The Person I admire

By:Ashanti

The person I admire is Robert Smalls, Robert Smalls is a man who was enslaved by the Mckee
family and is an African American. Robert Smalls was born on April 5, 1839 in South
Carolina-sadly he died on February 23, 1915 in Beaufort, South Carolina at the age of 75 years
old.

His family was also enslaved, his mother was a house slave her name was Lydia Polite and his
father was an unknown white man but it was believed to be Henry Mckee who was his owner
(master). When Smalls was 12, the Mckee family (slave owners) moved to Charleston.

When Robert got older he married a lady named Hannah Jones in 1856, he was 17 years old
when he got married. Hannah Jones worked as a slave hotel maid in Charleston. Jones already
had one daughter from the previous relationship and together Hannah and Robert had one
daughter and one son who later died from smallpox.

Some interesting things about Robert Smalls is that after Civil War, he returned to his birthplace
and rose rapidly in politics and became a politician. In South Carolina, Smalls was considered an
important politician.He set the foundation for the Republican Party in American politics.

Another fact is in 1877, he was convicted of taking a 5,000 bribe while in the state Senate. Robert
Smalls was elected to the U.S House of Representatives (1875-79, 1882-83, 1884-87). He spent
his last years in Beaufort, South Carolina where he became a port collector (1889-93, 1897-1913).

I’m inspired by Robert Smalls because he was a slave who worked extremely hard under horrific
conditions, He escaped from slavery to get a better life as a free man out in the world. He was
brave and incredible for doing this.

After escaping from slavery, Smalls became a sea captain and a ships pilot, he is an example of
an exceptional human being who never gave up on himself. He proved to be a very skillful and
intelligent man. I admire his story for his strong spirit of always striving for better, no matter what
the conditions.