- Indianapolis became the capital of Indiana
- Nobody got a majority of the votes in the presidential election, so the House of Representatives voted to make John Quincy Adams the sixth President of the United States.
-The Erie Canal opened! This allowed goods to travel by water from Albany, NY to Lake Erie.
- Leonard C. Bailey was born!
When Leonard came into the world, there was no way to know how much of an effect he would have on America.
He was born into poverty in the North - the capital is to indicate that this is the Antebellum period or pre-civil war. His parents were free blacks.
Being a free black in the Northern United States meant that even though you could not participate in many areas of American life, you did have rights of movement, your free speech was not restricted, and you could earn money for yourself.
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| One of many barbers who offer free haircuts to kids who read to them. |
Leonard was an enterprising young man. He became a Journeyman barber. Barbering has always been an acceptable and respected profession for African American men. They are still an essential part of communities today.
I could find no information about when Leonard decided that it was better to own the shop than cut the hair, but he did come to that determination.
This was a time in New York's history where abolitionists both black and white were united in advocating for better lives for free blacks. This air of solidarity sparked a surge of supported black businessmen, and an increase in opportunities for black men in New York's society.
By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, Bailey owned and operated a string of barbershops in the District of Columbia.
As the Civil War raged in the South, he kept his business running. He became part of a burgeoning black upper-middle class by the time the war ended in 1865.
In 1868, the fourteenth amendment was ratified. For the first time in American history, African Americans were granted citizenship and given the right to more fully participate in the American experiment.
A year later, this led to a historic event: Leonard served on the very first integrated jury in America.
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| The First Unsegregated Jury |
In 1869, six black men and six white men sat in the jury box together and listened to the tragic, and scandalous tale of Millie Gaines.
Millie, a black woman, was having a love affair with a white man named James Ingle. He'd gotten her with child, and then refused to support her.
Well, she was not having it. She entreated him to do the right thing.
He started seeing another woman, and that was one step too far for Millie. She procured a pistol and an ax. After he returned from his date, she went into his rooms and attempted to shoot him. The pistol jammed. So, she took the ax and brought it down on his head a few times. That did the trick. She then took herself off to the police station and turned herself in.
The result of the trial? They acquitted her because she was clearly suffering from momentary insanity.
They deliberated for less than five minutes.
Gentlemen were never to use a woman so, and if they did what on earth could they expect? Leonard came to national attention for the first time when the trial was widely covered in the news.
A wealthy man who was respected by everyone who'd served on the first integrated jury is not a bad legacy.
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He was in no way finished.
He was also an inventor.
A number of his inventions were adopted readily by the United States government
In 1883, Leonard invented a truss and bandage system that was designed to help patients with lower body hernias.
This was the first of his massively successful inventing endeavors. The United States Army medical board was a big fan of this invention and adopted it as a treatment.
He made a great deal of money.
In 1884, something happened that made him quite nervous. Grover Cleveland was elected. It was the first time a Democrat had been in power since the 1850s.
The Republican party was the party of emancipation, and they fought for the rights of African Americans. Fearful that the new Democrats would erode the newly acquired and hard-fought rights of blacks, he joined with other wealthy black businessmen to advocate for the rights of the black community. His voice had weight, and he used it to defend the black community.
In the meantime, he kept inventing things. Perhaps he got annoyed by standing in line at the post office. I have no idea if he did or not, but he invented a rapid mail-stamping machine and a transfer system for the railroads. (Lots of people invented things for the railroad!)
By the late 1800s, the fervor of the abolitionists who'd helped build up the fortunes of African Americans in DC during the days before the Civil War had fizzled. Eager black entrepreneurs, black families who wanted to buy houses or invest in education, black-owned businesses that needed improvements or investments discovered that the banks were uninterested in working with them.
Mr. Bailey stepped up once more. In 1888, he collaborated with seven other wealthy black businessmen to found the Capitol Savings Bank in DC. It was the first black-owned bank in America. He served as the president for a while, then the head treasurer, and eventually director of its finance board.
Five years after the bank was founded, America went through a financial crisis. it was called the panic of 1893. Banks were failing all over the country. In the midst of financial destruction in many quarters, the Capitol Bank stayed strong and solvent.
Leonard used his own fortune to procure a loan from another bank to float the bank through a perilous moment, and it honored every single one of its obligations during the panic.
Capitol Savings closed its doors in 1902, but it left a legacy of homes, businesses, and hope in its wake.
In 1899, Leonard invented another massively successful item: the folding bed.
The United States Army really liked this one.
Bailey made another pile of money.
He kept giving back his whole life.
He served as the director of the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth in Virginia.
He was a board member of the Berean Baptist Church of DC.
He was also a Freemason.
Leonard Bailey died at the age of 93 of a sudden illness. He is buried in National Harmony Memorial Park.
He was a man who spent his life in service to others and left a legacy of wealth-building to the future.
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