Today in the District of Columbia the 39th Congress convenes. The big question looming over all others is that of what to do about the Southern states who, although defeated in the recent war, seem determined to defy the Union by continuing their oppression and violence against against former slaves. Republicans, the party of Lincoln…
Today a new Baptist congregation is founded in the South. Unlike most in the immediate post-war years of the South, it is a white congregation. At the First Baptist Church, then located on the northeast corner of Second Street and Adams Street in Memphis, Tennessee, the Central Baptist Church is established. It is composed of…
Today the Fourth Baptist Church, an African American congregation, is established in Richmond, Virginia. It is one of hundreds of black Baptist churches formed in the immediate post-war months as freedmen depart white churches, and white supervision, to form their own autonomous congregations. A historical marker tells the church’s story: “Fourth Baptist Church is the…