POLS 2312 1st Edition Lecture 5 Current Lecture Reconstruction to 1874 Republicans Largely comprised of African American and German voters the party of Lincoln some scalawags local Republicans and carpetbaggers Democrats The party of white supremacy and states rights The Reconstruction Constitution 1869 Operating in Austin created a strong central state government Governor given broad appointive and policy supervision powers Local government closely controlled by state authorities Taxes used to support an extensive system of public elementary and secondary education school attendance made compulsory Republicans subsidized railroads with bond issues and grants of land Return of the Democrats Redemption Beginning in 1872 former Confederates were allowed to vote again Democrats regained control of the State Legislature In 1873 Democrat Richard Coke defeated Edmund J Davis in the gubernatorial election In 1875 Texas held a new constitutional convention The New Blueprint Limitation and Fragmentation 1876 Constitution Separation of Powers Reduced salaries for state officials Governor stripped of most appointive powers most offices made elective Terms of office shortened These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute In order to ensure that their objectives were met the authors of the Constitution went into explicit detail Laissez faire Abstention by governments from interfering in the workings of the free market