Texas and Reconstruction, Pt. 2

1
Texas and Reconstruction, Pt. 2

• Essential Question
• Identify significant individuals and events
  concerning Texas and Reconstruction
• Main Idea
• In the final years of Reconstruction, Southerners
  were forced to accept new leaders and new
  political freedoms for African Americans.

2
Texas Elects Ex-Confederates to Office

• Southerners elected many Confederate officials
  and soldiers to top positions in state government
  and to the U.S. Congress.
• James W. Throckmorton elected TX Governor
• The Texas legislatures refused to ratify the 13th
  and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
• Southern states also restricted the rights of
  African Americans with black codesthey were
  not allowed to vote, testify against or marry
  whites, or serve on juries.

African American men who were arrested for
vagrancy due to unemployment http//history.sandie
go.edu/gen/civilwar/16/reconstruction1.html
3
Radical Republicans Take Charge

• Radical Republicans pushed a plan to set stricter
  standards for readmitting Southern states to the
  Union and that would protect the freedom of
  African Americans in the South.
• In the 1866 congressional elections, Radical
  Republicans gained control of Congress and now
  had the power to override a presidential veto.
• President Johnson fought against the Radical
  program and was charged with misconduct in
  office. He missed being impeached by one vote.

4
New Requirements for Statehood

• In March 1867, Congress divided the South into 5
  districts. TX LA made up 1 district, commanded
  by Major General Philip Sheridan.
• Removed James W. Throckmorton as Governor and
  appointed Elisha M. Pease.
• Military rule continued until states met these
  requirements
• Ratify the 14th Amendment
• Ratify the 15th Amendment
• Repeal the Black Codes
• Take the Ironclad Oath

5
Southerners Oppose Reconstruction

• Most African Americans were pleased at the plan
  of Reconstruction, but most former Confederates
  and secessionists thought it too harsh.
• Southern white supporters of Reconstruction were
  called scalawags. Northerners who often came to
  the South for political and economic gain during
  this period were called carpetbaggers.
• In Texas and other Southern states, organizations
  such as the Ku Klux Klan used violence and
  threats to prevent African Americans from voting.

6
The Invisible Empire of the South
7
A New State Constitution and Elections

• In November 1869 Texans who qualified to vote
  approved a new state constitution and elected a
  governor and other state officials.
• The constitution provided that no one should
  excluded from voting because of race or color.
• It provided more support for public education,
  and protected public lands.

8
A Radical Republican Governor

• Critics complained that new Governor Edmund J.
  Davis and the Radical Republicans used their
  power to restrict the political activities of
  their opponents.
• Davis was unpopular, but he and the Republicans
  started some good projects.

9
A Democratic Challenge

• Some Democrats used threats and violence to keep
  African Americans from voting.
• In 1873 Richard Coke, a Democrat and
  ex-Confederate officer, was elected Governor by
  twice the number of votes that Davis received.
• Jan. 1874 sworn in as Governor