1869 Texas gubernatorial election

This was the first election held under the newly adopted state Constitution of 1869 which had been ratified in July.^[4] At the end of the Civil War, the Union required that all of the former Confederate states adopt a new state constitution which abolished slavery in order to rejoin the Union. Texas had adopted and ratified a constitution that accomplished this in 1866, but Congress did not approve the document because even though it abolished slavery it still prevented freedmen from participating in the political process.^[5][6] This led to a second convention being called which adopted a more progressive document.

At the time, the state was under martial law and occupied by federal troops as part of the 5th Military Reconstruction District. In 1867, military governor Philip Sheridan had removed several state officials for being an "impediment to reconstruction", including the winner of the 1866 gubernatorial election James Throckmorton and replaced him with his Republican opponent in that race Elisha M. Pease.^[7] The relationship between Pease and the military administration was strained and on September 30, 1869 he resigned the office due to differences with military governor Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds.^[8]

The election was one of the most turbulent and controversial in Texas history. General J. J. Reynolds ordered the drawing up of a new voter registration list, eliminating many of those who had qualified in 1867. Troops stationed at the polls who expressed favor for the Davis campaign probably prevented many Democrats from voting. Only about half of the registered white voters actually cast a ballot, and many polling places were either not opened, or ordered closed. Irregularities were reported but never investigated, and official returns reported that Davis won by slightly less than 800 votes.^[9]