Texas Involvment In Slavery Essay examples -- Slavery Essays

One of the most unique situations during the period of the Civil War in America was the involvement of the state of Texas in the Confederacy. Although it was once its own Republic separate from the United States of America through annexation, Texas was not entirely unique when it came to the institution of slavery. Just like in all other southern states, slavery, and the use of slave labor, was a major factor of the states agricultural economy. During the years around and through the Civil War, Texas became a home for many transient southerners in search of sanctuary from the almost enviable furthering of emancipation. Long before the war, Texas had been the stomping ground for runaway slaves enroute to Mexico and in search of freedom. The state of Texas was not only one of the new frontier territories toward the west but it became one of the final places in America were slavery was practiced. Because of its geography much of Texas remained untouched and unsettled. Many adventurous plantation owners felt it necessary to keep news of the war and emancipation from their slaves as much as a year after the end of the war.(Campbell 249) The topic I have chosen for my research to discuss the history of slavery in Texas during the years of the Civil War. How the institution was altered because of the Civil War and the process by which emancipation was handed to black -Texans is the focus of my report. I would like to uncover how and why slave labor was used to both protect the state, the Confederacy and the institution that held the future of the American Negro forever. Well before the beginning of the Civil War, Texas and some of its surrounding territories were property of Spain just like its southern neighbor, Mexico. Soon after realizing their particular suppression by Spain, Mexico fought for, and won its independence from its mother country. Mexico now had control of their country and the territory of Texas. As more Americans moved west and into Texas it became evident that there was going to be a continued clash between Mexico and the white frontiersmen who quickly flooded certain areas. The American government wanted to purchase this valuable land but eventually it was taken by American frontiersmen where it was declared its own realm. Fearful of the loss of power if allowed into the Union, Texas expressed in 1836 ... ...tely unchanged by wartime activates. Although thousands of slaves were impressed for wartime use only a few lost their lives while fortifying and working along the front lines of southern Texas. As for the vast majority of slaves who were not impressed they went along with their normal production during the Civil War as if freedom was the last thing they expected in the next few years. Some slaves in Texas did not even know about the war until it had been over for months, some revolted long before. As the armies of Texas argued over whether it should send its troops to other states to fight, the institution of slavery went full steam ahead. After the end of the war many blacks began to realize the hatred that faced them and how many whites in Texas would do anything in order to ensure that they(whites) would always be the ruling class. Opportunity did not come easy to blacks, but prejudice did. Almost until the very end of the Civil War, Texans seemed to be denying the fact that an end coming to their precious "right" to own and oppress their "inferior" and "heathen" God-given servants. Courtesy of chew (1995) University of Maryland