Texas During the Civil War

Texas in the Civil War

April 1861-May 1865

Introduction

Texas joined the Union in 1845, but just sixteen years later, it decided to secede and join the Confederate States of America at the onset of the Civil War. The Civil War, or War Between the States, would become the bloodiest and most divisive war ever fought on American soil.

Poll

How much do you know about the Civil War?

• I know a lot

• I know some

• I do not know anything

Enslavement in Texas

• Many settlers to Texas brought their enslaved works to provide the necessary manual labor to grow cash crops

• Many of these men, women, and child worked long hours in fields under the hot Texas sun on cotton plantations

• Some worked as blacksmiths or carpentry

• Regardless of their type of work, they were not paid for the labor and were, often, not treated humanely by the property masters

Enslavement in Texas

• By 1860 30% of Texans were enslaved

• More than 182,000 enslaved African Americans populated Texas

• This number increased greatly from 1836 when Texas first won its independence because of the growth of the cotton industry

• Many people in Texas believed enslaved workers were necessary to boost Texas' economy

Multiple Choice

Why did many Southerners feel enslaved workers were essential to the South's economy?

• They did chores in people's houses

• They built things with their hands

• They did all the manual labor needed on cotton plantations

• They were paid to work in various jobs in Texas

The North and South Disagree

• By the mid-1800s many Anglo Americans in the South believed enslaved workers were essential to their economy

• Many Anglo Americans in the North believed slavery was immoral and should be abolished

• Abolitionists were people who wanted to end slavery

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• 
  

The North and South Disagree

• The Northerners benefitted from tariffs on goods sold to other countries

• Southerners had to pay more for goods that were tariffed

• Tariffs are a tax paid on goods that come from another country

• 
  

• 
  

The North and South Disagree

• Northerners believed national laws applied to every state in the Union

• Southerners believed they could nullify laws they disagreed with

• State's rights are the powers believed to be held by each individual state and not the federal government

Multiple Select

Which of the following did the North and South disagree on? Choose all that apply

• Tariffs

• Slavery

• The Port of Galveston

• States Rights

• The railroad

Secession

• Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th president in November of 1860

• He did not believe in the spread of slavery and sided with many Northerners on their viewpoints

• Southern states began talking about leaving the Union or seceding

• On March 5, 1861, Texas officially seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy

Fill in the Blank

______ is to officially leave or separate from a group

Texas Goes to War

• On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by South Carolina at Fort Sumter

• Many thought the War would be quick because the South was not as well equipped as the North, but it lasted four years.

• Texas contributed to the Confederacy by sending groups of soldiers from different towns to join larger groups

• They also joined the cavalry because they were very good at riding horses

• They used their ports to ship and receive necessary goods

The Battle of Galveston

• In October of 1862, the Union blockaded the Port of Galveston

• This meant the South could no longer ship out goods for money and could not receive necessary supplies

• In a battle on New Year's Day in 1863, 1 Confederate ship was sunk, 1 Union ship was captured and 1 Union ship was sunk

• The other Union ships retreated to New Orleans

• The Confederacy took back the Port of Galveston

Multiple Choice

What was one problem created by the Battle of Galveston?

• Texans were unable to continue farming

• The port was blocked so they could not send or receive anything

• Texans lost the battle

• It did not have any effect on Texans

Emancipation Proclamation

• January 1, 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation

• This proclamation was supposed to end slavery in the Southern states

• Many Southerns ignored the proclamation because they did not consider themselves to be under the rules of the Union government

• This set the precedent that slavery would be abolished if the North won the War

• 
  

Poll

Was the Emancipation Proclamation effective?

• Yes

• No

The North Wins

• The Confederate army was worn out and their economy was failing

• 500,000 Confederate soldiers had lost their lives during the War

• In April 1865, Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia

• May 13, 1865 Texas troops defeated Union soldiers in the very last battle of the Civil War at Palmito Ranch in Brownsville

Amendments to the Constitution

• The 13th Amendment was ratified legally abolishing slavery

• The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to anyone who had been born in the United States. This meant that previously enslaved people were now citizens and received all rights granted by being an American citizen

• The 15th Amendment said people could not be denied the right to vote based on race

• 
  

Open Ended

Why do you think three new amendments were added to the Constitution at the close of the Civil War?

The War's Effects on Texas

• By 1863, most men had left their homes to fight, so women and children kept homes and farms running until they returned

• Some women sewed clothes or worked in hospitals to help the war

• Everyone had to deal with shortages in food and supplied because of blockades

Juneteenth

• On June 19, 1865, word finally reached Texas that enslaved people were freed

• General Gordon Granger rode all through Texas sharing the important news

• One year later, many African Americans celebrated the anniversary of their freedom and it became a yearly holiday

Multiple Choice

Why is Juneteenth celebrated as a holiday?

• It is the day slavery was abolished

• African Americans like to celebrate their heritage on this day

• It is the day African Americans in Texans heard of their freedom

• It marks he end of the Civil War

Texas Rejoins the Union

• The 11 Confederate states were required to rejoin the Union

• Each state had to write a new constitution and create a new government to adhere to the new federal laws

• Thanks to the new amendments African Americans could now hold government positions

• Matthew Gaines was the first African American to be elected to the Texas Senate in 1869

• On March 30, 1870, Texas officially rejoined the United States of America

Open Ended

What did Texas have to do before it could rejoin the Union?

Six Flags of Texas

Now there have been six different flags flown over the land we call Texas. These six flags represent the different countries and governments that laid claim to Texas since the 1500s.