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On January 23, 1869, Harper’s Weekly ran this engraving, based on a Mathew B. Brady studio photograph, along with the announcement of the possible election of John Willis Menard of Louisiana to the House of Representatives. However, after this article was printed, the House of Representatives denied Menard the position after a vote of the House. Had he won the seat, he would have become the first African-American man to serve in Congress.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Hon. John W. Menard, Colored Congressman From Lousiana,” https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2004/2004-100-000/ (August 14, 2022)
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