Download Texas and the Union Chapter 15

Texas and the Union
Chapter 15
Section 1
Presidential
Reconstruction
After the War
• After Civil War, the South had to make many
changes
– Money was worthless
– Uncertainty about the future
– Had to make changes to be readmitted to
Union/US
• Reconstruction: the changes that had to take
place in the South in order to get back into
the US
Emancipation
• Emancipation: freedom/to be freed
• Emancipation Proclamation
– Issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863
– Freed all slaves in Confederate states
– Proclamation ignored…not part of US
– 13 Amendment: abolished slavery; illegal in US
– Finally, after South surrendered in April, 1865…
• Gordon Granger went to Galveston on June 19, 1865 to
free all slaves in Texas
• Juneteenth: celebrated by African Americans in Texas as
day slaves were freed in Texas
• Freedman: person freed from slavery
• Many freed slaves
– Stayed on farms/plantations
– Many ended up with no jobs, homes, etc
– Others left to look for long-lost relatives
• Freedmen’s Towns:
– Communities established by freed slaves
Freedman’s Bureau
• Organization that helped freed slaves find jobs, food,
shelter, etc
• Hard to do a good job because Texas was so big and
transportation was bad
• Good: created schools for African American children
• Many white people resented what they were doing to
help freed slaves
– Some people who worked for Freedman’s Bureau were
killed
Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
• Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865
• VP Andrew Johnson became President
• For a southern state to be readmitted to
Union:
– End slavery
– Declare that their secession had been illegal
– Cancel all war debts
– If they wanted to be able to vote again, white men
had to pledge loyalty to US again (not
Confederacy)
The Constitution of 1866
• Met to write yet another constitution for Texas
• Changed TX Constitution back to wording like it
was before Civil War
• Cancelled war debts
• Ended slavery in TX
• Refused to ratify (approve) 13 Amendment
• Denied Civil Rights to African Americans
– Civil Rights: rights belonging to all citizens
– Amendment: change to a legal document
Texas’ Black Codes
• Texas new state government decisions
• Enacted Black Codes (didn’t make make US happy)
– Made African Americans second class citizens
– Outlawed marriage between blacks/whites
– African American men could not vote, hold public
office, or serve on a jury
– African American men had to use separate public
transportation
The Reaction of US Congress
• Texas wasn’t allowed back into Union yet…mainly
because of Black Codes
• Radical Republicans
– Believed that US Congress (not just the president)
should make decisions about readmitting states back
into Union
– Wanted to punish the South
– Caused conflict between US President and Congress—
power struggle
– President vetoed bills
• Veto: president refuses to sign bill passed by legislature
Section 2
Congressional
Reconstruction
Congress Gains Control
• US Congress finally got its way and got control
over terms of reconstruction
– Limited roles of former Confederate Leaders
– Protected Civil Rights of African Americans
The Republican’s Plan
• Became 14th Amendment to US Constitution
– Gave African Americans citizenship/equal rights
• If southern states approved the 14th Amendment ,
they be readmitted to Union
• Texans would have to
–
–
–
–
–
Accept that slavery was illegal
Recognize that African Americans were equal citizens
Very hard to do for most Texans
Refused to ratify amendment…not part of US yet
Tennessee…first state to ratify 14th amendment and
become part of US again
The Congressional Plan
• Refusal to ratify 14th amendment make US
Congress mad
• Radical Republicans
– Passed Reconstruction Act of 1867
– Place southern states under military rule…divided into
5 districts
– District: section for a specific purpose
– Texas was commanded by Philip H. Sheridan
– In order to vote, Texas men had to take an “ironclad”
oath…loyalty to Union
The Ku Klux Klan Threatens Voters
• Group of plantation owners and former
Confederate soldiers who didn’t want African
Americans to have more rights
• Goal: restore Democratic control of the South
and to keep former slaves powerless
The name is probably from the Greek word kuklos (κύκλος) which
means circle, suggesting a circle or band of brothers.[17]
• KKK often targeted land owners or people
who had become wealthy
• They beat people and burned homes
• Also attacked white Republicans
• Threats and violence to keep people from
voting or registering to vote
The Constitution of 1869
• Main things it did…
– Set up foundation for public schools in Texas
– Established number and length of terms for state
government offices
The Election of (TX) Governor Davis
(1869)
• Radical Republicans supported Edmund J.
Davis
• Edmund Davis won election
• Some people thought the election was rigged
Section 3
A New Constitution
Texas is Readmitted to the Union
• With Edmund Davis as governor (thought like
a Radical Republican), Texas finally ratified the
13th and 14th Amendments
• Texas was readmitted to the Union on March
8, 1870
• 15th Amendment: gave African American men
right to vote
Davis’ Administration
• Contributions??
– Created state police force and state militia
– Appointed people (friends) to state offices
– Davis had power to declare Martial Law
• Martial Law: rule by an army instead of police
• He had power to use soldiers to settle civil
disturbances
• Redeemers: people who opposed or wanted
to save Texas from Radical Republicans
• Obnoxious Acts: what Redeemers called
Davis’ programs
– Using police and military force against anyone that
opposed Davis
– Only other Radical Republicans would get state
offices
– Only newspapers that supported him were allowed
to publish
The End of Reconstruction
• People wanted Davis gone…tired of his way of
doing things
• In 1873, Richard Coke defeated Davis as governor
• Davis claimed that the election wasn’t legal but it
was
• Finally, with Davis gone, Reconstruction in Texas
was over
The Constitution of 1876
• Redeemers wanted to completely wipe out any
power and anything Radical Republicans and
Davis had done in Texas…meant changing the
state Constitution of 1869
• Constitution of 1876
– Stripped governor and state legislature of power
– Had Texas Legislature meet only every other year
– Set aside land for education and the railroads
– Constitution that Texas uses today