MARCH 31, 1870

One day after the ratification of the 15^th Amendment, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first Black American to vote in an election under that amendment. 
Peterson served as a school principal and later became the city’s first Black officeholder and the first Black person to ever serve on a jury. To honor him as the first Black voter after passage of the 15^th Amendment, the community raised enough money to award him a gold medallion  (now housed at Xavier University in New Orleans) that featured Abraham Lincoln. In 1989, the school where he worked was renamed after him. In New Jersey, March 31 is recognized as Thomas Mundy Peterson Day, honoring his historic vote.

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On this day in 1906

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On this day in 1921

January 21, 2025January 17, 2025

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On this day in 1870

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
March 31, 2023

<h1>On this day in 1870</h1> <p class="byline">by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today <br />March 31, 2023</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/06130831/OnThisDay-FinalLogo_page-banner-2-1200x151.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1089732" /></figure> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-march-31-1870"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">MARCH 31, 1870</mark></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/06123254/3.31-mundypeterson.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1092964" width="228" height="304" /></figure> <p>One day after the ratification of the 15^th Amendment, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first Black American to vote in an election under that amendment.&nbsp;<br />Peterson served as a school principal and later became the city’s first Black officeholder and the first Black person to ever serve on a jury. To honor him as the first Black voter after passage of the 15^th Amendment, the community raised enough money to award him a gold medallion&nbsp; (now housed at Xavier University in New Orleans) that featured Abraham Lincoln. In 1989, the school where he worked was renamed after him. In New Jersey, March 31 is recognized as Thomas Mundy Peterson Day, honoring his historic vote.</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2023/03/31/on-this-day-in-1870-thomas-mundy-peterson/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org&quot;&gt;Mississippi Today&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.&lt;img src=&quot;https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/06074517/MT_icon-logo-favicon-1-200x200.png&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1093769&amp;amp;ga4=G-VSX4B701MS&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2023/03/31/on-this-day-in-1870-thomas-mundy-peterson/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mississippitoday.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;</p> Copy to Clipboard

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