Gov. Perry on the "revolting & disgusting" South Carolina Legislature Sept. 1868

Pat Young

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Benjamin Franklin Perry was appointed governor of South Carolina in 1865 by President Andrew Johnson. Perry. As with some other Johnson appointees, Perry was a disparaging of African Americans. In 1865 he said that "The African, has been in all ages, a savage or a slave. God created him inferior to the white man in form, color, and intellect, and no legislation or culture can make him his equal... His hair, his form and features will not compete with the caucasian race, and it is in vain to think of elevating him to the dignity of the white man. God created differences between the two races, and nothing can make him equal".

In September 1868 former-governor Perry wrote this assessment of the state's new legislature, the first elected with Black voters.

Edgefield Advertiser
Wednesday, Oct 07, 1868
Edgefield, SC
Vol: 33
Page: 4

perry1.JPG
 
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