Compilation of Articles on The Republic of Texas (The Many Nations of North America)

The Republic of Texas

Excerpts from the America's Imperial Power, from Tamaulipas to Oklahoma.

Excerpt from The Lone Star Flies High, a biography of Richard Coke, governor of Texas 1872-1874, by Ross Townsend, (C) 1993.

'...no transcripts were made of Coke's meeting on the 18th of November with President Benjamin, but later accounts by both men indicates that the meeting was by no means civil. Certainly the unproductive nature of the meeting led to a rapid decline of federal-state relations.

Throughout 1873, relations had remained relatively stable; this can perhaps be attributed to the fact that Coke and Benjamin were relatively alike; both were former lawyers with a reputation for intellectualism (Coke at this time picked up the nickname of 'Old Brains', which was to stay with him for life). Additionally, both had only been elected to their respective offices the previous year, and as such lacked the acrimonious relationship that President Lee and Governor Roberts had developed. However, this was quickly to change, and the meeting began a trend which ended with a personal hatred between the two men, which was to prove disastrous.

The meeting's inconclusive nature did nothing to deal with the rapidly developing crisis over Texan immigration. Refugees from across the CSA continued flooding into Texas, and the Confederate government's indecision only deepened feelings of resentment within Texas. Texan infrastructure became stretched to its limits. Inevitably, many of the refugees from the Veteran's Fever outbreak carried the disease themselves; the first cases were recorded in early September, and by late November the disease had reached epidemic proportions in the cramped camps of the Confederate refugees. Faced with the prospect of the impending spread of the disease across Texas, Coke acted unilaterally. On the 25th of December, the Texan Protection Act was passed by the Texas Legislature, closing Texan borders to the outside world. It was, in effect, a declaration of unofficial secession. On the 25th of December, Coke delivered the Christmas Oration to crowds in Austin; the speech, noted for both its jingoism and for the origin of the phrase 'We decide who comes to this country, and the circumstances in which they come', which has been frequently repeated by many Texan politicians since.

The response from within the Confederacy was swift and decisive. On 31st of December, the Ku Klux Klan firebombed the State House. No one was hurt, but the action could not have been a greater insult to Texan pride and patriotism. As 1874 began, Texas and the CSA were effectively at war...'

Extracts from the Christmas Day Oration by Richard Coke, 25th of December, 1873, given in Austin, Texas

'Men and women of Texas.

I speak before you now at a time of grave peril for our great state. You need merely look out the window to see the horrors that have been wrought upon us this past year. Refugees starve in our streets. Roads are clogged and buildings creak as wave after wave of human casualties descend upon our fair state, interested in saving their own skin with no concern for anything or anyone but themselves. And all the while, Death stalks our city's hospitals and clinics, striking those down who have been unfortunate enough to contract the foreigner's plague.

I trust I do not need to elaborate further. We are facing a crisis of apocalyptic proportions. A Black Death is sweeping through our state, striking down all those in its path with no regard for man or woman, child or adult, even black or white. But there is a greater crisis before us: a human plague, a plague of spoilt minds and misplaced pity.

They say we should care for them. They say we should give them the shirts off their backs. They say that our tax dollars, the sweat off our brows, should go towards sating their every need! Well, I say this: we decide who comes to our state, and the circumstances in which they come!

Last night, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Protection Act. This morning, Texas became closed to the world. We have said, 'No more!'

I am proud to be a citizen of the Confederate States. But I am first and foremost a Texan, and the needs of my great state and its people must come first.

We do not want war. We do not want secession. But we were an independent state for nine years, and yet we did not perish, but indeed prospered. We want only peace, but if it comes to it, we will fight to defend ourselves from the infectious rabble who even now threaten the very existence of Texas.

So go forth, men and women of Texas, and be proud. For your state has stood up to the world, and has declared itself not a mere vassal of a greedy central government, but a proud state ready to fight for its freedom to remain forever pure. We fought a war for our independence a mere decade ago; if history repeats itself, then we shall fight again, and we shall win!

Have a merry Christmas, and long live Texas!'

Excerpt from The Lone Star Flies High, a biography of Richard Coke, governor of Texas 1872-1874, by Ross Townsend, (C) 1993.

'Most of the members of the KKK in Texas were recent refugees, often living in desperate poverty. The Texan government's refusal to provide facilities for the refugees had led to the creation of vast shanty towns surrounding urban areas in Texas. Conditions within the towns often put third-world countries to shame; running water was unheard of, and cliques and factions effectively controlled access to resources. Of these, the KKK gained popularity amongst the refugees, not necessarily for its ideology but for the resources it wielded within the camps...

The KKK's ideology deserves a mention. Coke's ideology was in many ways compatible with the KKK; indeed, his insistance upon 'purity' was admired by many followers of the KKK, who often advocated the formation of camps to intern sufferers of the Veteran's Plague, so as not to infect the population. However, Coke's defiance of the CSA led to considerable ire amongst Klansmen, many of whom were former soldiers; he was seen as a 'race traitor' for not blindly serving the CSA, who the KKK believed to be the only hope of the survival of the white race...

Of the Texas Klansmen, the most famous is undoubtedly Ben Wilkerson. Wilkerson was a poor farmer from Georgia, who fled the state with his wife and two daughters after the outbreak of Veteran's Fever in that state. After arriving in Texas, he was unable to find lodgings or accomodations, and settled into the vast Houston Camp, where he became a major figure in the local KKK. Wilkerson has been largely cast as a villain, but in truth he resembles a more pathetic figure; he was of limited intellect and cunning, and seems to have been manipulated by those more intelligent than himself. He seems to have honestly believed that in working for the KKK, he was working to provide for his family...

On April 13, 1874, Coke was speaking to enthusiastic crowds in front of the Houston Town Hall. He was given limited security, and was only flanked by two bodyguards, with limited visibility. Wilkerson pushed his way through the crowds and shot Coke twice with a .22 revolver. Wilkerson's aim was bad; Coke was hit once in the shoulder and once in the torso. Wilkerson was immediately shot dead by guards. Unfortunately, Coke was shot in the back by one of his guards during the confusion; ironically, this one bullet may have caused more damage than Wilkerson's incompetent assassination attempt. It has long been questioned whether the unlucky security guard, John Randall, was in fact a KKK agent; although he denied it whenever questioned for the rest of his life, papers found in his house after his death indicate Confederate sympathies, and his wife related in a 1897 interview that he expressed a strong hatred towards Long before his death. However, this issue is likely to remain a mystery

Coke was rushed to hospital; there, his condition might not have proved fatal but for the incompetence of his doctors, who performed surgery with unsanitary equipment. Infection spread rapidly through Coke's body, and his damaged immune system led to pneumonial infection. In increasing pain, he spent his last few days with his family. He died on April 19, 1874. His last known words were, 'Oh my'.

With one shot, Wilkerson effectively declared Texan independence. The furious Texan people rioted in the streets over the shooting, and newly appointed governor Richard Hubbard was in no mood to argue, having been a close friend of Coke. On April 23, 1874, the Texan government issued the Texan Declaration of Independence. The Republic of Texas was born.

...

In retrospect, Coke may seem a simple nativist populist; something of a cross between Emperor Long of Lousiana and Prime Minister John Howard of Australia. Yet, at the time, and even to this day, Coke's legacy in Texas remains almost mythical. He has become a martyr for Texas nationalism; from the moment he died, it became inevitable that Texas was fight for its freedom no matter the cost. No matter his flaws, Coke's role as the father of modern Texas remains inescapable, and a legacy to be proud of.'