Born into slavery, he was freed as a young adult and worked as a carpenter's apprentice and worker before he went to Oberlin College in Ohio.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he was commissioned to organize black troops in Indiana for the 28th United States Colored Infantry Regiment.
[5] After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Harris was commissioned in 1863 by Governor Morton as a recruiting officer to organize black troops in Indiana, including the 28th United States Colored Infantry Regiment.
[2] Having received a teaching certificate from the New England Freedmen's Aid Society,[1] he worked for them as a teacher in Raleigh beginning in June 1865.
[2] In 1865, he attended the first Freedman's Convention in the South; Held in Raleigh, he was a representative for Wake County, North Carolina.
[1] Harris was elected as a delegate at the January 14, 1868 North Carolina Constitutional Convention and represented a predominantly black constituency,.
He lobbied for legislation for equal rights for blacks, by chairing a delegation that met with U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and presented a memorial to him.
[9] Harris served as a member of the United States Electoral College in 1872,[2] voting for Ulysses S. Grant.
By 1874, disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era was instituted by so-called redeemers and state laws passed to take away African Americans' rights that had been granted to them after the Civil War.
"Red Shirt" Democrats used scare tactics to prevent African Americans from voting and the Republican party chose to have "lily white" tickets to make it more likely to win elections.
[1] In 1878, his place on the ballot opposing another African-American Republican, James E. O'Hara, contributed to the victory of white Democrat William H.
[9][10] Harris was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1884, when he was a supporter of Chester A. Arthur's unsuccessful bid for renomination.
Black legislator & orator; member 1868 convention; a founder of Republican Party & Union League in N.C. Home was 1 block W.[4] It provides some information about James Henry Harris, but otherwise, there is little known of him.
According to journalist Kate Pattison: "It is possible that Harris' legacy was snuffed out by the Reconstruction backlash, while former slaves continued to lose access to education, voting, and hope.