Born a slave in Louisiana and freed at the end of the Civil War, John Roy Lynch became active in Republican Party politics in 1867. His prominent career began with his election to the Mississippi legislature in 1869. Lynch became its Speaker in 1872.
As a U.S. Congressman in 1873, Lynch supported the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. He lost his seat in 1876, but regained it in 1882 after a contested election; Lynch was defeated in the following election later that year, but two years later, he gave the keynote address at the Republican National Convention. He went on to practice law and write The Facts of Reconstruction (1913).
See also Congress, African Americans in; United States House of Representatives, African Americans in.
