Thomas Ezekiel Miller

After successfully contesting another candidate’s election, Congressman Thomas Miller represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from September 1890 to March 1891 (51st Congress). He was assigned to the Library of Congress Committee. Despite serving in Congress for only five months, Miller gave at least two important speeches on the floor, including one supporting federal oversight of elections and protection of voters. Another speech defended Black Americans against blame for the South’s economic problems. Miller and John R. Lynch were the last surviving Black representatives of the 19th century.