Born February 1, 1837
Charleston, South Carolina

Died July 22, 1903
Washington, D.C.

Minister, educator, and politician

Francis L. Cardozo. The Library of Congress.

"One of the greatest of slavery bulwarks was the infernal plantation system.… I maintain that our freedom will be of no effect if we allow it to continue. What is the main cause of the prosperity of the North? It is because every man has his own farm and is free and independent. Let the lands of the South be similarly divided."

Francis L. Cardozo served as an educator and politician in his native South Carolina and in Washington, D.C. His efforts in education resulted in two highly respected high schools: the Avery Institute in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. Cardozo was an effective elected official during the Reconstruction era in South Carolina...