Chapter 15

Texas and the Union

1865-1877

When the Civil War ended, Texas and the other southern states had to meet certain requirements to rejoin the Union.

Section 1Presidential Reconstruction

After the War

• Reconstruction: – Changes Texas and the other southern states had

to make after Civil War was over in order to be allowed to rejoin the United States

After the War, con’t

• Reconstruction: Affected political, economic, and social life

• Political: writing a new state constitution that rejected secession and did away with slavery

• Economic: getting used to a labor system not based on slavery and recovering from destruction of war

• Social: developing status of African Americans

Emancipation (freedom)• Emancipation Proclamation

– Issued by Pres Lincoln on Jan 1, 1863 • (Civil War over in 1865)

– Freed all slaves in Confederate states– Texas ignored it because not under US rule

After Confederate states surrendered, • General Gordon Granger went to Galveston • June 19, 1865 and declared all slaves

(around 250,000) to be free. • Juneteenth became known as a day of freedom among

African Americans and has been celebrated in Texas since 1865

13 Amendment to US Constitution

Slavery was abolished

Freedman’s Bureau

• Life not easy for freedman: person who has been freed from slavery– Many didn’t have homes or jobs…some left and began

looking for work or relatives; some decided to stay on the plantations

– See Freedman’s Town: page 325

• Freedman’s Bureau:– Created by US Congress to help former slaves; provided

food, shelter, medicine, etc to freed slaves. Also helped find jobs and represented them in court

http://citemag.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/AnUpdateFromFreedmansTown_Cuff_Cite82.jpg

Freedman’s Bureau, cont

• Had a hard time helping freed slaves because of size of Texas, poor transportation and communication

• White people resented Freedman’s Bureau agents—many were killed or wounded

• Major contribution: created schools for African American children

Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction

• President Lincoln assassinated on April 15, 1865

• US Vice Pres Andrew Johnson became President– Democrat from Tennessee who supported both Union

and slavery– Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction:

1. States had to end slavery2. They had to declare secession illegal3. They had to cancel all war debts4. Adult white males had to pledge loyalty to US to get back right

to vote

Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction, cont

• Andrew J. Hamilton – named temporary governor of Texas– Main Job: to begin Reconstruction in Texas– Organized convention to write a new Texas

Constitution• James Throckmorton—leader of convention to rewrite

Texas Constitution

President Andrew Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson

Temporary Governor Andrew Hamilton

http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/scanned/govdocs/Andrew%20J%20Hamilton/hamilton.jpgJames Throckmorton

http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/spb/gallery/govs/18.htm

The Constitution of 1866• Important Info:

– Used Texas Constitution of 1845 as basis for new one– Added Amendments:

changes made to a law, bill, or document

• Provisions:– Ended slavery – canceled state’s war debts– basically went back to how it was before secession…except:

• Refused to ratify the 13th Amendment which made slavery illegal in US

• Denied Civil Rights: rights belonging to all citizens, including right to vote, to African Americans

Constitution of 1866, cont

• Texans voted and approved it in June, 1866

• James W. Throckmorton: elected governor

• G. W. Jones: elected as lieutenant governor

• In August, 1866: President Johnson agreed to accept Texas back into Union if certain things were done

Texas’ New Government• New state government made several controversial

decisions: – Elected David G. Burnett and Oran M. Roberts as Senators…

they believed in secession– Agreed to abide by laws of US but deep down didn’t

support US goals for Reconstruction

– Enacted Black Codes—”laws that said what African Americans could not do”

– African Americans• Were considered 2nd class citizens• Could not marry a white person (illegal)• Could not vote• Had to use separate public transportation• Could not benefit from the Texas Homestead Law: provided free

land for citizens• http://history-world.org/black_codes.htm

The Reaction of Congress• US Pres Andrew Johnson said Texas could be re-

admitted to US, but…

• Radical Republicans – Believed Congress should admit states back into Union and

not President– Thought that Reconstruction should punish South

• Many US Senators didn’t want Texas yet– Black Code…didn’t think Texas could be trusted to treat

African Americans fairly– Newly elected Senators, House of Rep from Texas didn’t

deep down support US

Reaction of Congress, con’t

• US President Johnson and Radical Republicans disagreed on many things

• President Johnson vetoed bills passed by Congress

• Veto: refusal by head of government to sign a bill passed by the legislature

• As a result of vetoes, US Congress did not accept Texas Constitution of 1866 and refused to let Texas back into Union until Texas met other requirements

Congress puts together a stricter plan for Reconstruction. Republicans took control of Texas

and of enforcing Reconstruction

Section 2Congressional Reconstruction

Congress Gains Control

• Radical Republicans gained control of US Congress

• Could override a presidential veto

• New plan for Reconstruction:– Limit role of former Confederate leaders– Protect Civil Rights of African Americans

The Republicans’ Plan• Radical Republican Plan: • 14th Amendment to US Constitution

1. Granted citizenship to former slaves

2. Black Codes repealed: **read insert p. 329

3. Anyone who served in Confederacy could not hold a political office until approved by Congress

4. Canceled public debt of Confederacy—basically said Confederacy no longer existed

The Republicans’ Plan, con’t• If Texas agreed to 14th Amendment, they would have

to accept end of slavery and recognize equality of African Americans

• Many Texans had hard time accepting this amendment…still bitter and resentful of Union

• Texas did not ratify amendment…still not admitted into Union

• FYI: Tennessee was only Confederate state to approve 14th Amendment

The Congressional Plan

• Congress was mad at states that didn’t ratify 14th Amendment

• So, Radical Republicans passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867– Placed Southern states under military rule (except

Tennessee)– Required states to eliminate Black Codes and write new

constitutions that gave African American men right to vote– Divided the 10 states into 5 military districts

• District: part of a state or other area marked off for a special purpose

The Congressional Plan, cont• Texas in 4th Military District under rule of General

Philip H. Sheridan– He removed Throckmorton as governor and replaced him

with former governor Elisha M. Pease

– Military officials and troops controlled the state

– Texas citizens had to take an “ironclad oath”: stated past and future loyalty to Union…had to do this to be able to vote on new TX Constitution

• This did not make former Confederates happy at all• They resented military control

The Ku Klux Klan Threatens Voters

• Many plantation owners and Confederate soldiers did not want African Americans to have more rights

• They formed a secret group called the KKK or Ku Klux Klan– Goal: restore Democratic power in South and keep former

slaves powerless– Attacked African Americans– Rode on horseback and wore white robes and hoods– Beat people and burned homes– Also attacked white Republicans– Victims had little protection

Ku Klux Klan, con’t

• Used threats and violence to keep African Americans from voting or registering to vote

• Regardless of the KKK, nearly 50,000 African American men registered to vote in Texas

• 10 delegates to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1868-69 were African Americans. George T. Ruby…page 331

http://www.strhatetalk.com/images/usakkkt_ybxp.jpg

http://www.wpclipart.com/American_History/Ku_Klux_Klan.png.html

Also See picture on page 330

The Constitution of 1869• Purpose: to write a new Texas state constitution…again

• Very costly and long. Delegates met off/on from June-February but never completed the constitution…delegates got side-tracked by other issues…railroads, crime, etc

• Finally adopted by Texas voters in Nov, 1869– Declared Constitution of US the law– Guaranteed right of all me to vote regardless of “race, color, or former condition”– Established public school system for all children– Established a centralized system for law enforcement– Established number of length of terms for state government offices

Election of Governor Davis

• Very corrupt election

• Radical Republicans supported Edmund J. Davis

• Democrats supported A. J. Hamilton

• Edmund J. Davis…elected Governor of Texas in 1869

The unpopular Davis administration led to pro-Democratic feelings and the adoption of a new

state constitution

Section 3A New Constitution

Texas is Readmitted to the Union• When Republican Governor, Edmund J. Davis won, the Radical

Republicans gained more control in Texas

• Under Davis, Texas legislature ratified the 14th and 15th Amendments…required to be re-admitted to the Union

• 15th Amendment: gave African American men right to vote

• Texas was re-admitted to Union on March 8, 1870

• New US President Ulysses S. Grant declared Reconstruction over in Texas

• Military rule of Texas ended

• But, many Texans didn’t think Reconstruction was over– They wanted Democrats back in power

Davis’ Administration

• New programs/laws under Governor Davis– Created state police force and state militia

• Gave some freedmen jobs as policemen• Texas legislature gave Davis authority to declare Martial

Law• Martial Law: rule by an army instead of the usual

authorities– Meaning: he could use militia to control any civil disturbance

• He could appoint people to fill available state offices

Davis’s Administration, cont• Taxes rose drastically during his time as governor…see page 333

• Redeemers: Texans who opposed Governor Davis…they wanted to redeem or save Texas from actions of Radical Republicans

• Redeemers named Davis’s legislative programs the Obnoxious Acts– Worried that Davis might use police and militia against them– Felt that he would appoint only Radical Republicans to office– Afraid that he might allow newspapers that supported him to actually be

allowed to print– David grew very unpopular

The End of Reconstruction• New governor election in 1872…Democratic

candidate Richard Coke (former Confederate officer) won election– Democrats wanted to regain control of Texas– Eliminated Obnoxious Acts

• Davis claimed election wasn’t legal• Davis tried to stop swearing in but couldn’t

• Read Texas Tidbits on page 335• Reconstruction was over • Democrats stopped many things Davis put into

place• Under new governor, African Americans lost legal

and political ground

The Constitution of 1876• Redeemers wanted to remove all traces of Radical Republicans

• So, they wanted to change the Texas constitution adopted in 1869

• Constitution of 1876– Stripped governor and lieutenant governor of as much power as possible

– Legislature could only meet every other year

– Set aside land grants for education

– Provided for homestead and railroad grants

– Is still the Constitution used today

• Severely limits ability of Texas Legislature to make changes in government services and powers except by an amendment

• Has been amended more times than most state constitutions…over 400 times

• Will study this in detail last 2 weeks of school