Texas History
Fort Burrows
Chapter12 / Reconstruction IN Texas
Section Four
The period after the Civil War is called Reconstruction. During this period, the Southern states were brought back into the Union. It lasted until 1876.
People in the North disagreed on how to treat the Southern states. President Andrew Johnson set out certain conditions that each state had to meet to rejoin the Union. In 1866, a Texas convention agreed to meet these conditions. The delegates said that it had been illegal to secede. They agreed to end slavery. They also gave African Americans some rights, though not the right vote or hold public office.
A new state government came to power. The whites in the government passed laws called ‘Black-codes.’ These laws put limits on African American’ rights. The national government set up the Freedman’s Bureau. Its job was to help the newly freed slaves adjust to their new lives.
Congress did not like the way Reconstruction was going. / It felt that the Southern states were not changed enough. It felt that former Confederates should not be able to serve in new governments. In 1867, it put the South under the control of the Federal Army.
In 1868, Texans met to write a new constitution. It gave African American males the right to vote. As a result, Texas was able to rejoin the Union in March 1870. In 1872, voters put former Confederates in charge of the government of Texas.
The state constitution of 1869 had made the governor very strong. The people of Texas did not like strong central government. Therefore, in 1876, they approved a new constitution. It made the governor weaker. The economy of Texas became more productive in these years. Farms grew more cotton than ever before. Factories arose in many cities. Railroad lines were built that connected Texas to other parts of the country. Still, most people worked their own ‘small’ family farms.
1866 / Secession is declared illegal
African Americans receive some rights
1869 / Male - African Americans and Confederates gain the right to vote.
The governor can appoint judges and other Gov’t officials
All Children must Attend School
1876 / The governor’s authority is limited
Elected leaders have two year terms
All adult MALES have the legal right to vote
After the War, Union General Gordon Granger, from New York, West Point class of 1845, took command of Texas. made this proclamation when he arrived at the Port of Galveston June 19, 1865. “ The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, All Slaves are FREE.” This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present home and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness, either there or elsewhere.”
*** Juneteenth -- June 19, 1865 – African American ‘True-Freedom’ Celebration Day.
12.4 - Reconstruction in Texas
Vocabulary:
Reconstruction – the Federal governments plan to restore the South to the Union
after the Civil War
amendments – a formal change to constitutions ( 13th, 14th, & 15th – Civil War Amendments )
sharecroppers – farmers that worked the land and gave 50% to the land owner
scalawag – a mean, immoral, or wicked person
carpetbagger – Northern outsiders that moved into Texas
homestead – the house and adjoining land occupied by a family
Ku Klux Klan ( KKK ) –a post civil war secret society advocating white supremacy, that terrorized African Americans /
Reconstruction Begins
Texan endured almost 11 years of Reconstruction after the Civil War
the federal government’s plan to reunite the South to the Union, without punishment
under President Johnson’s plan, all Confederate states would have to meet some conditions before reentering the Union
delegates accepted most of Johnson’s terms
President Johnson’s plan
Southern states had to set up temporary governments
end slavery
declare secession illegal
all adult white males had to take an oath of loyalty to the US
Governor Hamilton
appointed by the U.S. president, Andrew J Hamilton became the provisional governor of Texas,until the people could ‘elect’ a governor
he e Hecalled for the Constitutional Convention of 1866
he served as a Congressman, a Senator, and a General for the Union Army
his job was to prepare Texas politically, to re-enter the Union
in June of 1866, Texans accepted the new constitution and elected James Throckmorton as governor
The Constitution of 1866
in June 1866, the Texan voters declared secession illegal, to end slavery, and to give ‘some’ rights to African Americans (not the right to vote or hold office)
elected James Throckmorton as Governor - he was an officer in the Confederate Army
The Struggle for African American Rights
Texas ended slavery, but did not want to give African Americans the right to vote
Black Codes•Texas legislators made new laws to control African Americans
•these codes limited the rights of African Americans and prevented them from serving on juries or holding public office
•African Americans faced arrest if they were not working
•NO IDLERS !!!!! / The Freedman’s Bureau Agency 1865 - 1868
•in 1865, the federal government established the Freedmen’s Bureau
•it was supposed to protect African Americans from violence and black codes
•1.provided food and 2.health care
•helped adults find 3.jobs
•set up 4.schools for their children
•some white Texans resented the bureau
•some bureau officials were attacked and killed
Congressional Plan for Reconstruction
Republicans felt that Reconstruction was too lenient on the South
Congress was angry because Texas had elected former Confederate leaders back into office
Congress resented the fact that Texas did not ratify two of the three constitutional amendments
13th: banned slavery
14th: made ALL African Americans citizens
15th: Black male could vote
Civil War Amendments
Congress issued its own plan in 1867
in response, Congress placed the South under control of the army
the army supervised Texas until it passed a new constitution that gave African Americans the right to vote and hold office
the South was placed under military control, General Philip H Sheridan (he sums up his feelings regarding Texas with this quote),
"If I owned Texas and all of H#@*, I would rent out Texas and live in H#@*."
Texas had to give African Americans the right to vote and hold office
the state’s elected officials left office
Texas was readmitted to the Union in 1870
Republican Party in Texas begins July 4, 1867. 150 African Americans and 20 White Texans
many white Texans resented Congress’s actions. Secret societies, such as the Ku Klux Klan KKK, formed to frighten African American voters away from the polls
the new Constitution of 1868
Texans elected delegates to create a new state constitution
the convention split into two main groups:
Radical Republicans wanted radical, or major, changes
Moderate Republicans wanted moderate, or less extreme, changes
under the new constitution, Approved by the Texan voters in 1869, African Americans and former Confederates gained the right to vote
it gave Texas a strong central government and weaker Governor power
the Governor did have the power to appoint judges and other officials
the new constitution required all children to go to school, Prior to this law, the parents had the right to chose to educate children or keep ‘em home workin’
Voters approved this Constitution in 1869
in 1870, Texas was readmitted into the Union
Edmund J Davis became governor of Texas
Governors term set at two years
Restoration to the Union
Federal troops did not arrive in Texas to restore order until June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger and 2,000 Union solders arrived on Galveston Island to take possession of the state and enforce slaves’ new freedoms
the Texas holiday Juneteenth commemorates this date
the Stars and Stripes was not raised over Austin until June 25
President Andrew Johnson appointed Union General Andrew J. Hamilton, a prominent antebellum politician before the war, as the provisional governor on June 17; he granted amnesty to ex-Confederates if they promised to support the Union in the future, appointing some to political office
March 30, 1870, the United States Congress(President U.S. Grant) readmitted Texas into the Union, although Texas did not meet all the formal requirements for readmission
Republican - Rutherford B Hayes becomes U.S. President - The End of Reconstruction
Edmund J. Davis was elected governor in 1869
he raised taxes for new roads and schools
he created a state police department
his new homestead laws, settlers received 160 acres if they lived on it 3 years
1872, Texans elect a former Confederate officer as governor, Richard Coke
prior to 1873 Texas had 400 miles of railroads
after Reconstruction over 1500miles had been built
Economic Changes
cotton, corn, and wheat production was higher than ever
expansion of the Railroads
sharecroppers replaced slavery ( new entrepreneurs )
they worked the land and gave half of their crops to the landowners
landowners provided tools, seed, animals, and housing
Texans developed more industries, producing textiles, iron, and other goods
mass immigration into Texas, about 100,000 people during 1873
New Labor System
the sharecropper system replaced the system of slave labor after the civil war
landowners assumed all the housing and production costs in exchange for the sharecropper working the land
sharecroppers gave half the value of their crop to the landowner
Constitution of 1876
cut the governor’s power to appoint officers
limited elected leaders to two-year terms
gave all males, including African Americans, the right to vote
women still did not have the right to vote
required that voters approve any changes to the constitution
remains the basic law of Texas to this day
voters had to approve changes to the constitution, not the governor
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enacted in the Southern and Border States of the United States and enforced between 1876 and 1965 and affected African Americans and many other races. "Jim Crow period" or the "Jim Crow Era" refers to the time during which this practice occurred. The most important laws required that public schools and most public places (including trains and buses) have separate facilities for whites and blacks. (These Jim Crow Laws were separate from the 1800-1866 ‘Black Codes’, which had restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans.)
Examples in Texas: Education - The County Board of Education shall provide schools of two kinds; those for white children and those for colored children.
During the Reconstruction period of 1865-1876, federal law provided civil rights protection in the South for freedmen—the African-Americans who had formerly been slaves. Reconstruction ended at different dates (the latest 1877), and was followed in each Southern state by Redeemer governments that passed the Jim Crow laws to separate the races. In the Progressive Era, the restrictions were formalized, and segregation was extended to the federal government by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.
1.What was the purpose of the black codes? A. to regulate groups like the Ku Klux Klan B. to keep scalawags out of public office C. to help African Americans gain more rights D. to limit the rights of African Americans
2.Who were carpetbaggers? A. sharecroppers who worked their way across Texas B. men from the North who won public office in Texas C. bankers who bought land cheaply after the Civil War D. Free African Americans who worked for room and board
3. What did Texas have to do to rejoin the Union ?
______
4. How were African Americans’ rights limited and protected during Reconstruction ? ______
5. How did Reconstruction change Texas ?______
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