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March 31, 1870, the morning after the 15th Amendment became law, Thomas Mundy Peterson (1824-1904) entered a polling place in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and cast a ballot, the first Black American to vote under its authority, while the nation barely noticed. In this unremarkable setting an ordinary act of governance, a single vote in a small city, federal citizenship met local power and the meaning of political inclusion was tested in practice rather than proclaimed in theory.

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A cabinet card of a 19th century Black man, Thomas Peterson. Peterson is looking at the camera and wearing a three-piece suit with a medal attached to the left side of the vest. The medal was presented to Peterson in 1884 by the residents of Perth Amboy, N.J. in recognition of his status as the first African American voter in the United States under the provisions of the Fifteenth Amendment. The albumen print is attached to a stiff card backer with wear showing around the edges. There is a printed label on the verso that reads, "Inscription on the Medal. Presented by citizens of Perch Amboy, N.J., to Thomas Peterson, the first colored voter in the United States under the provisions of the Fifteenth Amendment, at an election held in that city March 31st, 1870." The cabinet card was printed as a memento for the medal presentation ceremony.
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in reply to Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco

Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco
mastodon - Link to source
Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco
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Source

Thomas Mundy Peterson (1824-1904), March 31. 1870. Photograph by William R. Tobias. Source: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_20…

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Cabinet card portrait of Thomas Mundy Peterson | National Museum of African American History and Culture

On March 31, 1870, one day after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which allowed him the right to vote, Thomas Peterson became the first African American to cast a ballot in a U.S. election under the provisions of the 15th Amendment.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
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