March 30th, 1870 -- Congressional Reconstruction ends as Texas readmitted to Union
On
this day in 1870, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the act that
ended Congressional Reconstruction and readmitted Texas to the Union. In
the aftermath of the Civil War, Texas had been in turmoil, first under
Presidential Reconstruction and then, beginning in 1867 with the passage
of the First Reconstruction Act, under Congressional Reconstruction.
The latter required that Texas have a constitutional convention, with
delegates elected by all male citizens over the age of twenty-one,
regardless of race, color, or "previous condition of servitude." The
convention was to write a new state constitution that would provide for
universal adult male suffrage. When the constitution had been written
and the state had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution, Congress would consider the case for readmission to the
Union. The convention met at Austin in June 1868 and did not adjourn
until February 1869. The constitution it produced differed significantly
from previous constitutions by authorizing a more centralized and
bureaucratized system of government, with greater power in the hands of
the governor. In February 1870 the Twelfth Legislature assembled at
Austin to adopt the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments and select
United States senators in preparation for readmission to the Union. They
quickly approved the amendments and selected Morgan C. Hamilton for a
six-year term and James W. Flanagan for a four-year term. This completed
the requirements set by Congress for readmission.
Source: Texas Day by Day
Source: Texas Day by Day
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