Chapter 8 Dark Days: “A Shower of Blood”

Abstract

Eight thousand people braved freezing weather to attend the White House reception on the first day of 1864. A California newspaper reported that “four colored men of genteel exterior, with the manners of gentlemen” were among the throng greeting the president. Lincoln shook each man’s hand, addressed him with a formal “Mister” followed by his last name, and bowed respectfully. Even though these four visitors were dark specks in a sea of white faces, their presence was groundbreaking. Never before had African Americans attended a New Year’s reception at the White House—an exclusionary tradition dating to George Washington’s first presidency in New York City.