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Exposure Project 2

African Americans during Reconstruction - Texas Events 1865-1900

African Americans during the Reconstruction

Objective: This lesson plan introduces students to the work and status of African Americans during the Reconstruction and the changes and challenges they faced after freedom was granted in 1865. At the end of the lesson, students will have gained an understanding of the hardships and accomplishments of African Americans during Reconstruction in education, religion, politics, labor and family life.

7th Grade Social Studies TEKS Requirements

113.19. Social Studies, Grade 7, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.

(a) Introduction.

(1) In Grade 7, students study the history of Texas from early times to the present. The focus in each era is on key individuals, events, and issues and their impact.Students describe the structure and functions of municipal, county, and state governments, explain the influence of the U.S. Constitution on the Texas Constitution, and examine the rights and responsibilities of Texas citizens. Students use primary and secondary sources to examine the rich and diverse cultural background of Texas as they identify the different racial and ethnic groups that settled in Texas to build a republic and then a state.

(2) To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich primary and secondary source material such as biographies, autobiographies, novels, speeches, letters, diaries, poetry, songs, and images is encouraged. Motivating resources are available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies.

(b)Knowledge and Skills.

(6) History. The student understands how individuals, events, and issues shaped the history of Texas from Reconstruction through the beginning of the 20th century. The student is expected to:

(A) identify significant individuals, events, and issues from Reconstruction through the beginning of the 20th century, including the factors leading to the expansion of the Texas frontier, the effects of westward expansion on American Indians, the buffalo soldiers, and Quanah Parker;

(B) identify significant individuals, events, and issues from Reconstruction through the beginning of the 20th century, including the development of the cattle industry from its Spanish beginnings and the myths and realities of the cowboy way of life;

(C) identify significant individuals, events, and issues from Reconstruction through the beginning of the 20th century, including the effects of the growth of railroads and the contributions of James Hogg; and

(D) explain the political, economic, and social impact of the agricultural industry and the development of West Texas resulting from the close of the frontier.

Table of Contents:

Reconstruction - Family and Social Life

Freedmantown - bounded by I-45 Freeway, Kirby, Montrose and Gray

Churches - Antioch Missionary Baptist Church formed 1868 Jack Yates

Reconstruction - Labor and Economics

Agriculture - Colored Farmers Alliance

Black Cowboys William Pickett

Reconstruction and Politics

George T. Ruby

Richard Allen

Reconstruction and Legal Matters

Milly Anderson won lawsuit against in Houston and Texas Central Railroad (1875)

Adelina Dowie Cuney Railway civil rights protest in Houston

Primary Sources:

United States Constitution - http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

Emancipation Proclamation -http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/

Texas Black Codes - http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3681

Texas State Constitution of 1869 - http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/1869index.html

United States Civil Rights Act of 1875 - http://constitution.org/uslaw/sal/018_statutes_at_large.pdf

Case No. 14,976 United States v. Dodge et al., (1 Tex. Law J. 47) District Court W.D. Texas October 3, 1877 - http://books.google.com/books?id=PPk6AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA882&lpg=PA882&dq=%E2%80%A2%09Case+No.+14,976+United+States+v.+Dodge+et+al.,+(1+Tex.+Law+J.+47)+District+Court+W.D.+Texas+October+3,+1877&source=bl&ots=zDMNr7FTjv&sig=vk758hRGNux27l7tG_TSKijKZWE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HBSAUMymDOXY2AXluYEY&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=twopage&q&f=false

Secondary Sources:

Civil Rights Act of 1875 - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_civil.html

Texas Black Codes - Freedmens Bureau - http://www.freedmensbureau.com/

African American Perspectives - http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html

Harpers Weekly - http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/

Handbook of Texas Online - http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online

Reconstruction Family and Social Life

Freedmans Town

After the Civil War was over, news spread of the emancipation of slaves throughout the country. However, the news did not reach Texas until June 19, 1865. Freed slaves began to settle all over the state of Texas. In Houston, these freed people settled in a developing area called Freedmens Town (also known as Fourth Ward). This area of Houston was located just south and west of downtown Houston and made up one third of the citys population. Freedmens Town was the first independent black neighborhood in Houston. By 1875, Freedmens Town was 28 square blocks of shotgun houses, black owned businesses and other social structures that were needed in order to be self-sufficient.

During this developing period in the late 19th century into the early 20th century, the Freedmens Town was the center of black Houston. It had developed many historic churches such as Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Many historic schools developed at this time, too; Colored High School (later renamed Booker T. Washington High School) and Houston College (also known as Houston Baptist Academy). At this same time, many black doctors, dentists and lawyers began to open offices there as well. By the 1920s, however, the growth of the Fourth Ward began to slow down and lose its prominence to the nearby Third and Fifth Wards. The slow growth was due to other developments beginning to go up around the perimeters of the Fourth Ward. Slowly Third Ward and Fifth Ward passed it in population and prominence.

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was the first African American Church established in Houston, Texas. It was organized in 1866 and led by one of its original members John Henry Jack Yates. Yates was a former slave born in Gloucester County, Virginia, who moved to Texas with his wife Harriet Willis and their eleven children. Under Yates leadership, the church grew to be the center of activity for the African American community. The church was used for much more than worship; it was used has a central hub within the community for the purposes of political rallying, education and socialization.

Yates and other workers used Antioch to teach the former slaves the basic rudiments of education such as reading, writing and arithmetic. They also taught vocational trades which allowed for the creation of the Baptist Academy (later called Houston College for Negroes). After much pressure was put on the church body to sell their land, they refused. Antioch still stands today surrounded by skyscrapers; after winning a long fight to receive their historic designation from the National Register of Historic Places.

Reconstruction Labor and Economics

The Colored Farmers Alliance

The Colored Farmers Alliance was established in Houston County, Texas, on December 11, 1886. This was put in place to educate African-Americans to become better farmers. They also help extend the length of the school term for public schools, and in some cases helped with school funding. Its spokesmen advised black farmers that they could get rid of racial prejudice by owning their own homes and avoiding debt. In 1891, a strike of cotton pickers was called into action, but coordinators of the event fell short of success. Violence ensued, and a number of Colored Farmers Alliance members were killed in the process. The membership in 1891 was nearly 1.2 million strong.

William Pickett

William Pickett was born in December 5, 1870 in Travis County, Texas just north of Austin. His parents were former slaves, and had a large family of thirteen children. William attended school till the fifth grade, and then became a ranch hand. He worked on a ranch with his brothers business breaking horses. He became famous for Bulldogging a term used for wrestling steers, and then biting them on the lips. He then went on to work for the 101 Ranch Wild West Show for most of his adult life, where he performed all over the country. While performing he road alongside many well-known cowboys such as Roy Rogers. William was the first ever black cowboy to appear in a motion picture. He Resided near Ponca City, Oklahoma where he died when a horse kicked him in the head in 1932.

Texas Reconstruction Legislators

*H.R. House of Representatives

Constitutional Convention 1868-1869

DelegateCounties Represented

Charles W. BryantHarris

Stephen CurtisBrazos

Wiley W. JohnsonHarrison

Mitchell M. KendallHarrison

Ralph LongLimestone

James McWashingtonMontgomery

Sheppard MullinsMcLennan

George T. Ruby Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda

Benjamin O. WatrousWashington

Benjamin F. WilliamsColorado

Twelfth Legislature 1870 1871

NameElected ToDistrictCounty

Richard AllenH.R.14Harris, Montgomery

Silas CottonH.R.18Robertson, Leon, Freestone

Goldstein DupreeH.R.14Harris, Montgomery

Matthew GainesSenate16Washington

Jeremiah J. HamiltonH.R.26Fayette, Bastrop

Mitchell KendallH.R. 7Harrison

David MadlockH.R.19Fall, Limestone, McLennan

John MitchellH.R.17Burleson, Brazos, Milam

Henry MooreH.R. 7Harrison

Sheppard MullensH.R.19Fall, Limestone, McLennan

George T. RubySenate12Brazoria, Galveston, Matagorda

Benjamin F. WilliamsH.R.25Lavaca, Colorado

Richard WilliamsH.R.15Madison, Grimes, Walker

Thirteenth Legislature, 1873


Richard AllenH.R.14Harris, Montgomery

Edward AndersonH.R.14Harris, Montgomery

Matthew GainesSenate16Washington

Henry MooreH.R. 7Harrison

Henry PhelpsH.R.13Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton

Meshack (Shack) RobertsH.R. 7Harrison

George T. RubySenate12Brazoria, Galveston, Matagorda

James H. WashingtonH.R.15Madison, Grimes, Walker

Allen WilderH.R.16Washington

Richard WilliamsH.R.15Madison, Grimes, Walker

Fourteenth Legislature, 1874


David Abner, Sr.H.R. 7Harrison

Thomas BeckH.R.15Madison, Grimes, Walker

Edward BrownH.R. 7Harrison

Jacob FreemanH.R.13Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton

Walter M. BurtonSenate13Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton

John MitchellH.R.17Burleson, Washington


Constitutional Convention, 1875

NameDistrictCounty

David Abner, Sr. 7Harrison

B.B. Davis13Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton

Melvin Gaddin15Grimes, Madison, Walker

Lloyd McCabe13Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton

John Mitchell.17Burleson, Washington

William Reynolds15Grimes, Madison, Walker

Fifteenth Legislature, 1876


Walter M. BurtonSenate13Fort Bend, Wharton, Waller

William H. HollandH.R.37Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

Walter RipetoeSenate4Harrison


Henry SneedH.R.37Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

Allen WilderH.R.39Washington

Sixteenth Legislature, 1879


Thomas BeckH.R.30Grimes, Madison

Walter M. BurtonSenate17Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

R.J. EvansH.R.29Grimes

Jacob FreemanH.R.37Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

Harriel G. GreigerH.R.27Robertson

B.A. GuyH.R.39Washington

Elias MayesH.R.28Brazos

Walter RipetoeH.R.4Harrison

Andrew SledgeH.R.40Washington

Benjamin F. WilliamsH.R.37Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

Seventeenth Legislature, 1881


Thomas BeckH.R.30Grimes, Madison

Walter M. BurtonSenate17Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

R.J. EvansH.R.29Grimes

Jacob FreemanH.R.37Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

Harriel G. GreigerH.R.27Robertson

Robert KerrH.R.42Bastrop

Doc LewisH.R.37Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton

Eighteenth Legislature, 1883


R.J. MooreH.R.71Washington

George W. WyattH.R.53Fort Bend, Waller

Nineteenth Legislature, 1885



James H. StewardH.R.48Robertson

Benjamin F. WilliamsH.R.53Fort Bend, Waller

Twentieth Legislature, 1887



H.A.P. BassettH.R.52Grimes

Twenty-first Legislature, 1889


Alexander AsberryH.R.48Robertson

Elias MayesH.R.50Brazos

Twenty-second Legislature, 1891


Edward PattonH.R.2San Jacinto, Polk

Twenty-third Legislature, 1893


Nathan H. HallerH.R.64Brazoria, Matagorda



Nathan H. HallerH.R.64Brazoria, Matagorda

Robert L. SmithH.R.63Colorado



Robert L. SmithH.R.63Colorado

Reconstruction and Politics

George Thompson Ruby

Reconstruction was a trying time for the states in the south. Even though African Americans were free Southerners refused to accept it and continued to enforce slavery. Very few Black men were allowed to be part of society as equals to the white man but when they did they left a legacy.

George Thompson Ruby was born free in 1841 in New York. When he was very young his family moved to Maine where he was raised and received his liberal arts education. George Ruby held many jobs during his lifetime that allowed him to travel to many places which in turn helped built his career. He began his career as a newspaper correspondent in Haiti and by 1864 he moved to Louisiana and worked as a schoolteacher. In 1866 he left Louisiana and joined the Freedmans Bureau in Galveston, Texas where he held multiple positions. Later he became a traveling agent for the bureau after leaving Galveston. He returned to Galveston in 1869 and became a deputy collector of customs as well as president of the Union League. While being president of the Union League Ruby propelled himself within the Republican Party. He was elected as a delegate to the Republican Convention in 1868 where he was the only black person in the Texas delegation. He was also elected delegate to the state Constitutional Convention of 1868-1869. In 1869 he was elected to the state Senate representing the Twelfth District. Ruby made a name for himself during the Twelfth and Thirteenth Legislatures. During the 1870s Ruby organized the first Labor Union of Colored Men at Galveston and supported the Exoduster movement.

George Ruby died in October of 1882 in New Orleans. During his life he became one of the most powerful African American politicians of his time and left behind a wealth of achievements for his fellow black men to enjoy.

Richard Allen

Richard Allen was born a slave in Virginia in 1830. His owner, J.J. Cain, brought him to Texas in 1837. While he was a slave in Texas, he became a skilled carpenter who designed and built Mayor Joseph R. Morris Houston mansion. Mr. Cain emancipated Allen in 1865 and he continued working hard as a contractor, bridge builder, commission agent and saloon owner. In fact, the first bridge to be built across Buffalo Bayou was done by Allen. Although he never had a formal education, Allen became literate by 1870.

Richard Allen began his political career in 1867. He started as a federal voter registrar and then in 1868 he became an agent of the Freedmans Bureau as well as the supervisor of voter registration within the Fourteenth District. During that same year he was part of the organization of the Republican Party in Harris County. In 1869, he was successfully elected to the Twelfth Legislature and became very active in his role as well as one of the first blacks to be elected to that position. He became a vice president in the Union League in 1871 and supported the Exodus Movement in 1879. He continued working and from 1881-1882 he served as quartermaster for the black regiment of the Texas militia. From 1882-1885 he was a storekeeper and then became inspector and deputy collector of U.S. customs in Houston. Allen continued his career by serving as a delegate to the National Colored Mens Convention as well as vice president to the black state conventions. He was the states grand master of the Prince Hall Masons in 1877, he served as superintendent of the Sunday school of Antioch Baptist Church, and sat on the board of directors of Gregory Institute. Richard Allen had a long political career and made a difference in many lives. He died in May of 1909 in Houston and was buried at the city cemetery.

Reconstruction and Legal Matters

Milly Anderson wins lawsuit against Houston & Texas Central Railroad

Milly Anderson of Texas purchased a first class ticket on April 26, 1876. She was denied admission by a railway agent in the ladies only passenger car solely because she was of African descent. She filed a lawsuit against Houston & Texas Central Railroad based on violations under the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

The case went before the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas in 1877. The courts found Houston & Texas Central Railroad guilty of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The court further state that a female passenger could not be denied simply based on race, however if two equally fit cars for the use of whites and colored females was available there is no offense.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was later ruled unconstitutional.

I

Adelina Dowie Cuney Civil Protest

Adelina Dowie Cuney was born the daughter of a white planter and mulatto slave. She would later meet and marry Wright Cuney a famous African American politician from Galveston in 1871. One form of social protest to express their views on the racial situation was naming their son Lloyd Garrison after the famous abolitionist.

In 1886, Adelina purchased a first class ticket to board a train from Galveston to Houston. She barred from entering the first-class car by the conductor who locked the door. In civil protest, she asked her brother-in-law to lift her through a window of the train.

Before leaving the conductor thought she had given up and left. When the train pulled off and he went to collect tickets, he found Adelina quietly sitting in first class. She rode to Houston undisturbed.

Works Cited

1888. "Bill Pickett." Know Southern History :: Main. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. .

Adelina Cuney Image Retrieved October 15, 2012 from: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/6672021/photo/CIL3gABVlDtuGD8sU9Eb!4hf8pQV6cDSn83Xofu5P09RfkdXKUOcvIhYoqwDqGv7.

Alwyn Barr and Cary D. Wintz, "ALLEN, RICHARD," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fal24), accessed October 13, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. N.d. Photograph. Www.blackpast.org. Web. .

Cary D. Wintz, "FOURTH WARD, HOUSTON," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hpf01), accessed October 23, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

"Colored Farmers Alliance: The Voice of Black Farmers." United States American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

"Forever Free: The Biographies - Page 1 - Texas State Library and Archives Commission." Forever Free: The Biographies - Page 1 - Texas State Library and Archives Commission. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .

Glasrud, Bruce A., Merline Pitre, and Angela Boswell. Black Women in Texas History. College Station, Tex: Texas A & M University Press, 2008. Pp. 89-90.

Glasrud, Bruce A., Merline Pitre, and Angela Boswell. Black Women in Texas History. College Station, Tex: Texas A & M University Press, 2008. Pp. 90.

Holmes, William. "COLORED FARMERS' ALLIANCE | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)." Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) | A Digital Gateway to Texas History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

John Henry "Jack" Yates. N.d. Photograph. Www.blackpast.org. Web. .

Meeks, Tomiko. "Freedmen's Town, Texas: A Lesson in the Failure of Historic Preservation." Houston History. University of Houston, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

Meeks, Tomiko. "Freedmen's Town, Texas: A Lesson in the Failure of Historic Preservation." Houston History. University of Houston, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

Meeks, Tomiko. Freedmen's Town Historical Marker. N.d. Photograph. Http://houstonhistorymagazine.org/. University of Houston, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

Merline Pitre, "RUBY, GEORGE THOMPSON," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fru02), accessed October 09, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association

"PICKETT, WILLIAM (1870?-1932)." Oklahoma State University - Library - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

Pitre, Merline. "Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Houston, Texas (1868- )." Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Houston, Texas (1868- ). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. .

Robinson, Susan. "Bill Pickett." In God We Trust and other Poems. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.

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