Edmund J. Davis

Edmund Jackson Davis (October 2, 1827ndash February 7, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician from Texas. He was born in Florida.

Davis served as a Union Army brigadier general during the Civil War, commanding the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment (USA). Following the war, he was elected the 14th Governor of Texas. As a Radical Republican during Reconstruction , his term in office was very controversial. Some of the biggest controversies include institutionalizing his political opponents, suppression of newspapers in violation of their First Amendment rights, and denying enfranchisement to Republicans. On July 22, 1870, the Texas State Police came into being to combat crime statewide in Texas; also created were the "State Guard of Texas" & "Reserve Milita" which were forerunners of the Texas National Guard of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division. [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/TT/qnt2.html Handbook of Texas Online] ]

Davis' government was characterized by extravagant public spending, property tax increases to the point of confiscation, gifts of public funds to private interests, intimidation of newspaper editors, and control of voter registration by the military. [Brown, Lyle C., Langenegger, Joyce A., Garcia, Sonia R., et al. PRACTICING TEXAS POLITICS, Thirteenth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.]

Davis was succeeded as governor by Democrat Richard Coke (42,633 votes to 85,549 votes). When Davis refused to leave the ground floor of the Capitol, Democratic lawmakers and Governor-elect Coke are reported to have climbed ladders to the Capitol's second story where the legislature convened. When President Grant refused to send troops to Davis' aid, Davis left the capital in January 1874. Davis locked the door to his office and kept the key, leaving Coke's supporters to break into the office with an axe. [Brown, Lyle C., Langenegger, Joyce A., Garcia, Sonia R., et al. PRACTICING TEXAS POLITICS, Thirteenth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. (Page 67-68)] John Henninger Reagan helped oust him after he tried to stay in office beyond the end of his term.

It should be noted that controversial and radical during the reconstruction of Texas meant virtually anyone or any idea that favored enfranchisement, education, or integration of African Americans; literally the recognition and acceptance of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Governor Davis was never indicted, nor convicted of “crimes”, although the often necessary authoritarian methods used to force Texans to comply with the afore mentioned stipulations of Reconstruction were seen by the antebellum elites as an infringement on their civil rights and liberties. In reality, much like the arguments backing slavery, civil rights and liberties for the antebellum elites meant the right to restrict, suppress, and control, or even own, African Americans. The “denial of enfranchisement to Republicans” was administered under what was called the “Iron Clad Oath”; an oath to be sworn upon for delegates to the Constitutional conventions of 1866 and 1868, as well as office holders, stating they had never given service to the Confederacy. The purge of antebellum elites in positions of power was felt necessary to establish the goals of Reconstruction—order, government that outlawed slavery, and equality for African Americans.

Davis did not win the gubernatorial elections of 1873. As Southern Democrats controlled the Texas legislature, the elections were not conducted as stipulated in Article III, Section 6 of the Texas Constitution, which stated, “…that all elections would be held at the county seats of the several counties until otherwise provided by law; and the polls shall be opened for four days”. Instead the elections were held at voting precincts outside the county seats and were restricted to one day, not four. Davis tried to declare the election invalid and, at least for a short time, surrounded himself with sympathetic militia at the capital. However, after two refusals by President Grant to invalidate the elections, and with Democratic Governor Elect Richard Coke on his way to the capital with his own militia (as well as the support of the powerful and deeply rooted antebellum elites), Davis eventually stepped down as Governor. Ex Parte Rodriguez was a Texas Supreme Court case based on the election dispute; it is also known as the Semicolon Case because of the grammatical technicality in dispute in Article III, Section 6 of the Texas Constitution.

References

External links

*Handbook of Texas|id=DD/fda37|name=Edmund J. Davis
*Handbook of Texas|id=TT/qnt2|name=Texas National Guard

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