The end of the Civil War in 1865 was followed by a rebuilding period known as Reconstruction. President Abraham Lincoln wanted to bring the Confederate states back into the Union as quickly and as leniently as possible. When he was assassinated, the new president Andrew Johnson followed Lincoln's plans. He sent officers and federal troops to each state to maintain law and order. Andrew J. Hamilton was named provisional governor of Texas. On June 19, 1865, Union troops landed at Galveston and declared that all enslaved Texans were free. Juneteenth is still a holiday celebrating African Americans' contributions to American society.
Presidential Reconstruction Governor Hamilton appointed hundreds of state and local officers in Texas. Many of the delegates elected by Texans to the constitutional convention and to state government posts were former Confederates. The new Texas constitution still denied African Americans full legal rights, such as the right to vote. Black codes were passed, limiting even more the rights of freed Texans. When the ex-Confederates took their offices in the U.S. Congress, many Republicans in Congress were furious.
Congressional Reconstruction The so-called Radical Republicans gained control of both the United States House and Senate in 1866. They launched their own plans for Reconstruction, dividing the South into five districts under military rule. The army ruled until the states met certain requirements, including giving African American men the right to vote and repealing the black codes. Military officials removed Texas's governor and many state and local leaders, replacing them with individuals more acceptable to the Radical Republicans. Edmund J. Davis became governor, and Texas rejoined the Union on March 30, 1870.
Many Texans opposed Governor Davis, and they viewed his term as the darkest period of Reconstruction. When Davis lost the reelection to a former Confederate officer, he questioned the legality of the election. Both candidates occupied the capitol, and militia groups armed themselves to defend their man. President Grant chose not to intervene, and Davis left the governor's office. In 1874 Reconstruction in Texas came to an end.
