Tag Archives: Texas History

Today in Texas History – July 27

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From the Annals of Voting Rights –   In 1940, Lonnie Smith, an African-American dentist from Houston, was denied a ballot to vote in a Democratic primary because of his race.  The stated rationale was that the parties ran their primary elections and that as a private entity, the Democratic Party of Texas could decide its membership and thus determine who could and could not vote in its primary elections.  Of course, Texas was a one-party state at the time (much like now) and winning the Democratic primary was tantamount to winning office in all but a very few instances.  The ensuing legal battle lasted four years and resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision – Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649 (1944) in which Smith was represented by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.  The Supreme Court overturned the Texas law that authorized the Democratic Party to set its internal rules which called for whites only primaries.  The court held that it was an unconstitutional violation of the equal protection clause of the  14th Amendment for the state to delegate its authority over elections to the Democratic Party in order to allow discrimination to be practiced. This ruling affected all other states where the party used the white primary rule and was an important step in opening the ballot box to citizens of all races.

Photo of Lonnie Smith

Today in Texas History – July 26

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From the Annals of Cowtown –  In 1887, the Fort Worth Union Stock Yards were chartered.  John Peter Smith, J. W. Burgess and Morgan Jones obtained the charter to build the yard in north Fort Worth.  They raised $200,000 for construction which began in 1888.  The Union yard was the first step in a plan to convert Fort Worth from a temporary way station on the route from Texas to Kansas City and St. Louis into a major stock yard and meat packing center.  Over the next 30 years with the addition of several meat packing plants, Fort Worth which had already earned the nickname “Cowtown” truly became one.  

Walls of the Alamo?

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Researchers working to restore the Alamo have unearthed Spanish colonial adobe bricks at a dig site in Alamo Plaza.  What is not yet known is whether those bricks may have comprised part of the historic shrine’s original western wall.  More analysis may reveal the architectural function of the colonial-era bricks.

According to archaeologist Nesta Anderson, there is a possibility that the bricks uncovered only two feet below the surface are part of the original mission because they clearly form part of a larger wall structure .  “Because we’ve got something from the Spanish colonial period, we know we are digging in the right place. Now we know we can get information from the ground over here that will support the master plan and the reinterpretation.”

The dig is part of a plan by the state and local officials to restore and refurbish the Alamo.  According to the officials in charge of the Alamo project, their work will hopefully  unearth the original western and southern walls.   In December, the state purchased three buildings on Alamo Plaza that housed tourist traps such as Guiness World Records Musuem and a Ripley’s Odditorium.  The purchase was the first step by the Alamo Endowment Board and the city of San Antonio to move forward with plans to de-campify the area around the historic mission.  Last October, the endowment, city and Texas signed an agreement to develop a master plan for the district with a focus on historic preservation and a dignified treatment for the site.

Discovery of the bricks on Friday marked a major step toward uncovering the construction history of the world-famous Texas landmark.

Today in Texas History – July 25

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From the Annals of the Civil War –  In 1861, the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution was passed by the U.S. Congress.  The resolution sought to reassure the border states of Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland and pro-slavery Unionists that the Civil War was being fought to restore the Union and not to eradicate slavery.  The implication was that once the war had been won, the Confederate states would be returned to the Union fold with slavery intact.  The resolution was named for its sponsors Rep. John Crittenden of Kentucky and Sen. Andrew Johnson of Tennessee.  The resolution passed with an overwhelming vote in both houses.  The plan to reassure the border states worked as none of them left the Union.  However, by December of 1861, sentiment had changed so drastically that the resolution was repealed largely through the actions of Pennsylvania Senator Thaddeus Stevens.

Today in Texas History – July 22

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From the Annals of the Weeklies –  In 1887, Henry Harold Brookes published the first edition of the  Panhandle Herald.    The Herald is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Texas Panhandle. The paper has been mostly a weekly except during about 3 years during the 20’s when it was published semiweekly. The paper has been owned by the Panhandle Publishing Company since 1932.

Today in Texas History – July 19

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From the Annals of the Minor Outlaws – In 1878, Sam Bass was shot when his gang was scouting Round Rock for a planned robbery of the Williamson County Bank.  He was surprised by Texas Rangers who had been tipped off about the robbery by gang member Jim Murphy.   One story has it that the Rangers were holding Murphy’s father – who was ill and being denied treatment. Another claims that Murphy betrayed Bass for the reward money.  When Bass came into town, he was approached by Williamson County Deputy Sheriff A.W. Grimes who asked the gang to surrender their guns.  Grimes was shot and killed.  As Bass attempted to escape he was shot by Texas Ranger George Herold and then by Ranger Sergeant Richard Ware.  The next day Bass was found propped up against a tree and brought back to Round Rock.  He died two days later on his 27th birthday. In Texas, Bass was a largely unsuccessful criminal never making a big score but caused a great deal of panic and earned notoriety.  He had previously worked in a sawmill, as a cowboy, and as a freighter.   Legend has it that after squandering money earned on a trail drive, he recruited a gang and began robbing stagecoaches and railroads.

Round Rock now celebrates Sam Bass days and

Today in Texas History – July 7

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From the Annals of the Border Wars –  In 1842, Texas troops defeated a Mexican invasion at the battle of Lipantitlán. The battle was one of several that occurred during the early days of the Republic of Texas as Mexico attempted to reassert control.  The Mexican forces were commanded by Antonio Canales Rosillo. James Davis, adjutant general of the Army of the Republic of Texas, and Capt. Ewen Cameron led a mutinous and poorly contingent. Yet the disorganized Texans succeeded in repelling the incursion.

Today in Texas History – June 29

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From the Annals of the Democrats –  In 1928 the Democratic National Convention concluded in at Sam Houston Hall in Houston.   Houston deal-maker and civic leader Jesse Jones was instrumental in bringing the convention to Houston and it was the first national convention held in a Southern state since the Civil War.  The intent was to sway the Protestant and Prohibitionist southern wing of the Democratic party to the Catholic, Anti-Prohibition candidate Al Smith. The Texas delegation led by Governor “Dry” Dan Moody wasn’t buying and displayed open hostility towards Smith’s nomination. Women’s temperance groups and Baptist ministers held round-the-clock prayer meetings  to invoke God’s intervention to prevent  Smith’s nomination.  The majority of delegates were not swayed and saw him as their only hope of victory over the Republicans in the fall.  The delegates gave Smith a resounding first ballot victory with no other candidate even close behind. Smith did not back down and his strong anti-prohibition acceptance speech  further alienated many Democrats.  In November, Texas went for Herbert Hoover – the first time a Republican presidential candidate carried Texas.  The massive defection of Texas Democrats to Hoover was attributed both to Smith’s antiprohibition views and his Catholicism.

Today in Texas History – June 23

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From the Annals of Equality – In 1919, the Texas House passed the Nineteenth Amendment which provided women with the constitutional right to vote. The Texas Senate passed the amendment on June 28.   With the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in August of 1920, Texas women finally had the full right of voting.

 

Today in Texas History – June 22

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From the Annals of the Dictators – In 1876, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna passed away in Mexico City.  Known as the Eagle and perhaps derisively called the Napoleon of the West, Santa Anna rose to power on numerous occasions and suffered as many falls from grace.  As a young officer in the Spanish Army Santa Anna quickly distinguished himself as a capable fighter and leader and then played an important role in the Mexican war for independence from Spain. In 1833, he won election to the presidency  by an overwhelming popular majority. Unable to resist his megalomaniac tendencies he proclaimed himself dictator in 1835. That move gave the nascent Texas revolution the impetus it needed to finally take hold. Texians took advantage of Santa Anna’s overthrow of the Mexican Republic as an opportunity to break away and form an independent Republic of Texas.

Determined to crush the Texas rebels, Santa Anna took personal command of the Mexican army and on a long march through barren country facing unusually cold weather including a surprise blizzard.  His forces were already depleted when they stormed the Alamo.  Some historians believe they were further demoralized by the brutal execution of 400 Texan prisoners at Goliad.  On the Texian side, “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember Goliad” became the rallying cries for a reinvigorated Texan army.  Santa Anna then made a crucial mistake by dividing his forces and penetrating too deeply into Texas territory.  Convinced that the Texians would not attack even though they were encamped less than a mile away at San Jacinto, the contingent of his army under his direct command was destroyed and Santa Anna was captured.  He ransomed himself by agreeing to order the majority of his army still in the field (and under competent command) to retreat below the Rio Grande.

One might think that a humiliating defeat such as San Jacinto would end a career, but political instability in Mexico over the next 20 years allowed Santa Anna to repeatedly regain-and lose-dictatorial power. Santa Anna’s standard modus operandi was to seize power and then retreat to his hacienda allowing others to do the dirty work of governance.   All told, he became the head of the Mexican government 11 times. Overthrown for the last time in 1855, he spent the remaining two decades of his life scheming with elements in Mexico, the United States, and France to stage a comeback.  It was not to be.  He died in poverty and obscurity in Mexico City at the age of 82.