About John H. Reagan
John Henninger Reagan (October 8, 1818 – March 6, 1905) was an American and Confederate politician from Texas. A Democrat, Reagan resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives when Texas seceded from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America. He served in the Confederate cabinet of Jefferson Davis as Postmaster General. After the Confederate defeat in the Civil War and his release from prison after the war, Reagan called for cooperation by the Southern states with the U.S. government, an unpopular position among most conservative white people. He was elected to Congress in 1874 and was elected in 1886 by the state legislature as a Democrat from Texas to the U.S. Senate, where he served one term from 1887 to 1891. He resigned from the seat when appointed by the governor as chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was among the founders of the Texas State Historical Association. Reagan was elected to the U.S. Senate as the representative of the Democratic Party for the state of Texas. He was the only former Confederate cabinet member to be seated in the U.S. Senate after the Civil War, and one of just three former Confederate cabinet members to take major political offices after the war. Alexander H. Stephens, the only Confederate vice president, was also elected in 1866 to represent Georgia, but was not permitted to be seated in the Senate due to his war history. Reagan sat in the Senate for just one term. But when it became clear that Texas would secede, Reagan resigned from Congress on January 15, 1861, and returned home to the state to participate in the rebellion. Nearly all did so and brought copies of their records, contracts, account books, etc. "Reagan in effect had stolen the U.S.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.