Jefferson Franklin Long made history in 1870 when he was elected as the first black person to represent Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the second black person in the U.S. House and was the first to speak on the floor of Congress. Long is quoted in numerous newspaper articles in the late 1800s and his coverage by the press in Macon and nationally has been used in several academic papers and books but there has not been an examination of his 47 days in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He has largely been forgotten, a little known black history fact. This study aims to add to the reconstruction of Jefferson F. Long, to add flesh to his bones, in part, through his voting record and through examining how he was mediated by the press, black and white.