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John Rock becomes the first African-American attorney to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court...



Item # 688057

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February 02, 1865

NEW YORK TIMES, February 2, 1865 and HARPER'S WEEKLY, February 25, 1865  These are being sold as a pair.
The New York Times has a small but significant report on page 4 headed: "A Colored Lawyer Admitted to practice in The United States Supreme Court". It reads: "J. S. Rock, (Colored,) of the Supreme Court of Massachusett, was to-day, on motion of Senator Sumner, admitted an Attorney and Counsellor in the Supreme Court of the United States."
Also on page 4 is a report: "The Constitutional Amendment" reporting that Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York had ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.
The Harper's Weekly further reports on the Mr. Rock's admission to the bar. "... This event, following two days after the passage by Congress of the proposition to amend the Constitution so as to abolish slavery in the United States, will be regarded by the future historian as a remarkable indication of the revolution which is going on in the sentiment of a great people. Mr. Rock has never been a slave. He represents the colored freeman, as Mr. Douglass represents the freedman. This extraordinary reversal of the Dred Scott decision is an act almost sublime...". This also includes a quarter-page size illustration of Mr. Rock.
The New York Times is complete in 8 pages, & is in very nice condition.
The Harper's Weekly is complete in 16 pages, and is in very nice condition as well.

Category: The Civil War