Civil War & Reconstruction

In this unit you will learn about the events leading to the Civil War, Texas' involvement in the Civil War, and the aftermath during Reconstruction on Texas society.

The Civil War

How will Texas survive a war that tears the entire nation apart?

The Road To The Civil War

Conflict between the Northern and Southern parts of the U.S. was as old as the nation itself. Both regions had completely different moral values, economy, and culture that would often put them in conflict with each other.

These regional differences combined with political tension that would set the United States on a path to the Civil War.

The THREE Major Causes of the Civil War were:

Sectionalism
Slavery
State’s Rights

Road To The Civil War: Sectionalism

Sectionalism, or loyalty to one’s section or region of the country, had long divided the North and the South.

North

Jobs: Less than half in farming, most were Industrial/Manufacturing.
Many large cities, large population all in one place.
Transportation: Most railroads were in the North.
Slavery was a MORAL issue, many anti-slavery groups in the North.
Immigrant labor was used instead. Northern workers say slaves as "competition" for work.
Land: Better for small farms.

South

Jobs: Most were farmers.
Very few cities, population spread out.
Transportation: Not many railroads, most traveled by water.
Slavery was an ECONOMIC issue, they needed it to maintain their way of life (large plantations).
Almost all labor was done with slaves.
Land: Fertile soil, great for large farms & plantations.

Road To The Civil War: Slavery

Slavery is holding someone against their will and forcing them to do as you want, usually laboring (work).
Africans were sold into slavery and taken across the Atlantic ocean to the New World to work on plantation farms.
Most slaves were located in the South as the Southern Economy was based around slave-plantation work.
However, not everyone in the United States agreed with the practice of slavery. The Abolitionist Movement was trying to Abolish (End) Slavery.

By the mid-1800s, people in the North and the South were also arguing about slavery.

Opposition to slavery grew stronger in the North, and white Southerners feared the federal government would try to abolish it.

Texas was one of the states that allowed slavery.

The lives of slaves were hard. Most had to work in cotton fields from sunrise to sunset. They had no control over their lives. The slaveholders could split families apart.

Still, the enslaved African Americans built a strong culture based heavily in religion and music.

Frederick Douglas

Born a slave in Maryland.
Ran away (Stole himself).
Wrote The North Star (Abolitionist News Paper) and spoke out against slavery, told his story, encouraged including former slaves in the Union Army.

Harriet Tubman

Runaway slave.
Returned to the South and helped other slaves escape.
Was a huge contributor to the "Underground Railroad" (System used to help slaves in the South get to freedom in the North).
She made 19 trips back and forth from the South helping over 300 slaves escape.

Road To The Civil War: State’s Rights

States' Rights refers to the struggle between the federal government and individual states over political power.

During the time leading up to the Civil War, the Southern states argued that the federal government did not have a right to decide what is legal or illegal inside of state. That “Right” would only belong to the States themselves.

The Northern states disagreed and believed that the federal government had the right to decide what can be illegal for the entire country, including the issue of slavery.

The Three Branches of the government [Legislative, Executive, Judicial] could not decide whether or not slavery was an issue of State’s Rights or not...leading to further political tension in the U.S.

Compromises

Compromises were made to try and please everyone in order to keep power balanced between Slave and Free states:

The Missouri Compromise

The first attempt to compromise over the issue of Slavery in America.
In 1820 the Missouri Compromise made Missouri a Slave State and Maine a Free State.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves [using Popular Sovereignty] whether or not to allow slavery within their borders.

The Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 allowed certain territories to use their political power of Popular Sovereignty and VOTE whether or not they would allow slavery in their state.
The Fugitive Slave Law: Part of the Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. Both Freedmen and Slaves could be captured under this law.

The Missouri Compromise, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, & The Compromise of 1850 ALL addressed the political issue of whether or not Slavery should be allowed in the U.S.

Republicans V.S. Democrats

In the 1850s, the conflict between the North and the South grew more tense.
Republicans, mostly in the north, wanted to abolish slavery and reduce states’ rights.

Democrats, mostly in the south, wanted to preserve slavery and increase the power of states’ rights.

Southern states threatened to secede, or leave, from the Union if a Republican was elected President in 1860. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican from Illinois, was elected in 1860.

Abraham Lincoln

Republican – Elected President of the U.S. in 1860.

Jefferson Davis

Democrat - Chosen to be President of the Confederacy in 1861.

The Civil War Begins!

The Confederate States Of America

The Union: Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, California, Nevada, and Oregon.

The Confederacy: South Carolina (First to break away), Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Ulysses S. Grant

Commander of the Union Army

Robert E. Lee

Commander of the Confederate Army

Justifications For The Conflict

The Union: North.
The Confederacy: South.
The Confederacy's main argument to start the Civil War was because they believed the Federal Government should not interfere with state's decisions and State's Rights....(To Own Slaves).
The North had many advantages. It had four times more men of fighting age than the South. The North also had many more factories to make clothing and supplies, giving them more resources than the South.
Still, thousands of men from Texas and other Southern states volunteered to join the Confederate army.

The Civil War lasted from 1861-1854.

President Lincoln originally only agreed to fight in the Civil War in order to preserve the Union. He did not believe that the State's had any legal ability to secede (leave) the Union.

Texas & The Civil War

Texas Secedes

By 1860, the nation was about to break apart. Sam Houston was the governor of Texas at the time, and strongly urged the people of Texas to either stay with the U.S. or remain neutral in the conflict ahead.

Early in 1861, Texas delegates met together and voted to secede from the Union. Texas would leave the U.S. and join a newly formed country called the Confederacy.

Sam Houston refused to join the Confederacy and was removed from his position as governor. Texas chose the Confederacy over him and replaced him with someone loyal to the South.

Texas Battles Of The Civil War

Battle of Galveston

In April 1861, war broke out between the two sides. The coast of Texas was an important area to both the North and the South.

Galveston was an important port [place where boats dock] in Texas. Most of the Confederacy’s supplies, such as food and weapons, were shipped through Galveston.

The North tried to blockade the coast, using its ships to block people and supplies from moving in or out of its enemy’s port.

Union forces managed to capture the port city of Galveston in 1862, but Confederate forces, using two river steamers refitted as “cottonclad” gunboats, recaptured Galveston on January 1, 1863.

Battle of Sabine Pass

Though most of the fighting of the Civil War took place along the East Coast of the U.S., several key battles were fought in defense of the state [of Texas].

An important battle happened at Sabine Pass, where hundreds of Union soldiers were planning to invade and conquer Texas. At the time, 47 Confederate soldiers were stationed at Fort Griffen, protecting the Sabine Pass.

In a brief battle, the 47 soldiers (called the Davis Guard) were able to capture 350 Union soldiers and 2 Union ships. This Confederate victory ended Union plans to invade Texas.

Texans in the Civil War

John Bell Hood

Led one of the best units east of the Mississippi River during the war. General Robert E. Lee called Hood’s men his “finest soldiers”. They were repeatedly cited for bravery and courage.

Thomas Green

At the Battle of Galveston, Green led a group of men aboard the Bayou City in their efforts to recapture the Texas port from Union control. His success there led to a letter of commendation from the Confederate Congress in 1863.

 John Magruder

On January 1, 1863, Magruder's forces won the Battle of Galveston, recapturing the city and port for the Confederacy. General Magruder [and General Thomas Green] were recognized by the Confederate Congress for their achievements at Galveston.

John Reagan

Resigned from U.S. House of Representatives when Texas seceded from the Union. He served in the cabinet of Jefferson Davis as Postmaster General, in charge of the Confederacy’s post office.

Economics & Movement of the Civil War

Wartime Economy

The Civil War brought many economic changes to Texas, as citizens dealt with shortages of food and materials.

Women took on more responsibilities: many worked on farms and became nurses during the war, while others became teachers or shopkeepers.

Farmers planted more corn and wheat (to feed soldiers) and less cotton – the main cash crop in Texas.

Texas had little industry before the war, but during the war factories were built in Austin and Tyler to make needed war items: cannons, ammunition, wagons, blankets, shoes, saddles, and more…

Cotton

Cotton Production dropped during the Civil War as Southerners focused on growing food to feed their soldiers.
However, AFTER the Civil War ended Cotton Production rapidly grew as Southerners scrambled to earn money to pay for the expenses that the war took on the South.

Unfortunately, all of that Cotton Farming took a toll on the Texas Environment. There was widespread Soil Exhaustion caused by years of over-farming Cotton in Texas.

Cattle

Surprisingly, the Cattle Industry experienced a growth during the Civil War!
Population booms in the East (New York, New Jersey, etc.) led to more people needing beef in their diets.
The Increased demand for beef in the Eastern Market led to rapid growth of the Cattle Industry in Texas.

New York Riots of 1863

Meanwhile in the North….Hard times had fallen on the Northern States due to the war.
Everyone was
competing for the few jobs available and the Working Class felt angry for having to suffer for a War they didn’t care about.
As Northerners realized they would soon have to compete for jobs with Freedmen for the South, riots began to occur to protest.
The New York Riots of 1863 occurred because the Working Class were facing economic uncertainty because of the War.

Movement After The Civil War

After the Civil War many people moved down to Texas for Economic Opportunities (Cheap Land & Job Opportunities).

This led to a Population Boom in Texas after the Civil War.

Enslaved people would mostly work on Cotton Plantations as it was Texas’ most valuable Cash Crop (Good that that would earn them the most money).

Because of Cotton’s value, from 1830 to 1850 most slaves were moved from the Upper South to the Lower South to work on Cotton Plantations.

They were moved to the Lower South as it had better soil that would grow more Cotton.

The Death of Sam Houston

After Sam Houston was removed as Governor in 1861, he retired in shame to Huntsville, Texas, where he would spend the rest of his life.
Houston grieved not only for the state of affairs of the country, but for his own son, Sam Jr., who was off fighting for the Confederacy. He read every account he could of the war, sometimes staying up all night reading the newspaper.
Sam Houston fell ill for five weeks, and on July 26, 1863, at 6:15pm, Sam Houston died quietly in the downstairs bedroom of the Steamboat house. With him was his wife Margaret, his faithful companion Jeff Hamilton, and most of their children.
It is reported in several sources that his last words were, “Texas, Margaret, Texas.”
Few people attended the service, however, because of his opposing views to the Confederacy.

The Emancipation Proclamation

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This law declared that as of January 1, 1863, all enslaved people in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

The document applied only to enslaved people in the Confederacy, and not to those in the border states that remained loyal to the Union….

But although it was presented as a military strategy, the Emancipation Proclamation would redefine the Civil War, turning it from a struggle to preserve the Union to one focused on ending slavery, and set a decisive course for how the nation would be reshaped after the war.

The Civil War Ends

By the end of 1864, it was clear that the Union would win the war.

On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse – this brought an end to the Civil War (1861-1865).

The last major clash between Union and Confederate soldiers took place at Palmito Ranch in Texas. It happened nearly a month after Lee’s surrender.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

Battle of Palmito Ranch

Here’s the thing...at the time Texas' only means of communication was a very slow mail system that moved either by horseback or by boats...both very slow.

These slow communications in Texas led to continued fighting and slowed the Emancipation of Slaves.

On May 13, 1865, more than a month after the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the last land action of the Civil War took place at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville.

The Battle of Palmito Ranch was only fought because Texas did not know that the Confederacy had already surrendered...It only lasted 4 hours and ended with a Confederate surrender.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The North’s victory meant that the Union had been preserved, and that slavery had been abolished (with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation).

Just five days after Lee surrendered to Grant, bringing the war to an end, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated [killed] by a southerner named John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theater.

For better context….

Effects Of The Civil War In Texas

Cotton Production declined in Texas during the Civil War...but would rapidly rise AFTER the Civil War.

Farms instead grew more food crops such as wheat and corn to feed Confederate soldiers.

After the Civil War most former enslaved African Americans in Texas began making a living as sharecroppers.

The increased demand for beef in the Eastern Market led to rapid growth of the cattle industry.

The Population of Texas INCREASED after the Civil War.

The Civil War divided Texans that supported slavery and people that wanted to end slavery.

Slaves from the Upper South were moved to the Lower South to work on Cotton Plantations.

Increased cotton farming to pay off Civil War debts led to Over Production and Soil Exhaustion.

The Emancipation Proclamation might have freed all of the enslaved people, but their fight for justice and equality was just beginning….

Texas might have surrendered along with the rest of the Confederacy, but many Texans still held a grudge against the Northern Union and did NOT want to change their way of life, no matter who it hurt….

RECONSTRUCTION

Reconstruction was the period of time following the Civil War when the seceded states were rebuilt and gradually brought back into the Union. This time period mainly dealt with the changing of laws and governments in the Southern states.

The amount of time this process took varied from state to state, but generally lasted about 5 years, or from 1865 to about 1870.

Focus of Congressional Reconstruction

- In the Congressional Reconstruction Plan, members of Congress:

(1) Put all of the seceded state governments under military control,

(2) Made those seceded states rewrite their state constitutions,

(3) Gave freed slaves political and economic rights [Constitutional Amendments], and

(4) Created the Freedmen’s Bureau to assist those former slaves.

Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865, U.S. General Gordon Granger issued the proclamation that “all slaves are free”.

This day of freedom for slaves in Texas came to be called Juneteenth, and is celebrated every year in Texas.

The Freedmen’s Bureau

The Freedmen’s Bureau was a federal agency that assisted many African Americans throughout the south.

Former slaves were now known as Freedmen.

The Bureau’s job was to provide relief to thousands of people left homeless by the war.

The Bureau also supervised the affairs of newly freed slaves, helping them find jobs and issuing food or clothing to those in need, as well as providing an education and defending their legal rights.

Scalawags & Southern Discrimination

Reconstruction was a slow process in the south because it was often met with the resistance of southern citizens

“Scalawags” were white southerners who supported the efforts of Reconstruction in the South.

Although the Freedmen’s Bureau would help newly freed African Americans, many White Texans were not accepting of them in society, leading to widespread discrimination.

13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, were designed to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves.

13th Amendment

Freedom to any enslaved people, officially abolishing slavery.

14th Amendment

Granted Citizenship to former slaves.

15th Amendment

Gave African American men the right to Vote.

Hint: To better understand these amendments read what is highlighted in red…

These amendments let Free Citizens Vote.

Side note: women, regardless of their race, will not get the right to vote until 1920…

Reconstruction In Texas

"Black Codes"

Like most of the Southern states, Texas did not agree with Congressional Reconstruction and found loopholes in the new laws that would essential strip away all of the rights of newly freed African Americans.

These new laws, nicknamed “Black Codes” placed severe restrictions on the freedmen. African Americans could not vote, serve on juries, travel freely, or work in occupations of their choice. Even their marriages were outside the law

“Sharecropping"

During this time former slaves became trapped in a new system of economic exploitation known as “sharecropping”.

In exchange for land, a cabin, and supplies, “sharecroppers” agreed to raise a cash crop (usually cotton) and to give half the crop to their landlord.

However, the high interest rates landlords and sharecroppers charged for goods bought on credit (sometimes as high as 70 percent a year) transformed sharecropping into a system of economic dependency and poverty.

The freedmen found that "freedom could make folks proud but it didn't make 'em rich."

President Andrew Johnson

When Lincoln was assassinated at the end of the Civil War, his Vice President, Andrew Johnson, took over as President.

Johnson was from Tennessee and showed much sympathy to the South, and he modeled his Reconstruction plan after Lincoln’s own plans [bring the Union together, heal the nation, not punish the south, slavery is illegal – let’s move on].

Johnson was ALMOST impeached by the Radical Republican congress in 1867 [they tried to remove him from office because he was challenging their control over the Reconstruction effort] – but his accusers failed by one vote to convict him; and though he stayed in office, he’d lost his political influence.

Reconstruction’s Failure

On March 30, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation that Reconstruction in Texas was ended.

Republicans controlled the state government until 1873, when Democrat Richard Coke was elected governor [Coke promised to return Texas to the way it was before the war]. During the bitter campaign, Democrats used threats and violence to keep African Americans from voting.

Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan would burn crosses, beat, whip, and hang former slaves who tried to exercise their right to equality [and other rights guaranteed to them in the Fourteenth Amendment].

In 1876, Texans approved a new state constitution that remains the basic law of Texas today.

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