One of the talking points that I have seen is the Ross was somehow implicated for the disenfranchisement of black politicians in Fort Bend county after the Jaybird Woodpecker war.
That implication is entirely unfair.
There was a ton of racial tension in the Texas gulf area in the late 1880's, and it extended way further than Fort Bend county. A paper that discusses this at length (written in 1968) is here:
https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/15468/31295005457121.pdf?sequence=1
After Ross settled the violence and acted as mediator, the Jaybirds dominated the county government. Apparently the reasons the Jaybirds got all of the offices were that none of the Woodpeckers had enough money to post a bond to run for office:
Also, the Fort Bend county overthrow wasn't some isolated incident. Apparently Ross sent the militia to Matagorda county two years prior, in 1887, to settle down racial violence. From that paper:
Ross's job at the Jaybird Woodpecker war was to establish the rule of law. Based on the information I have seen, it's unfair to claim that Ross was somehow responsible for the disenfranchisement of blacks that happened over the next several decades. This is something that was fought in the courts. It is unfortunate how it turned out, and the disenfranchisement is a great sin. But it seems to be revisionist history to try and pin any of that disenfranchisement on Ross in some way.
I'm interested in any other research that anyone does on this subject.
That implication is entirely unfair.
There was a ton of racial tension in the Texas gulf area in the late 1880's, and it extended way further than Fort Bend county. A paper that discusses this at length (written in 1968) is here:
https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/15468/31295005457121.pdf?sequence=1
After Ross settled the violence and acted as mediator, the Jaybirds dominated the county government. Apparently the reasons the Jaybirds got all of the offices were that none of the Woodpeckers had enough money to post a bond to run for office:
Posting a bond is still required for a lot of county offices in the state of Texas. It was unfortunate, and I guess Ross could have donated some of his personal wealth to pay for the bonds, but I'm not sure how people would have expected Ross to intervene.Quote:
The militia was dispatched to Richmond the same day and on the next. Governor Ross arrived to mediate personally the differences. The county government was completely disrupted, the sheriff was dead and only four justices of the peace and one county commissioner remained following a s e r i e s of resignations. The "Jaybirds" were still not in control, but they were about the only ones with sufficient wealth to make bonds for new officers. This they refused to do for members of the opposition. In September, the county judge resigned, as did the last county commissioner. The new appointees, members of the "Jaybird" group, now demanded new bonds for all remaining officers.
Also, the Fort Bend county overthrow wasn't some isolated incident. Apparently Ross sent the militia to Matagorda county two years prior, in 1887, to settle down racial violence. From that paper:
Some of the Woodpecker officials that were ousted even filed a Civil Rights Act lawsuit and settled out of court.Quote:
During the summer of 1887:
Suddenly the county became an armed camp as the Negroes secured weapons to defend themselves and a r m e d whites from Matagorda, Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Wharton counties appeared on the scene. Violence erupted and ended only after the death of five Negroes and the wounding of seven others . Governor L. S. Ross promptly dispatched the militia to prevent further lawlessness.
Ross's job at the Jaybird Woodpecker war was to establish the rule of law. Based on the information I have seen, it's unfair to claim that Ross was somehow responsible for the disenfranchisement of blacks that happened over the next several decades. This is something that was fought in the courts. It is unfortunate how it turned out, and the disenfranchisement is a great sin. But it seems to be revisionist history to try and pin any of that disenfranchisement on Ross in some way.
I'm interested in any other research that anyone does on this subject.
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
--Thomas Jefferson
--Thomas Jefferson