As a Texan I know this man is as responsible for the fact that Texas now has a weak governor.  The truth is that the carpetbagging that took place and the crimes that were committed against the citizens of Texas during that period left deep scars not just in the slave areas of what is now East Texas but even into the Panhandle and far West Texas where there was little if any slavery or support for the war.

It may be that we need to look at this period with some detachment but I do not think that this will be done for some time.  There is just too much political capitol being spent to justify the rapes and murders by the Unionist at this time.

gary

Demos, I have read any number of histories about the current constitution of Texas.  The reasons for the weak gov are well laid out and they include the actions of all the arbitray rulings from the various constitutions that contributed to the rule by the Union of Texas as the 5th military district.  The socalled consitution of 1869 was just one more of the constitutions written to support the military rule that was in effect until the current constitution was passed.

If you want to find out about reconstruction read about it.  There are litteraly hundreds of books on the subject.  One of the crimes against the South that was committed was that the Union armed freed field hands and called them police.  Then they let them run wild.  It was at this point that the night riders began and this is what became the infamous KKK. This response shows that unchecked violence will lead to more unchecked violence.  This did not end until very recently since the cure for the rampage that lasted about a decade was a Klan that is still out there.  We can thank God that the Klan is no longer acceptable nor does it wield any real power.

Seriously man, please go and read.  You will be shocked to see what was done by both the military governments and by the civilian government that were put into place by the military. 

BTW, I know that you are from San Antonis, but are you a native Texan?

gary

Most of what I know comes from a mixture of both family oral history and written history.  I will do my best to get you some references but that will be a few days off.  I too am a native.  Born in Ft. Worth, raised in Pampa, and now living in Dallas.  My great grandfather was Texas Ranger C.J. (Joe) Blackwell.  He was part of that shoot out with the rustlers that was so well known in Texas history.  He was also part of the mass resigination when Ma Ferguson tried to use the Rangers for political revenge.

The thing about the issue of that last constituion is that it really was still a creation of the 5th military district.  this is why it lived for such a short time.  As soon as the Democrats took over and the Military left there was a rapid move to change things.  You have to look at how the Union Army would deputize freed field hands and arm them all over the South including Texas to see where the abuses came from.

Today most of the histories that talk about this are being attacked as KKK literature no matter who writes it.  I do not know of a single hostorian today who would try to publish anything on this subject as it is just to politically charged at this time.

I do know that the product of one of those rapes caused a neighbor of ours in Pampa  to murder his wife and commit suicide when she gave birth to a black baby.  It was found that his great grandmother had been raped by a black policeman during this time and gave birth but the baby was white.  It was not until these to marred and she also had one of these incidents in her family that the genes worked out they way that they did.

There have been very real consiquences with this over the years and sometimes they still crop up.

gary