Texas = quo ante bellum” “status Common Memory of Reconstruction in Texas: complied with the reasonable requirements of presidential reconstruction.” “Texas radicals out of vengeance forced the state to repeat the process under unreasonable “Then, – – conditions and under military supervision.” turned the state over to who were voted into office by illiterate and “Radicals ‘carpetbaggers’ undeserving blacks. Then, they declared those blacks and propped them up with white tax ‘equal’ dollars.” then ran an activist government funded by outrageously high taxes until conservative “Radicals Democrats finally the state and restored local control.” ‘redeemed’ Perception: on some fact taxes did go up unprecedented opportunities for blacks government was expanded and strengthened rhetorically exaggerated as and “oppression” “tyranny” Impact = Democratic Dominance (1874-1978) conservative Democrats control state legislature through mid-1990s oppose and spend” “tax associate all public spending w/ “welfare” widespread opposition to rights” Summary Texans fought in all theaters of the War, though very little action actually took place within the state of Texas. Most Civil War-era violence in Texas involved frontier conflicts with Native Americans. The process of Reconstruction began when the war ended, and went through at least two major phases – Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional Reconstruction. African Americans enjoyed some limited advances during Reconstruction, but undid much of “Redemption” that progress. Among the most significant legacies of Reconstruction is the memory that conservative Texans have of it a memory rooted in the of big government and higher taxes. – “evils” Because of its very restrictive design, the Texas Constitution of 1876 still in effect has been amended – – more than 490 times.
Texas = “status quo ante bellum” Common Memory of Reconstruction in Texas: “Texas complied with the reasonable requirements of presidential reconstruction.” “Then, radicals – out of vengeance – forced the state to repeat the process under unreasonable conditions and under military supervision.” “Radicals turned the state over to ‘carpetbaggers’ who were voted into office by illiterate and undeserving blacks. Then, they declared those blacks ‘equal’ and propped them up with white tax dollars.” “Radicals then ran an activist government funded by outrageously high taxes until conservative Democrats finally ‘redeemed’ the state and restored local control.” Perception: on some fact taxes did go up unprecedented opportunities for blacks government was expanded and strengthened rhetorically exaggerated as “oppression” and “tyranny” Impact = Democratic Dominance (1874-1978) conservative Democrats control state legislature through mid-1990s oppose “tax and spend” associate all public spending w/ “welfare” widespread opposition to rights” Summary Texans fought in all theaters of the War, though very little action actually took place within the state of Texas. Most Civil War-era violence in Texas involved frontier conflicts with Native Americans. The process of Reconstruction began when the war ended, and went through at least two major phases – Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional Reconstruction. African Americans enjoyed some limited advances during Reconstruction, but “Redemption” undid much of that progress. Among the most significant legacies of Reconstruction is the memory that conservative Texans have of it – a memory rooted in the “evils” of big government and higher taxes. Because of its very restrictive design, the Texas Constitution of 1876 – still in effect – has been amended more than 490 times.
Civil%20War%20and%20Reconstruction.docx