Transcript Chapter 15 Texas and the Union 1865-1877 Section 1 Presidential Reconstruction When the Civil War ended, Texas and the other southern states had to meet certain.

Chapter 15
Texas and the Union
1865-1877
Section 1
Presidential Reconstruction
When the Civil War ended, Texas and the other southern states
had to meet certain requirements to rejoin the Union.
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.
2.
3.
4.
States had to end slavery
They had to declare secession illegal
They had to cancel all war debts
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
Temporary Governor Andrew Hamilton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson
James Throckmorton
http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/scanned/govdocs/Andrew%20J%20Hamilton/hamilton.jpg
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 readmitted 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
Section 2
Congressional Reconstruction
Congress puts together a stricter plan for
Reconstruction. Republicans took control of Texas
and of enforcing 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
Also See picture on page 330
http://www.wpclipart.com/American_History/Ku_Klux_Klan.png.html
The Constitution of 1869
• Purpose: to write a new Texas state constitution…again
• Very costly and long. Delegates met off/on from JuneFebruary 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
Section 3
A New Constitution
The unpopular Davis administration led to proDemocratic feelings and the adoption of a new
state 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