History of Texas (1865–1899)
Guided by the federal Morill Act, Texas sold public lands to gain funds to invest in higher education.
Many ranchers ran barbed wire around public lands, to protect their access to water and free grazing.
In March 1890, the U.S. Attorney General launched a suit in the Supreme Court against Texas to determine ownership of a disputed 1,500,000-acre (6,100 km2) plot of land in Greer County.
[3] Determined to meet personally with the Attorney General, Ross and his wife traveled to Washington, D.C., where they visited President Benjamin Harrison at the White House.
Sheriff Jim Garvey (a Woodpecker) feared that there would be armed battles between the State's Rights Democrats (the Jaybirds) and the black Federalist Republicans who had retained political power for 22 years.
On his suggestion, the two groups agreed to choose a mutually acceptable sheriff to replace Garvey, who had been killed in the firefight.
The Confederacy was defeated, and U.S. Army soldiers arrived in Texas on June 19, 1865 to take possession of the state, restore order, and enforce the emancipation of slaves.
[10] With most federal troops in Texas posted along the coastal corridor, the interior of the state remained unprotected, where freedpersons were subject to general abuse, beatings, and shootings.
The "Carpetbagger-rule myth" experienced a surge in popularity during the 20th century despite the lack of support among historians, even among southern apologists.
Angry returning veterans seized state property and Texas went through a period of extensive violence and disorder.
Most outrages took place in northern Texas and were committed by outlaws who had their headquarters in the Indian Territory and plundered and murdered without distinction of party.
Texas passed a new constitution in 1876 that segregated schools and established a poll tax to support them, but it was not originally required for voting.
In addition, the legislature designated land previously reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction toward the university's endowment.
The state's involvement in the Civil War precluded further efforts to establish publicly funded higher education in Texas.
The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas opened its doors in 1876 as the state's first public institution of higher education to begin operation.
On March 30, 1881 the legislature set forth the structure and organization of the state university and called for an election to establish its location.
While "this policy at first increased the state's revenues...[it] eventually led to large accumulations of land in the form of cattle ranches.
During a large drought in 1882, people began cutting the barbed wire, leading to violence between the ranchers and farmers.
Ireland called a special session of the legislature in 1884 to pass a law allowing the Texas Rangers to intervene in these disputes.
[25] In March 1890, the U.S. Attorney General launched a suit in the Supreme Court against Texas to determine ownership of a disputed 1,500,000-acre (6,100 km2) plot of land in Greer County.
[3] Determined to meet personally with the Attorney General, Ross and his wife traveled to Washington, D.C., where they visited President Benjamin Harrison at the White House.
On his suggestion, the two groups agreed to choose a mutually acceptable sheriff to replace Garvey, who had been killed in the firefight.
Hogg and his attorney general argued that the companies were engaged in rebates, price fixing, consolidation, and other tactics prohibited by the state's 1889 antitrust act.
