Hiram Parks Bell

Hiram Parks Bell (January 19, 1827 – August 16, 1907) was a white supremacist, slave owner,[1] U.S. Representative and a Confederate Representative from the state of Georgia.

This article is about the U.S. Representative from Georgia. For the United States Representative from Ohio, see Hiram Bell.

Hiram Parks Bell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 9th district
In office
March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875
(first term)
March 13, 1877 – March 3, 1879
(second term)
Preceded byNew seat
(first term)
Benjamin Harvey Hill
(second term)
Succeeded byBenjamin Harvey Hill
(first term)
Emory Speer
(second term)
Member of the Georgia Senate
In office
1861
1900–1901
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office
1898–1899
Personal details
Born(1827-01-19)January 19, 1827
Jefferson, Georgia
DiedAugust 16, 1907(1907-08-16) (aged 78)
Atlanta, Georgia
Political partyDemocratic
Professionlawyer
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Branch/service Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1864
Rank Colonel (CSA)
Commands43rd Georgia Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early life and education

Bell was born January 19, 1827, near Jefferson, Georgia. He taught school for two years, studied law, was admitted to the Georgia bar later in 1849 and became a practicing lawyer in Cumming, Georgia. According to his autobiographical memoirs, "Men and Things," he owned at least two slaves.[2]

Secession and war

Bell was a member of the Georgia secession convention, voting against secession as imprudent, but then signing the Ordinance of Secession. He believed that "the Northern States were astonished that the Southern States would secede; the Southern people were surprised that the government would attempt to hold the States together by force."[3] Hearing that Georgia must "grasp in fraternity the bloody hand of Massachusetts, or align yourselves with gallant South Carolina" shook his views on the need to secede.[4] He served as a Georgia commissioner to work with the state of Tennessee in the formation of a southern confederacy.

American Civil War

In 1861, Bell served in the Georgia Senate; however, he resigned to join the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War as a captain. He was later promoted to lieutenant colonel and then colonel of the 43rd Georgia Infantry Regiment. Bell was a Georgia representative to the Second Confederate Congress in 1864 and 1865.

Post-war politics

After the war, Bell opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 as "legislative folly… intended to harass and humiliate the white people.[5]

He was a member of the Democratic State executive committee from 1868 to 1871. Elected as a Democratic Representative to the 43rd United States Congress representing Georgia's 9th congressional district, Bell served from March 4, 1873, until March 3, 1875. He served as a delegate to the 1876 Democratic National Convention and was chosen an at-large member from Georgia to Democratic National Committee.

Bell was elected to the U.S. Congress again to represent the 10th district of Georgia during the 45th Congress to fill the vacant seat resulting from the resignation of Benjamin Harvey Hill and served from March 13, 1877, to March 3, 1879. Bell lost his bid for reelection to that in 1878. He then served in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1898 and 1899 and the Georgia Senate in 1900 and 1901.

In his memoirs, Bell praised the Ku Klux Klan as "a saving factor in the preservation of order and the prevention of lawlessness" for opposing Reconstruction. He also described himself as one of the "able and patriotic" white Georgian men who "established a Constitution that secured white over black domination."[5]

Death

Bell died in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 16, 1907,[6] and was buried in the Cumming Cemetery.

Legacy
  • Bell Street in Atlanta is possibly named for him.[7]
  • In June, 2020, residents of Cumming, Georgia called for the removal of his statue from the town square.[2]

References
  1. "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 27, 2022, retrieved January 30, 2022
  2. "Online petition calls for removing Hiram Parks Bell statue from downtown Cumming". www.forsythnews.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  3. Hiram Parks Bell (1907). Men and Things. Col. Hiram Parks Bell Camp 1642, Sons of Confederate Veterans. p. 167. ISBN 0-9717466-2-1.
  4. Hiram Parks Bell (1907). Men and Things. Col. Hiram Parks Bell Camp 1642, Sons of Confederate Veterans. p. 434. ISBN 0-9717466-2-1.
  5. "The South Must Confront Its History of Racial Cleansing". Time. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  6. Forsyth County: History Stories
  7. Mock, Brentin (September 26, 2018). "Say Goodbye to Confederate Avenue". CityLab.

References
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