The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation

by Jim Clyburn Narrated by Jim Clyburn

Overview

From one of America's most venerable politicians, The First Eight is an extraordinary work of living history: the powerful, untold story of the pioneering Black politicians from South Carolina who were elected to Congress in the aftermath of the Civil War, and a revealing explanation of why it took nearly a century before the ninth, James Clyburn, was elected.

Today, South Carolina congressman James E. Clyburn is renowned as a Democratic kingmaker and our nation's most august Black political leader. But behind him stand eight other remarkable men: the first Black politicians to go to Congress from his home state, and who blazed a path for his own ascent. Since his own arrival in Congress in the early nineties, Congressman Clyburn has been guided by the wisdom and example of these men, and also instructed by their struggles-especially with the demon of American racism. South Carolina's first eight Black congressmen all rose to office following the Civil War and emancipation, but then the dark veil of Jim Crow fell across the South. It would take nearly a century before the ninth Black representative, Clyburn himself, was elected.

In The First Eight, Congressman Clyburn shares these men's stories, and their message of liberty, with the nation they served. Among them are Joseph Rainey, the first Black politician to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in our nation's history, who was born enslaved in 1832; Robert Smalls, iconic for his heroism during the Civil War, when he fled the Confederacy, stole a ship, and fought for the Union Army; and Richard Cain, who ran a widely read newspaper for Black South Carolinians and is associated with the Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest and most distinguished Black churches in America, and where neo-Nazi Dylan Roof killed nine Black congregants in a mass shooting in 2015. Through the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and challenges that all nine men faced, Congressman Clyburn reveals a whole new way of understanding the period between the Civil War and the present.

A unique blend of history and memoir, The First Eight is both a monument to the legacies of these eight trailblazing Americans, and also a clear-eyed appraisal of how far we've come, and how far we have left to go, in our nation's ongoing struggle for true democracy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

James Clyburn, one of the wisest men of my generation, has given us a great gift with this enlightening history of civil rights in the post-Civil War south. A tale of hope, violence, and resilience, it is not only a tribute to the ‘First Eight’ but also a stern warning for all of us today.”—James Blanchard, Former Governor of Michigan, US Congressman, and Ambassador to Canada

“Some people make history.  Some people write history.  James Clyburn does both. In The First Eight, he has crafted a timely and fascinating account of Reconstruction South Carolina that skillfully weaves his political career into the successes and struggles of the often overlooked eight African Americans who preceded him by more than a century in the U. S. House of Representatives.”—William C. Hine, Professor Emeritus of History, South Carolina State University

“A work of liberative archaeology, unearthing the genius, grit, and gravitas of Black political leadership born in the crucible of Reconstruction. It is the truth-telling that our souls and the soul of this nation need, and a clarion call to remember rightly and rise with a moral resolve to confront the unfinished struggle of our time.”—Bishop Vashti Murphy Mckenzie, President and General Secretary, National Council of Churches

“A gripping Reconstruction Era history that chronicles the First Eight Black South Carolina Congressmen’s turbulent rise to national prominence. Nearly a century after the last of them left Congress, Congressman Clyburn—from whom I first learned this history as a high-school student in 1964—began to carry their legacy forward as the Ninth.”—James I. Gadsden, Former United States Ambassador

"Jim Clyburn has inspired generations of American leaders. In The First Eight, he tells the compelling story of the leaders who inspired him. At a time when Black history is being erased from public life, it brings these hidden figures into full view, drawing critical parallels between the deep challenges to our democracy in the 20th century and our current crisis—enlightening and ultimately moving the reader to hope."—Danielle Holley, President of Mount Holyoke College, Dean Emerita of Howard University School of Law

"A thoughtful consideration of historical figures too little known to readers today."—Kirkus Reviews

"A vividly written account of the life and times of the first eight African Americans who represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives...Clyburn expertly and concisely blends the history of Reconstruction and accounts of the differeing backgrounds and lives of each of the first eight."—Booklist (starred review)

Kirkus Reviews

2025-08-14
A group biography of the eight Black men to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives after the Civil War.

The author is the first Black congressman from South Carolina to serve in the House since the late 1800s, arriving a century after the eight men portrayed here. There is a reason for this: Those eight served valiantly but were unable to contain the revanchism that replaced slavery with Jim Crow; Republicans all, they “could not stop the violence and fraud deployed by the group that often referred to themselves as Conservative Democrats, or Southern Democrats.” The best known of Clyburn’s forerunners was Robert Smalls, who sailed a small ship out of Charleston Harbor under the nose of thousands of Confederates and brought it to the Union blockade fleet, saying, “I thought this ship might be of some use to Uncle Abe.” Smalls went on to become a recruiting officer for the federal army, personally enlisting 5,000 Black men. Robert De Large, the son of free Black parents who themselves owned slaves, battled in Congress for the right of Black South Carolinians to vote, which came about only after the federal government required the creation of a state constitution that granted all men the franchise. Richard Harvey Cain helped bring Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church to life after the Civil War, despite substantial opposition from white Charlestonians. Cain worked diligently to secure civil rights for Blacks in the former Confederacy, while back in Charleston a woman named Mary Bowers “took a seat on a streetcar and refused to budge, prompting her unceremonious removal”—nearly 90 years before Rosa Parks. As Clyburn notes, the arrival of five Black representatives in the 42nd Congress, and three others thereafter, inspired some reforms. But more, “it stoked serious fear and trepidation among white supremacists,” who, Clyburn provocatively notes, have been reborn as “MAGA Republicans and their supporters.”

A thoughtful consideration of historical figures too little known to readers today.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192019825
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	11/11/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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