History of Texas (1865–1899) facts for kids
After the American Civil War, Texas had to rejoin the United States. Union Army soldiers arrived in Texas on June 19, 1865. For the next nine years, Texas was led by temporary governors during a time called Reconstruction. In 1869, the U.S. Congress allowed Texans to vote on a new State Constitution. President Grant approved it, and Texas fully rejoined the Union on March 30, 1870. Later, Texas changed its constitution to the one used today, in 1876.
During this time, a lot of politics focused on land. Texas sold public lands to get money for higher education. This led to the opening of Texas A&M University in 1876 and the University of Texas at Austin in 1883. New rules for land use helped people create large cattle ranches. Ranchers often put barbed wire around public lands, which caused fights called range wars. Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross later helped change these land rules.
The state also faced serious problems with racism. There were many violent acts against Black people as white people tried to regain control. Governor Ross even had to step in to stop a conflict called the Jaybird–Woodpecker War. In 1890, the U.S. Supreme Court looked into who owned a large piece of land in Greer County, Texas. Governor Ross traveled to Washington, D.C., and New York to discuss this. His trip made many people in the eastern U.S. interested in Texas, leading to more money, visitors, and people moving there.
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Reconstruction: Rebuilding Texas
After the American Civil War, Texas, which had joined the Confederate States, was defeated. U.S. Army soldiers arrived in Texas on June 19, 1865. Their job was to take control of the state, bring back order, and make sure enslaved people were freed. This day is now celebrated as Juneteenth. A few days later, on June 25, the American flag was raised in Austin, the state capital.
Texas, like some other Southern states, created laws called the 1866 Texas black code. These laws limited the rights of newly freed Black people. President Andrew Johnson wanted to be fair to the Southern states. He didn't set very strict rules for them to rejoin the U.S. This meant state leaders had a lot of freedom to decide how to change their laws. However, they didn't give equal rights to freed people.
Most federal troops in Texas were along the coast. This left the inner parts of the state unprotected. Here, freed people often faced abuse, beatings, and shootings. In some parts of East Texas, Black people were still held as slaves. Union officials like General William E. Strong and General Phillip Sheridan confirmed these problems.
A story became popular in Texas that Northerners took over the state government after the Civil War. This idea, called the "Carpetbagger-rule myth," became very popular later. But historians say it's not true. More than half of the important officials in Texas were from the South. Most of them were Texas citizens before the Civil War.
U.S. President Andrew Johnson chose Union General Andrew Jackson Hamilton to be the temporary governor on June 17. Hamilton offered forgiveness to Confederates if they promised to support the Union. He even appointed some of them to government jobs. However, returning soldiers often took state property. Texas went through a time of much violence and disorder. Most of these problems happened in northern Texas. They were caused by outlaws who came from the Indian Territory.
On March 30, 1870, the United States Congress officially allowed Texas back into the Union. This happened even though Texas hadn't met all the rules for rejoining.
In 1876, Texas passed a new constitution. This constitution created separate schools for different races. It also set up a poll tax to help pay for schools. At first, this tax was not needed for voting. But in 1901, the Democratic-controlled government made the poll tax a requirement for voting. This stopped most Black people from voting. The number of Black voters dropped from 100,000 in the 1890s to only 5,000 by 1906.
Racial Issues and Segregation
The Freedmen's Bureau was created to help newly freed Black people. It helped them adjust to freedom and oversaw their work agreements. During Reconstruction, white violence against Black people increased. White people tried to bring back white supremacy, which means they wanted white people to have all the power. By the late 1870s, the government, mostly controlled by Democrats, passed laws to separate people by race in public places. These were called "Jim Crow" laws. Even with these challenges, freed Black people organized. They joined the Republican Party and started to take part in politics.
Governor Ross had to step in during the Jaybird–Woodpecker War in Fort Bend County, Texas. The local sheriff, Jim Garvey, was worried about armed fights. These fights were between two political groups: the State's Rights Democrats (called Jaybirds) and the Black Federalist Republicans (who had kept political power for 22 years). Sheriff Garvey asked for help, and Ross sent two groups of soldiers. They managed to create peace for four months.
In August 1889, Ross sent four Texas Rangers to stop the trouble. Violence broke out, and four people died. Six others were hurt, including a Ranger. The Ranger asked Ross for more help. The next morning, another group of soldiers arrived and took control. That evening, Ross arrived with another official and more soldiers. Ross fired all the local officials from the Woodpecker and Republican groups. He then brought together leaders from both sides. Ross suggested they choose a new sheriff that both groups could agree on. When they couldn't agree, Ross suggested one of the Rangers, Ira Aten. Both groups finally agreed, and the conflict stopped.
Developing Higher Education in Texas
On February 11, 1858, Texas leaders approved a plan to create the University of Texas. They set aside $100,000 to build the state's first public university. They also set aside land to help pay for the university. However, the Civil War stopped these plans for a while.
In 1866, there were talks about creating two separate universities in Texas. One would be "The University of Texas," and the other "East Texas University." But no action was taken to create a second university. Later, it was made clear that the plan was to have only one public university.
On April 17, 1871, Texas used a federal law called the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. This law provided money for a special type of college called a "land grant college." This led to the creation of the "Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas," now known as Texas A&M University. This college was meant to be part of the University of Texas.
The Texas Constitution of 1876 said that the government must create a "university of the first class." This university would be called "The University of Texas." It also said that an Agricultural and Mechanical Department must be part of the university. Even though Texas A&M was a branch of the university, it had its own leaders. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas opened in 1876. It was the first public higher education school to start operating in Texas.
On March 30, 1881, the government decided how the state university would be set up. They also called for an election to decide where it would be located. On September 6, 1881, the people voted, and Austin was chosen as the main site for the university. Galveston was chosen for the medical department. The University of Texas officially opened on September 15, 1883.
Land Use and Ranching Conflicts
In the 1880s, Governor John Ireland changed the rules for selling public lands. This policy first brought in more money for the state. But it also led to people gathering huge amounts of land to create cattle ranches. These ranchers soon started putting barbed wire fences around their own land. They also fenced off public lands they used for grazing, even without permission. This often blocked farmers and other ranchers from reaching water.
During a big drought in 1882, people started cutting the barbed wire fences. This led to violence between ranchers and farmers. Governor Ireland called a special meeting of the government in 1884. They passed a law allowing the Texas Rangers to step in and stop these fights. The Rangers were able to calm some of the violence, but not all of it.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, a former Confederate general and Texas Ranger, became the 19th Texas governor in 1886. His election campaign focused on changing land use rules. Most of the problems on the frontier were about disagreements over public land. These fights were especially between farmers and ranchers who needed water and grazing land. Governor Ross pushed the government to pass laws that gave more power to the Land Office Commissioner. These laws also punished those who used state lands illegally. They also helped keep track of all existing public lands. In May 1888, Governor Ross was there for the opening of the new Texas State Capitol building.
In March 1890, the U.S. Attorney General started a lawsuit in the Supreme Court. This lawsuit was against Texas to decide who owned a large piece of land in Greer County, Texas. Governor Ross wanted to meet the Attorney General in person. So, he and his wife traveled to Washington, D.C., where they visited President Benjamin Harrison at the White House. After that, they went to New York, where they met former president Grover Cleveland. In New York, journalists really liked Ross. Several big newspapers in the Northeast interviewed him. They wrote in detail about his adventures on the frontier. According to his biographer, Judith Brenner, this trip made many people in the eastern U.S. very interested in Texas. This interest later led to more money being invested in Texas, more tourists visiting, and more people moving there.
Governor Jim Hogg's Time
Jim Hogg was governor for two terms, from 1891 to 1895. In 1894, Texas sued John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. Hogg and his attorney general said that the company was using unfair business practices. They argued that Standard Oil was giving special deals, fixing prices, and combining companies in ways that were against Texas's 1889 antitrust law. This investigation led to several people being accused of crimes. Hogg even asked for Rockefeller to be brought from New York to Texas for trial. But the New York governor refused because Rockefeller had not run away from Texas. Rockefeller was never tried, but other employees of the company were found guilty.
