Simeon W. Beard was an American minister, teacher, and politician who worked in Charleston, South Carolina and then in Augusta, Georgia. He served in the Union Army.[1] He was a delegate to Georgia's constitutional convention in 1867 and 1868.[2] African American legislators were expelled from office in Georgia.[3]

Beard was a member of the Union Waiter's Society.[4] He taught in Charleston, South Carolina before returning to Augusta.[5] His school in Charleston was established in the antebellum period.[6] Beard's classes were relatively expensive and well supplied.[7]

He was part of the Georgia delegation, along with Georgia Governor Rufus Bullock who met with the U.S. president.[8]

He read the Declaration of Independence and Emancipation Proclamation at a Freedmen's Celebration.[9] He addressed an 1870 meeting of Republicans.[10]

The Sweetwater Enterprise described him as a bright mulatto and a fanatic. It noted his calls to arm Black militias to protect African Americans.[11]

In 1867 he compared the American Civil War to the Biblical account of the parting of the Red Sea in Egypt to make way for freedom for the Jews.[12]

He partnered with white Freedmen's Bureau agent John Bryant to establish the Loyal Georgian newspaper.[13]

He was literate.[14] Emily Edson Briggs described his appearance and wrote that "his words burn as if they had been forged in a redhot furnace."[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cashin, Edward J. (1995). Old Springfield: Race and Religion in Augusta, Georgia. ISBN 9780964951150.
  2. ↑ Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner Louisiana State Univerdity Press (1996) page 14 and 15
  3. ↑ Dorsey, Allison (2004). To Build Our Lives Together: Community Formation in Black Atlanta, 1875-1906. ISBN 9780820326191.
  4. ↑ Drago, Edmund L. (1992). Black Politicians and Reconstruction in Georgia: A Splendid Failure. ISBN 9780820314389.
  5. ↑ Simmons, William J.; Turner, Henry Mcneal (1887). Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. ISBN 9781468096811.
  6. ↑ Woodson, Carter Godwin (1947). "The Negro in Our History".
  7. ↑ Williams, Heather Andrea (3 June 2009). Self-taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom: Easyread Large Bold Edition. ISBN 9781442995215.
  8. ↑ Briggs, Emily Edson (1906). "The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent".
  9. ↑ Lynch, James (1865). "A Few Things about the Educational Work Among the Freedmen of South Carolina and Georgia: Also, Addresses Delivered at Augusta and Nashville".
  10. ↑ "Simeon W Baird in DC 1870". March 23, 1870. p. 10 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Clipped From The Sweetwater Enterprise". April 7, 1870. p. 1 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Lincoln Lore". 2006.
  13. ↑ Abbott, Richard H. (1986). The Republican Party and the South, 1855-1877: The First Southern Strategy. ISBN 9780807816806.
  14. ↑ Drago, Edmund L. (1992). Black Politicians and Reconstruction in Georgia: A Splendid Failure. ISBN 9780820314389.
  15. ↑ Briggs, Emily Edson (January 4, 1906). "The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent". Neale publishing Company – via Google Books.
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