JAMES WEBB THROCKMORTON: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF A SOUTHERN FRONTIER POLITICIAN, 1825-1894 A Dissertation by KENNETH WAYNE HOWELL Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2005 Major Subject: History © 2005 KENNETH WAYNE HOWELL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED JAMES WEBB THROCKMORTON: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF A SOUTHERN FRONTIER POLITICIAN, 1825-1894 A Dissertation by KENNETH WAYNE HOWELL Submitted to Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved as to style and content by: ________________________ _______________________ Walter Buenger H. W. Brands (Chair of Committee) (Member) ________________________ _______________________ Charles Brooks Henry Schmidt (Member) (Member) ________________________ _______________________ James Kracht Walter Buenger (Member) (Head of Department) May 2005 Major Subject: History iii ABSTRACT James Webb Throckmorton: The Life and Career of a Southern Frontier Politician, 1825-1894. (May 2005) Kenneth Wayne Howell, B.S., University of Texas–Tyler; M.A., Texas A&M University–Commerce Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Walter Buenger Many scholars of the Reconstruction era have examined James Webb Throckmorton’s political career between 1860 and 1867 and have revealed that his racist views helped hasten the end of Radical Reconstruction in Texas. However, these scholars have not explained the motivations behind Throckmorton’s political ideology, nor have they explained adequately the origins of the North Texan’s racism. This dissertation focuses on these critical issues by examining the development of Throckmorton’s personal and political beliefs between 1850 and 1874. It shows that Throckmorton’s political ideology was influenced by four primary factors: his early experiences on the North Texas frontier, his desire to create a community on the frontier that was primarily designed to be a haven for white settlers, his commitment to political conservatism which evolved from his early affiliation with Whig political ideology, and his quest to bring economic improvement to iv the North Texas region. In contrast to other scholarly works on Throckmorton which claim that the North Texan’s political views were contradictory and inconsistent, this study demonstrates that Throckmorton’s ideological beliefs remained constant and changed little over time. His commitment to preserving the whiteness of the frontier, to protecting the settlers of his home region, to conservative political ideology, and to internal improvements, especially railroads, never wavered during one of the most turbulent periods in Texas politics. This study also reinforces several important conclusions about the South in the nineteenth century: The region was never a homogeneous society; southern racism was multifaceted; and southern settlers migrating westward, especially those from the Upper South, viewed the frontier as a potential escape from the political and social dominance of large slaveholders. v For Felesha, Zachary, Tyler, and one of my most loyal supporters James Smallwood And to the memory of a good friend and mentor Dr. Barry Crouch (February 26, 1941 – March 13, 2002) vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I greatly appreciate the assistance and advice of numerous professors, historians, archivists, librarians, friends and family members. Their unselfish contributions helped aid the completion of this dissertation. Professors Walter Buenger, Charles Brooks, H. W. Brands, Henry Schmidt, and James Kracht provided many helpful comments. I thank all of them for their assistance, especially Professor Buenger. His encouragement and guidance proved invaluable. On more than one occasion, Dr. Buenger’s suggestions saved this dissertation from being a mere biographical examination of a relatively obscure nineteenth-century politician. During the entire process of completing this work, Professor Buenger pushed me to think about Throckmorton in new ways, forcing me to ask new questions that placed him in the broader historical context of the Old South and the United States. For this, I owe Dr. Buenger my deepest gratitude. I am also thankful to a number of close academic friends who listened patiently to my ideas concerning the development of Throckmorton’s political ideology and character and offered their unwavering support for this project. Among those who provided the most insight and vii encouragement were Charles Spurling, Ty Cashion, Carl Moneyhon, Bill Stein, Robert Wettemann, Keith Volanto, Kirk Bane, Dale Baum, Bruce Glasrud, and Tai Kreidler. While I have stretched my memory in an effort to include all that have aided my efforts, I am sure that I have left someone out. I apologize for any lapse in memory. Two men who deserve my special thanks in regard to this project are Professors Barry Crouch and James Smallwood. Unfortunately, Professor Crouch passed away before I began work on the dissertation, but he is responsible for sparking my interest in Throckmorton and convinced me that a biographical study of this nineteenth-century Texan was a worthwhile project. Professor Smallwood also deserves a special thanks. He took time away from his own projects to read every word of the manuscript and offered many valuable insights. Throughout this project I have received the help of numerous archivists and librarians. I am especially grateful for the help received from the staff of the Texas State Archives and Library in Austin, Texas. Donally Brice, a good friend and one of the most knowledgeable archivists at the state archives, provided extraordinary research assistance. Likewise the archivists and research assistants at the Center for American History, the Austin viii Public Library, and Texas A&M University’s libraries deserve a special thanks for all their help during my many visits to their depositories. During my efforts to research information on Throckmorton’s family background, the descendants of James Webb Throckmorton provided me with numerous genealogical documents related to the subject. I owe Gary Throckmorton a special debt of gratitude in this regard. With his help, I believe we have been able to solve some of the mysteries of Throckmorton’s early life. Finally, thanks to my family for all their prayers, advice, encouragement, and moral support, and especially to Felesha, my wife, and Zachary and Tyler, my children. Their love, support, understanding, and countless daily acts of service allowed me to complete this project. Despite all the valuable assistance that I have received throughout the research and writing of this dissertation, all errors of fact, faulty interpretations, and mistaken conclusions are my own. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ......................................... iii DEDICATION ....................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................ ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: AN ENIGMA IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY TEXAS POLITICS ....... 1 II THE FOUNDATIONS OF A FRONTIER POLITICIAN, 1825-1850 ................... 34 III GUARDIAN OF THE FRONTIER, 1851-1857 ..... 79 IV THE STORM OF PASSION AND SECTIONAL HATRED, 1857-1861 ....................... 129 V THE CIVIL WAR: PRESERVING WHITENESS ON THE SOUTHERN FRONTIER, 1861-1865 ..... 187 VI TAINTED BLOOD: EARLY RECONSTRUCTION IN TEXAS, 1865-1866 ..................... 244 VII EVERY EXERTION WITHIN MY REACH: CHALLENGING PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION IN TEXAS, 1866 .......................... 288 VIII AN IMPEDIMENT TO RECONSTRUCTION, 1867 ... 329 IX FUELING THE FIRES OF REDEMPTION: THE STRUGGLE TO BRING DOWN RADICAL RULE IN TEXAS, 1867-1873 ..................... 372 X CONCLUSION .............................. 419 REFERENCES ....................................... 435 VITA ............................................. 451 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: AN ENIGMA IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY TEXAS POLITICS James Webb Throckmorton was one of the most noted politicians of nineteenth-century Texas. Beginning in 1850, he orchestrated a political career which few Texas politicians have been able to match. By the end of life, Throckmorton had served as a representative and senator in the state legislature, as the governor of Texas, and as a member of the United States Congress. Between 1850 and 1894, Throckmorton’s political reputation and name recognition among the Texans equaled that of other noted individuals of the times, including Sam Houston, Elisha M. Pease, John H. Reagan, Edmund J. Davis, and James S. Hogg. However, despite the notoriety that he enjoyed during his own time, Throckmorton remains a forgotten figure in the history of the Lone Star State. Evidence suggests that Throckmorton’s life and political career were significantly influenced by four primary factors: his experiences of living within a frontier culture; his embrace of conservative Whig _______________ This dissertation follows the style and format of The Journal of Southern History. 2 political ideology; his belief in white superiority; and his desire to stimulate economic development in North Texas. Of these three factors, the former had the greatest overall impact on his life and career. The frontier culture shaped Throckmorton’s views of the world as he understood it, especially his concept of race, class, and patriotism. For example, Throckmorton’s support of white supremacy was directly correlated to the common perception held by white settlers that the frontier was a white man’s