82R14841 MMS-D

By: Branch H.R. No. 845

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, March 16, 2011, marks the 150th anniversary of Governor Sam Houston's refusal to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America; and

WHEREAS, An ardent unionist, Sam Houston had spent much of his life in public service; born in Virginia in 1793, he fought with valor during the War of 1812 and afterward rose to prominence in Tennessee, where he served as attorney general, won two elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was elected governor; and

WHEREAS, After moving to Texas in 1832, he quickly became involved in the struggle for independence; he served as a delegate to the Convention of 1833, the Consultation of 1835, and the Convention of 1836, during which he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and received appointment as commander in chief of the Texas Army; his victory at the Battle of San Jacinto secured Texas' independence from Mexico and led to his election as president of the new republic; he then served in the Texas House of Representatives before holding the presidency again for a second term; and

WHEREAS, With Texas' admission to the Union, Sam Houston became one of the state's first two senators; his pro-Union stance, however, cost him support in the Texas Legislature, which chose John Hemphill to replace him when his term in the senate ended in 1859; Sam Houston then ran for the governorship of Texas and won, assuming office on December 21, 1859; and

WHEREAS, The following year, the fear that Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party might capture the presidency and threaten the institution of slavery gave further momentum to the secessionist movement in the South; Sam Houston understood that disunion would provoke a lengthy war, one the South would stand little chance of winning; in the fall of 1860, he undertook a speaking tour in an effort to rally adherence to the Union, even in the event of a Republican victory in November; and

WHEREAS, Addressing an audience in Austin on September 22, 1860, Governor Houston told his listeners: "when . . . in 1836, I volunteered to aid in transplanting American liberty to this soil, it was with the belief that the Constitution and the Union were to be perpetual blessings to the human race--that the success of the experiment of our fathers was beyond dispute, and that whether under the banner of the Lone Star or that many-starred banner of the Union, I could point to the land of Washington, Jefferson, and Jackson, as the land blest beyond all other lands, where freedom would be eternal and Union unbroken. It concerns me deeply, as it does everyone here, that these bright anticipations should be realized; and that it should be continued not only the proudest nationality the world has ever produced, but the freest and most perfect"; and

WHEREAS, The tide of public sentiment was against him, however, and on January 28, 1861, a convention convened in Austin to take up the question of secession; several days later, speaking to a committee of the convention, Governor Houston laid out the consequences of their project in stark terms: "To secede from the Union and set up another government would cause war. . . . If you go to war with the United States, you will never conquer her, as she has the money and the men. If she does not whip you by guns, powder, and steel, she will starve you to death. . . . if you go to war, it will take the flower of the country--the young men. . . . There will be thousands and thousands who march away from our homes never to come back"; and

WHEREAS, Notwithstanding his impassioned argument, the delegates proceeded to adopt an ordinance of secession; after Texas voters ratified that decision on February 23, 1861, the Secession Convention reconvened and demanded that all current officeholders take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy; Governor Houston was summoned to take the oath before the convention on March 16, but he refused to appear; the delegates consequently declared the office of governor vacant and swore in the lieutenant governor to take his place; and

WHEREAS, Explaining his course of action in an address to the public, Governor Houston avowed: "In the name of the Constitution of Texas, which has been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath"; he went on, though, to say, "I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her. To avert this calamity, I shall make no endeavor to maintain my authority as Chief Executive of this State. . . . "; and

WHEREAS, Sam Houston never again held public office; he settled with his family in Huntsville, where he died on July 26, 1863; as he had predicted, the North blockaded southern ports, and the greater manpower and industrial resources of the Union contributed heavily to its ultimate victory; by the war's end, in April 1865, total Confederate losses stood at approximately 258,000, and slavery as an institution was essentially dead; and

WHEREAS, In his biography of Sam Houston, one historian was reminded of an observation made by the German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, who "wrote that the mark of a great man is his ability to tell the people of his era what their will is and accomplish it"; "the tragedy of Sam Houston['s life]," concluded the historian, "was that he told his era what its will should have been and it cost him everything"; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby honor Sam Houston for his statesmanship on the 150th anniversary of his refusal to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederate States of America.