a half and came back to the family’s Mississippi plantation in 1848. Shortly after their return, their father died, prompting the administrator of the estate to send Eliza and her children to Cincinnati in order to avoid their enslavement by William’s white heirs.
As a result of this uprooting and Napoleon’s mental breakdown, Pinchback was forced to find work at twelve years of age. Using his wits and his tenacity, he worked first on canal boats and then on riverboats traveling the Missouri, Red, and Mississippi rivers. His quick study as a gambler afforded him opportunities to enhance his meager income as a cabin boy, deck hand, and steward. These employments lasted until 1862. That year, he took advantage of an opportunity to become a recruiter of Louisiana volunteers for the Union Army. In the years following, he made several attempts to move up the Union Army’s chain of command but was thwarted because of his race. After the end of the Civil War, Pinchback moved to New Orleans and began establishing himself as a political figure.
Life’s Work
In 1867, Pinchback began his climb to leadership in the local Republican Party. That year, he was elected as a delegate to Louisiana’s constitutional convention. From 1868 to 1871, he served as a member of the state senate; in 1871-1872, he was president pro tempore of the senate and then lieutenant governor of Louisiana. He even briefly served as governor of Louisiana.
Pinchback’s short tenure as governor came as a result of a contested election on November 4, 1872. Earlier, in 1871, the Republican Party in Louisiana had fractured, ultimately splitting into two separate party organizations. One of those organizations began to build alliances with the Democratic Party, further complicating Louisiana’s political landscape. After a series of complicated maneuvers, there were two candidates in the 1872 gubernatorial elections: William Pitt Kellogg, the candidate for the “Regular” Republicans, and John McEnerny, the candidate for the Democrats and the Liberal Republicans.
As the election drew near, Pinchback aligned himself with the Regular Republicans, while Henry Warmoth, the outgoing governor, sided with the Liberal Republicans. Warmoth’s faction outmaneuvered Pinchback’s and replaced the election board with Warmoth’s supporters, who declared McEnerny the winner. The election results were disputed by Pinchback’s supporters. After considerable political wrangling, Warmoth was impeached; Pinchback, as lieutenant governor, temporarily held the governor’s office until Warmoth’s term expired and Kellogg was inaugurated—a total of thirty-six days.
From 1872 to 1876, Pinchback attempted to win seats in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Both attempts eventually failed. In later years, he served in the Republican Party at the national level. Pinchback was instrumental in the creation of Louisiana’s Southern University in 1880. He also attended law school and was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1886.
Pinchback spent his final years in Washington, D.C., practicing law. He died there December 21, 1921, and was buried in New Orleans.
Significance
Pinchback’s eagerness to succeed in a political world that was not always friendly to him was prodigious. He was the first nonwhite and the first African American to be a governor of a state. He seemed to thrive amid the complexities of Reconstruction politics, especially those of Louisiana. One of his lasting accomplishments was the establishment of Southern University, which grew to comprise campuses in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Bibliography
Grosz, Agnes Smith. “The Political Career of Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback.” The Louisiana Historical Quarterly 27, no. 2 (April, 1944). This eighty-eight-page article is the most authoritative account of Pinchback’s career and cites the primary sources in which his story—and the story of Louisiana politics in the Reconstruction period—is told.
Haskins, James. Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback. New York: Macmillan, 1973. This accessible biography contains details from Pinchback’s entire life.
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789-1978. Vol. 2. Westport, Conn.: Meckler Books, 1978. This reference book provides historical context for Pinchback’s brief governorship.