By 1868, John Langston had organized the law department at Howard University becoming its first department dean. He also served, for a period of time, as the acting President of The University. By 1888, after having served as consul-general to Haiti; and after having become The President of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute in 1885, John Mercer Langston was once again catapulted into The National Spotlight when he won a seat in The United States House of Representatives. His victory was contested for eighteen months because he was the first African-American elected to Congress from Virginia. Eventually, however, he was able to take his seat.