First Vote
Dublin Core
Title
First Vote
Subject
African Americans, suffrage, politics
Description
African Americans in several states, including Virginia, voted for the first time in the autumn of 1867. In this image, a white man is seen conducting the election. An old African American, probably a former slave and wearing patched clothes, deposits his ballot in the glass bowl. Behind him is a well-dressed man, who may have been free before the war, a soldier still in uniform, another man in work clothes, and still other men in line waiting to exercise their right to vote.
Creator
Alfred R. Waud
Source
Harper's Weekly, November 16, 1867
Publisher
Harper and Brothers
Date
November 1867
Contributor
Library of Virginia
Rights
CC BY-SA
Format
JPG
Type
Engraving
Identifier
01_1138_18
Coverage
United States
Citation
Alfred R. Waud, “First Vote,” Remaking Virginia: Transformation Through Emancipation, accessed October 31, 2025, https://virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/items/show/594.