Biography: Smalls, Robert

Robert Smalls

Biography: Smalls, Robert

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Biography

The U.S. House of Representatives official site features a detailed account of the life of Robert Smalls, an enslaved man who escaped slavery and later became a Congressman (R-SC) and businessman in Beaufort, South Carolina. Themes include: Smalls' upbringing in Beaufort, his escape from slavery by seizing a Confederate ship in Charleston and delivering it to the Union Army, his business pursuits after the Civil War and his rise to leadership in South Carolina state politics. Other themes include: Smalls' advocacy for anti-discrimination and anti-segregation amendments, education initiatives, the threats against his life, a series of political challenges and his death in 1913.

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History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives

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