The Honorable Henry Plummer Cheatham (R-NC)

In Congress, Cheatham (then the only black North Carolina congressman) supported federal support for education, the McKinley tariff, and a bill to safeguard the voting rights of African Americans. He tended mostly to the needs of his constituents (of both races), but was largely unsuccessful getting his own bills passed. In 1890, Cheatham defeated Democrat James M. Mewborne, with 16,943 votes to 15,713.