African Americans in the Texas House of Representatives Show
Print Page by Tom Wancho, Exhibit Planner African Americans in Texas experienced the right to vote for the first time between February 10–14, 1868. After the 11th Texas Legislature met in 1866 and refused to pass the amendments abolishing slavery and granting citizenship to African Americans, the federal government stepped in to ensure that the rights of freedmen were upheld. Congressional Reconstruction officers carried out an election in all Texas counties to determine whether or not a constitutional convention should be held to write the new constitution required for re-entry into the United States. Nearly 40,000 African American voters cast their ballots in favor of holding a convention in June 1868. Ten elected freedmen were among the 90 delegates who convened to write the constitution. Texas’s new constitution, which granted suffrage to African American males over the age of 21, was passed by voters in November 1869. During that same election, members of the 12th Texas Legislature were selected. Elected among them were 14 Black representatives. One of those representatives was John Mitchell, an emancipated farmer, husband, and father of five, who was born in Tennessee in 1837 and arrived in Texas in 1846. It is unclear when he obtained his freedom, but with property holdings of $3,750, he was the wealthiest Black legislator in the 12th Legislative session. He represented Burleson, Milam, and Brazos counties in the 12th Legislature (1870–71) and Burleson and Washington counties in the 14th Legislature (1874–1875), where he promoted African American education bills. Beginning in 1873, Democrats regained control of the Texas legislature and attempted to remove Reconstruction policies that aided African Americans. Democrats held a constitutional convention in 1875 with the goal of amending the 1869 Constitution. Mitchell and five other Black delegates were elected to the convention and successfully fought to keep their voting rights. Ratified in 1876, the Texas Constitution stated that the right to vote could not be restricted by race. In 1878, Mitchell ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives but was not elected. He returned to life on his Burleson County farm where he remained until his death in 1921. Artifact SpotlightFebruary 2015 LenderTexas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin AboutDocuments Display StatusThis artifact is not on view. Monthly Plan
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journal article MYSTICISM, REALISM, AND THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION OF 1876The Southwestern Political and Social Science Quarterly Vol. 9, No. 2 (September, 1928) , pp. 166-184 (19 pages) Published By: Wiley https://www.jstor.org/stable/42880732 Read and download Log in through your school or library Alternate access options For independent researchers Subscribe to JPASS Unlimited reading + 10 downloads Purchase article $46.00 - Download now and later Publisher Information Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley has published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace. Wiley has partnerships with many of the world’s leading societies and publishes over 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols in STMS subjects. With a growing open access offering, Wiley is committed to the widest possible dissemination of and access to the content we publish and supports all sustainable models of access. Our online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) is one of the world’s most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. What was the principal reason that the Texas Constitution of 1869 was replaced in 1876?Early in 1874 a joint legislative committee reported an entire new constitution as an amendment to the Constitution of 1869. Because the document had not been prepared by a convention and because of the possibility that its adoption might antagonize the federal government, the legislature rejected the proposal.
What made the 1869 Constitution different from other Texas constitutions?1869: Reconstruction Constitution
This is the version that was ratified by the public. This Constitution is notable for more explicitly abolishing slavery and guaranteeing civil rights to all citizens, in compliance with the Reconstruction Acts passed by Congress.
When did Texas try to change the Constitution?From 1876 to 2019, the Texas Legislature proposed 690 constitutional amendments. Of that total, 507 were approved by the electorate, 180 were defeated, and 3 never made it on the ballot.
Why did Texas rewrite the Constitution?1861 The Secession Convention took a conservative approach to rewriting the Texas Constitution to ease the transition of Texas into the Confederacy. It adopted the Constitution of 1845, amended slightly to forbid freeing slaves, to require officials to swear loyalty to the Confederacy, and to make amendment easier.
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Why did the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 want to replace the Texas Constitution of 1869?
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