As soon as the convention was called to order Mr. Griffin was recognized
by the chair. He stated that he had been authorized to withdraw the name
of Rev. J.M.P. Williams from before the convention as candidate for
State Senator. This announcement was received by the Jacobs men with
great applause. The withdrawal of the name of Williams without placing
any other in nomination they accepted as evidence that further
opposition to the nomination of their candidate had been abandoned and
that his nomination was a foregone conclusion. But they were not allowed
to labor under that impression very long. The roll-call was immediately
ordered by the chair and the tellers took their places. When the ballots
had been counted and tabulated, the result was seventeen votes for
Revels and sixteen votes for Jacobs. The announcement was received by
the Williams men with great applause. The result was a victory for them
because it was their sixteen votes together with the vote of Rev. Noah
Buchanan that had nominated Revels. The Jacobs men accepted their defeat
gracefully. A motion was offered by their leader to make the nomination
unanimous and it was adopted without a dissenting vote. In anticipation
of his nomination Revels was present as one of the interested spectators
and upon being called upon for a brief address he delivered it with
telling effect, thereby making a most favorable impression. This address
convinced Rev. Noah Buchanan that he had made no mistake in voting for
Revels. Jacobs was then nominated for member of the House of
Representatives without opposition, his associates being John R. Lynch
and Capt. O.C. French, a white Republican. The ticket as completed was
elected by a majority of from fifteen hundred to two thousand, a
Republican nomination in Adams County at that time being equivalent to
an election.
When the Legislature convened at Jackson the first Monday in January,
1870, it was suggested to Lieutenant-Governor Powers, presiding officer
of the Senate, that he invite the Rev. Dr. Revels to open the Senate
with prayer. The suggestion was favorably acted upon. That prayer,--one
of the most impressive and eloquent prayers that had ever been delivered
in the Senate Chamber,--made Revels a United States Senator. He made a
profound impression upon all who heard him. It impressed those who heard
it that Revels was not only a man of great natural ability but that he
was also a man of superior attainments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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