ABSTRACT
Reflecting the attitudes shared by the most white Texans, the conservative Democrats sought to wipe out the last vestiges of radical rule, the most obvious being the Republican-written Constitution of 1869. After winning control of the legislature in 1872, the Democrats agreed with near unanimity that there must be a new constitution. The new constitution provided that all the judges would be elected by popular vote. African American voters comprised the core of popular support for the republican party, and consequently they expected a significant role in the party's leadership. Republican politicians were most successful when they allied their party with agrarian reform groups. In keeping with a trend in the making of state constitutions, the Constitution of 1876 is longer than the one that preceded it, and it contains many provisions that the framers of the earlier instruments left to the discretion of the legislatures.
