Charles Henry Langston
Encyclopedia
Charles Henry Langston an American abolitionist and political activist born free in Louisa County, Virginia
, was one of two men tried after the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
, a cause célèbre in 1858 Ohio
that helped gain impetus for abolition. In 1835 he was one of the first blacks admitted to Oberlin College
. By 1858 Langston helped found the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society and with his brother John Mercer Langston
as president, led it as executive secretary. He continued work for 30 years for equal rights, suffrage and education in Ohio and Kansas
, where he first went at the end of the American Civil War
as general superintendent of refugees and freedmen for the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1872 he was an early principal of the Quindaro Freedman's School (later Western University
), the first black college west of the Mississippi River
.
He was the grandfather of renowned poet Langston Hughes
, and an older brother of John Mercer Langston
, an accomplished attorney and activist, who had numerous appointed posts and in 1888 was the first black elected to the United States Congress
from Virginia
(and the last for nearly a century).
, the second of three sons and a daughter born to Lucy Jane Langston, a freedwoman of mixed African American
and Native American
descent, and Ralph Quarles, a wealthy white plantation
owner of English descent. Quarles freed Lucy and their daughter Maria in 1806, in the course of what was a relationship of more than 25 years. He also made provisions for his "natural" (illegitimate) children to inherit his substantial fortune after his death.
Lucy also had three other children with another partner before she moved into the Great House and deepened her relationship with Quarles. Their three sons were born after that. Of the half-siblings, William Langston was the one most involved with the Quarles' sons.
After their parents both died in 1834, Langston and his brothers, including their older half-brother William, traveled with friends to Chillicothe, Ohio
to seek a more favorable environment in the North. Their father had left his natural sons substantial inheritances that allowed them to gain education and as adults work for political reform. The oldest brother, Gideon Quarles, looked so much like his father that he took his name at 21. Arrangements had been made to place the youngest son John Mercer Langston
, only four years old, with William Gooch and his family, close friends of their father's.
In 1835 the older brothers Gideon and Charles started at the preparatory school at Oberlin College
, where they were the first black students to be admitted. Charles Langston graduated from Oberlin College after later completing his degree.
was the center of a strong abolitionist movement and a station on the Underground Railroad
. He started working for suffrage and equal rights for blacks. Not only was he active, but Langston introduced his younger brother John Mercer Langston
to his political circles, and helped him gain entrance to a state convention in 1850, when the younger man was only 20. It was the start of an illustrious career in which his younger brother would overshadow Charles.
In 1858 the older Langston was one of a group of men who freed runaway slave John Price from a US Marshal and his assistants in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
. The Underground Railroad hid Price in Oberlin, then helped transport him to Canada and freedom. The daring rescue captured national attention. President demanded that the rescuers be prosecuted. In reaction the state arrested the US Marshal and his party.
A grand jury indicted 37 men (among them 12 free blacks). In response, the state arrested the US Marshal and his team. As a result of negotiations between state and federal officials, only Charles Langston and Simon M. Bushnell, a white man, were tried for their part in subverting the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. The state released the arresting party and the federal government released 35 men. Both Bushnell and Langston were tried and convicted by the same all-Democrat
white jury, an injustice Langston addressed in his speech to the court.
His speech a rousing statement of the case for abolition and for justice for "colored men", Langston closed with these words:
The judge gave the men light sentences. Langston and Bushnell sued for a writ of habeas corpus in 1859 in the Ohio Supreme Court, but it ruled against them, with the judge saying he had no choice but to uphold the federal law.
, where he organized a school for contrabands
who had fled to Union lines from Missouri
. He taught the children for about three years. Langston also returned to Ohio in 1863 and, like his brother John Mercer, helped recruit African Americans for the United States Colored Troops
when Ohio raised its first regiment.
By 1865 about 2,455 blacks, nearly one-fifth of those in Kansas, lived in Leavenworth, close to Missouri. In 1865 Langston was appointed general superintendent for refugees and freedmen for the Freedmen's Bureau in Kansas. There were more than 12,000 blacks in Kansas by then.
From 1863 to 1870 Langston worked for suffrage for blacks in Kansas and for their right to sit on juries. In 1863 he helped lead a state convention which petitioned the state legislature for suffrage. Despite the efforts of many men, it was not until national passage in 1870 of the Fifteenth Amendment
that blacks in Kansas finally received the right to vote.
In 1868 Langston moved near Lawrence, Kansas
, where he purchased a farm. In 1872 Langston was appointed president of Quindaro Freedman's School (later Western University
) near Kansas City, Kansas
. The Quindaro Townsite
is part of present-day Kansas City
.
Chartered in 1865, Quindaro Freedman's School was the earliest college for blacks established west of the Mississippi. In 1872 the legislature provided for expansion to a four-year normal department, which Langston headed. Enrollment increased and teachers were trained. The next year, however, the state and school ran into severe financial difficulties and had to reduce programs when the state suffered agricultural losses. Later in the century the college's programs were revived and expanded, including a theological course. By the early 1900s, the university was promoted as a model of musical and industrial education. The college closed later in the 20th century, and no buildings remain.
As the black population increased rapidly in Kansas in the decades after the Civil War, Langston worked to aid the "exodusters" and other early migrants. From 17,108 blacks in Kansas in 1870, the numbers increased to 43,107 in 1880 and 52,003 in 1900. In 1880 Langston was president of a statewide Convention of Colored Men that called on the Refugee Relief Board to use monies and goods donated for the new migrants and settle them on school properties to help them get established.
In Lawrence Langston also served as associate editor of the Historic Times, a local paper that promoted the cause of equal rights and justice for blacks.
, another mixed-race political activist from Oberlin. He had joined John Brown's Raid in 1859 on Harper's Ferry and died of wounds eight days after the attack. Mary brought their daughter Louise to the marriage with Langston.
The Langstons remained in Lawrence, Kansas
for the rest of their lives, moving in 1888 into town, where he had a part-interest in a grocery store. Their children were Nathaniel Turner Langston, named after the man who led a slave rebellion in Virginia; and Caroline Mercer Langston, who would become the mother of the renowned poet Langston Hughes
. The Langstons also had a foster son, named Dessalines
Langston after a major leader of the Haitian Revolution
.
.
Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...
, was one of two men tried after the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of 1858 in Lorain County, Ohio was a key event and cause celèbre in the history of the abolitionist movement in the United States shortly before the American Civil War. John Price, an escaped slave, was arrested in Oberlin, Ohio under the Fugitive Slave Law, and taken...
, a cause célèbre in 1858 Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
that helped gain impetus for abolition. In 1835 he was one of the first blacks admitted to Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
. By 1858 Langston helped found the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society and with his brother John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was an American abolitionist, attorney, educator, and political activist. He was the first dean of the law school at Howard University and helped create the department. He was the first president of what is now Virginia State University. In 1888 he was the first African...
as president, led it as executive secretary. He continued work for 30 years for equal rights, suffrage and education in Ohio and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, where he first went at the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as general superintendent of refugees and freedmen for the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1872 he was an early principal of the Quindaro Freedman's School (later Western University
Western University (Kansas)
Western University was a historically black college established as Quindaro Freedman's School at Quindaro, Kansas after the Civil War. It was the earliest school for African Americans west of the Mississippi River and the only one ever to operate in the state of Kansas...
), the first black college west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
He was the grandfather of renowned poet Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
, and an older brother of John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was an American abolitionist, attorney, educator, and political activist. He was the first dean of the law school at Howard University and helped create the department. He was the first president of what is now Virginia State University. In 1888 he was the first African...
, an accomplished attorney and activist, who had numerous appointed posts and in 1888 was the first black elected to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(and the last for nearly a century).
Early life and education
Langston was born free in 1817 in Louisa County, VirginiaLouisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...
, the second of three sons and a daughter born to Lucy Jane Langston, a freedwoman of mixed African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
descent, and Ralph Quarles, a wealthy white plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
owner of English descent. Quarles freed Lucy and their daughter Maria in 1806, in the course of what was a relationship of more than 25 years. He also made provisions for his "natural" (illegitimate) children to inherit his substantial fortune after his death.
Lucy also had three other children with another partner before she moved into the Great House and deepened her relationship with Quarles. Their three sons were born after that. Of the half-siblings, William Langston was the one most involved with the Quarles' sons.
After their parents both died in 1834, Langston and his brothers, including their older half-brother William, traveled with friends to Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
to seek a more favorable environment in the North. Their father had left his natural sons substantial inheritances that allowed them to gain education and as adults work for political reform. The oldest brother, Gideon Quarles, looked so much like his father that he took his name at 21. Arrangements had been made to place the youngest son John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was an American abolitionist, attorney, educator, and political activist. He was the first dean of the law school at Howard University and helped create the department. He was the first president of what is now Virginia State University. In 1888 he was the first African...
, only four years old, with William Gooch and his family, close friends of their father's.
In 1835 the older brothers Gideon and Charles started at the preparatory school at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, where they were the first black students to be admitted. Charles Langston graduated from Oberlin College after later completing his degree.
Ohio
Langston quickly became involved in black political affairs in Ohio, where OberlinOberlin
Oberlin may refer to:Places in the United States* Oberlin, Kansas* Oberlin, Louisiana* Oberlin, Ohio** Oberlin College** Oberlin ConservatoryPeople*Oberlin...
was the center of a strong abolitionist movement and a station on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. He started working for suffrage and equal rights for blacks. Not only was he active, but Langston introduced his younger brother John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was an American abolitionist, attorney, educator, and political activist. He was the first dean of the law school at Howard University and helped create the department. He was the first president of what is now Virginia State University. In 1888 he was the first African...
to his political circles, and helped him gain entrance to a state convention in 1850, when the younger man was only 20. It was the start of an illustrious career in which his younger brother would overshadow Charles.
In 1858 the older Langston was one of a group of men who freed runaway slave John Price from a US Marshal and his assistants in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of 1858 in Lorain County, Ohio was a key event and cause celèbre in the history of the abolitionist movement in the United States shortly before the American Civil War. John Price, an escaped slave, was arrested in Oberlin, Ohio under the Fugitive Slave Law, and taken...
. The Underground Railroad hid Price in Oberlin, then helped transport him to Canada and freedom. The daring rescue captured national attention. President demanded that the rescuers be prosecuted. In reaction the state arrested the US Marshal and his party.
A grand jury indicted 37 men (among them 12 free blacks). In response, the state arrested the US Marshal and his team. As a result of negotiations between state and federal officials, only Charles Langston and Simon M. Bushnell, a white man, were tried for their part in subverting the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. The state released the arresting party and the federal government released 35 men. Both Bushnell and Langston were tried and convicted by the same all-Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
white jury, an injustice Langston addressed in his speech to the court.
His speech a rousing statement of the case for abolition and for justice for "colored men", Langston closed with these words:
But I stand up here to say, that if for doing what I did on that day at Wellington, I am to go to jail six months, and pay a fine of a thousand dollars, according to the Fugitive Slave Law, and such is the protection the laws of this country afford me, I must take upon my self the responsibility of self-protection; and when I come to be claimed by some perjured wretch as his slave, I shall never be taken into slavery. And as in that trying hour I would have others do to me, as I would call upon my friends to help me; as I would call upon you, your Honor, to help me; as I would call upon you [to the District-Attorney], to help me; and upon you [to Judge Bliss], and upon you [to his counsel], so help me GOD! I stand here to say that I will do all I can, for any man thus seized and help, though the inevitable penalty of six months imprisonment and one thousand dollars fine for each offense hangs over me! We have a common humanity. You would do so; your manhood would require it; and no matter what the laws might me, you would honor yourself for doing it; your friends would honor you for doing it; your children to all generations would honor you for doing it; and every good and honest man would say, you had done right! [Great and prolonged applause, in spite of the efforts of the Court and the Marshal.]
The judge gave the men light sentences. Langston and Bushnell sued for a writ of habeas corpus in 1859 in the Ohio Supreme Court, but it ruled against them, with the judge saying he had no choice but to uphold the federal law.
Kansas
Early in the Civil War in 1862, Langston moved to Leavenworth, KansasLeavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, where he organized a school for contrabands
Contraband (American Civil War)
Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces after the military determined that the US would not return escaped slaves who went to Union lines to their...
who had fled to Union lines from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He taught the children for about three years. Langston also returned to Ohio in 1863 and, like his brother John Mercer, helped recruit African Americans for the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
when Ohio raised its first regiment.
By 1865 about 2,455 blacks, nearly one-fifth of those in Kansas, lived in Leavenworth, close to Missouri. In 1865 Langston was appointed general superintendent for refugees and freedmen for the Freedmen's Bureau in Kansas. There were more than 12,000 blacks in Kansas by then.
From 1863 to 1870 Langston worked for suffrage for blacks in Kansas and for their right to sit on juries. In 1863 he helped lead a state convention which petitioned the state legislature for suffrage. Despite the efforts of many men, it was not until national passage in 1870 of the Fifteenth Amendment
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
that blacks in Kansas finally received the right to vote.
In 1868 Langston moved near Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, where he purchased a farm. In 1872 Langston was appointed president of Quindaro Freedman's School (later Western University
Western University (Kansas)
Western University was a historically black college established as Quindaro Freedman's School at Quindaro, Kansas after the Civil War. It was the earliest school for African Americans west of the Mississippi River and the only one ever to operate in the state of Kansas...
) near Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
. The Quindaro Townsite
Quindaro Townsite
Quindaro Townsite is an archaeological district in the vicinity of North 27th Street and the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Kansas City, Kansas. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 2002....
is part of present-day Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Chartered in 1865, Quindaro Freedman's School was the earliest college for blacks established west of the Mississippi. In 1872 the legislature provided for expansion to a four-year normal department, which Langston headed. Enrollment increased and teachers were trained. The next year, however, the state and school ran into severe financial difficulties and had to reduce programs when the state suffered agricultural losses. Later in the century the college's programs were revived and expanded, including a theological course. By the early 1900s, the university was promoted as a model of musical and industrial education. The college closed later in the 20th century, and no buildings remain.
As the black population increased rapidly in Kansas in the decades after the Civil War, Langston worked to aid the "exodusters" and other early migrants. From 17,108 blacks in Kansas in 1870, the numbers increased to 43,107 in 1880 and 52,003 in 1900. In 1880 Langston was president of a statewide Convention of Colored Men that called on the Refugee Relief Board to use monies and goods donated for the new migrants and settle them on school properties to help them get established.
In Lawrence Langston also served as associate editor of the Historic Times, a local paper that promoted the cause of equal rights and justice for blacks.
Marriage and family
His second wife was the widow Mary Patterson Leary, whom he married in Oberlin in 1869. She had survived Lewis Sheridan LearyLewis Sheridan Leary
Lewis Sheridan Leary , an African-American harnessmaker from Oberlin, Ohio, joined John Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry, where he was killed. He was the first husband of Mary Patterson...
, another mixed-race political activist from Oberlin. He had joined John Brown's Raid in 1859 on Harper's Ferry and died of wounds eight days after the attack. Mary brought their daughter Louise to the marriage with Langston.
The Langstons remained in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
for the rest of their lives, moving in 1888 into town, where he had a part-interest in a grocery store. Their children were Nathaniel Turner Langston, named after the man who led a slave rebellion in Virginia; and Caroline Mercer Langston, who would become the mother of the renowned poet Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
. The Langstons also had a foster son, named Dessalines
Dessalines
Dessalines can refer to:* Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a general and statesman of Haiti.** La Dessalinienne, the national anthem of Haiti named in his honor.** Arrondissement of Dessalines, a Haitian arrondissement in the Artibonite Department...
Langston after a major leader of the Haitian Revolution
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
.
Community involvement
In addition to his political activities, Langston was president of the Colored Benevolent Society, first Worshipful Master of St. Mark's Lodge No. 7 in Columbus, Ohio. He also served as Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Kansas, and a founder of the Inter-state Library Association. He also was active in an African Methodist Episcopal ChurchAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the...
.
Legacy and honors
- In 1872 the Kansas Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
honored Langston by nominating him as one of four electors to cast the state's votes for President Ulysses S. Grant.
- Historian Richard B. Sheridan:
Charles Langston used his time and talents to improve the lives of his fellow African Americans through his leadership in the underground railroad, slave emancipation, education, welfare, politics, fraternal orders, journalism, and other activities. For nearly three decades he had been a leader of the campaigns in Kansas for black suffrage and for blacks’ rights to serve on juries and in the state militia. Moreover, he was a leader in seeking improved social and economic conditions for black citizens.
External links
- "An Account of the Trials of Simeon Bushnell and Charles Langston", by the Oberlin-Wellington Rescuers, 1859, Oberlin College
- "Charles Langston's Speech in the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, May 1859", Oberlin College