The newest monument on the Texas Capitol grounds, unveiled on November 19, 2016, is dedicated to African Americans in Texas. Located on the South Capitol grounds, the monument is made up of bronze panels depicting the historical contributions of African Americans to Texas over the state's long history.

 

Legislative History

The monument has a legislative history that goes back over 25 years. In 1991, Sen. Rodney Ellis and Rep. Al Edwards passed SCR 49, 72R, directing the State Preservation Board to explore opportunities to revere and honor some of the outstanding historical figures from all ethnic cultures with regard to new monuments on the Capitol grounds. In the following session in 1993, Ellis and Rep. Garnet Coleman passed SCR 97, 73R, directing the State Preservation Board to include in its long-range master plan for the Capitol grounds a permanent monument in tribute to African American and Mexican American Texans.

 

Later, in 1997, Rep. Al Edwards and Sen. Jerry Patterson passed HB 1216, 75R. The bill created the Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission and gave it a mission to collect and commemorate the history of Juneteenth, the day that marks the arrival of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. At that time, Edwards envisioned the monument as an Emancipation Juneteenth memorial monument.

 

The 1997 bill was followed by several more legislative measures:
    •  HB 1865, 76R, by Edwards and Sen. Royce West, Relating to the operations of the Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission.
    •  HB 1368, 76R, by Edwards and Sen. Chris Harris, Relating to the site of the Emancipation Juneteenth memorial monument.
    •  HCR 176, 81R, by Edwards and Sen. Tommy Williams, Expressing continued support for the establishment of a Juneteenth memorial monument on the grounds of the State Capitol at the location previously approved by the State Preservation Board.

 

In 2011, during the 82nd Regular Session, legislators expanded the scope of the monument to provide a broader representation of African American history in Texas. The bill that made these changes was SB 1928, 82R (by Ellis and Rep. Alma Allen), relating to an African American Texans memorial monument on the Capitol grounds; SCR 51, 82R (by Ellis and Allen) expressed the legislature's support for this shift in the monument's subject matter. The dedication program includes lists of those who served on the Texas African American History Memorial Committee, donors, and others who have been involved with the project.

 

The monument features notable Texas African Americans including Estevanico de Dorantes (the first African to set foot on Texas soil), Hendrick Arnold (a special agent in the Battle of the Republic and in the Indian wars), and Sam McCullough (one of the first casualties of the Texas Revolution). Emancipation is the central core element of the memorial, featuring a 9-foot-high image of a male and female slave having broken the bonds of slavery, dedicated to the 182,500 slaves that were freed on June 19, 1865. Also illustrated are the slave experience, from arrival to slaves' work in the fields and industry, and depictions of Black Texans' contributions to the state, from the Buffalo Soldiers to musicians to astronauts. To learn more about the monument, please see https://tspb.texas.gov/prop/tcg/tcg-monuments/21_african_american_history/index.html.

 

Did you know?

Ed Dwight, the sculptor who designed and created the African American Texans monument, also created the memorial to Congressman (and former Texas legislator) Mickey Leland at Houston's Intercontinental Airport.

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This week, we're bringing you an excerpt from our permanent exhibit on Santa Anna's chair, located in the northwest corner of the library. In addition to his chair, Santa Anna left behind another relic - his wooden leg.  

 

The story of Santa Anna's wooden leg begins in 1838 with the brief conflict between Mexico and France known as the "Pastry War." Angry about unpaid Mexican debts incurred during the Texas Revolution, French officials demanded compensation from the Mexican government, including 60,000 pesos for damage to a bakery owned by a French pastry chef. Mexico refused to respond to the ultimatum for payment, and the French navy answered with a blockade of key Mexican ports. The "Pastry War" was born.

 

When French marines raided Veracruz, Santa Anna had the opportunity to come out of his disgraced retirement caused by the loss of Texas. He rallied his troops and the French were forced out of the city. Unfortunately for Santa Anna, cannon fire took his horse out from under him and horribly wounded his leg. Doctors amputated the limb and Santa Anna buried it at his hacienda.

 

With his victory against the French, Santa Anna was able to rise again to prominence in Mexico - after all, he had sacrificed a limb for his country. In 1842, his countrymen elevated him to the presidency again. As if to remind his country of his sacrifice, the shriveled leg was exhumed, paraded to Mexico City in an ornate coach, and buried in an elagant state funeral.

 

Sadly, there was no eternal rest for his leg. In 1844, the popular sentiment turned against him again, and rioters dug up his leg and dragged it through the streets shouting, "Death to the cripple!"

 

Santa Anna's story still had several more acts. After another exile, he was called back to the military for service in the Mexican-American War. At the Battle of Cerro Gordo in 1847, Santa Anna was breaking for a lunch of roast chicken and had removed his artificial leg. Surprised by the 4th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, he escaped on a horse, leaving behind his lunch and his cork-and-wooden leg. The Illinois soldiers ate the chicken, gave the gold they found to their superiors, but kept the leg as a prize of war. Today the wooden leg is housed in the Illinois State Military Museum, despite attempts to relocate it to Texas. 

 

Images from "Texas fighting for Santa Anna's leg," Houston Chronicle, May 16, 2014.

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The Library invites you to view its newest exhibit, "Legislative 'Desk' of Rep. Charles B. Metcalf - 1918." The exhibit displays what might have been found on the desk of Rep. Charles B. Metcalfe as he witnessed the passage of his historic bill on women's suffrage in primary elections. House Bill 105, 35th Legislature, 4th Called Session, was the first bill on woman's suffrage to pass the Texas Legislature. It was approved by the governor on March 26, 1918.

The display includes reprintings of the original House Bill 105; Metcalf family photographs; postcard scenes from the early decades of the 1900s in Tom Green County, Rep. Metcalfe's home district; and World War I posters, calendars, and a savings certificate. Also displayed are re-creations of stationery used by members of the Texas House of Representatives in 1918; desk supplies invoking the feel of the era; an original Capitol spitoon; an invitation based on a 1917 newspaper ad in the Corsicana Daily Sun, and a calling card utilizing designs from other political officials around the time period.

Photos in the exhibit were provided courtesty of the Tom Green County Historical Society Collection, West Texas Collection, Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas, as well as the State Preservation Board, Austin, Texas.

The library invites you to view its latest exhibit: Legislative Desk of Rep. Charles B. Metcalfe.

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The state, nation, and world will commemorate the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22. Here are some related resources in the Legislative Library's collection.

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Schoolchildren at Henrietta Public School in 1913. Photo from the Portal to Texas History

Lower Grape Creek Schoolhouse, near Fredericksburg, was built in 1901. Photo taken in 2011. Photo by Flickr user jimmywayne

McCallum Arts Center, built in 2011, at McCallum High School in Austin. Photo by Addy Sonder

The final entry in a series of posts about the 33rd Legislature, held 100 years ago. Read the previous posts on the general atmosphere, veterans, women’s rights, and drought.

One hundred years ago, the majority of Texas schoolchildren, like the majority of Texans, lived in rural areas (White, p. 18). The schools in these areas were mostly one-teacher schools (75%), and the school term lasted less than three months for more than 2,000 of the schools, with 46% average absentee rates (TEA, p. 53). Texas was one of just six states that did not have a compulsory attendance law (White, p. 20).

The school buildings themselves were often in terrible condition (TEA, p. 53), and it was this particular problem that lawmakers addressed during the 33rd regular session. Governor Colquitt emphasized the Democratic Party's position on school buildings during his state of the state address:

"Our platform promises for better educational facilities and a better system of public education is the most comprehensive utterance ever made by a political party in Texas on that subject."

The Legislature passed HB 24, which, for the first time, set out requirements for school building standards. Across the country, new standards regarding heating, ventilation, and lighting were being implemented (Baker, p. 6). HB 24, for example, states that "thirty cubic feet of fresh, warm air shall be supplied to each pupil in such a manner as not to place any pupil in a disagreeable draft." This measurement of thirty cubic feet had begun in Massachusetts and was, in 1913, becoming a nation-wide standard (Baker, p. 6).

The law also recommended that the windows be placed to the left of students (so that their arms and hands would not block the sunlight when writing, presumably, right-handed (Baker, p. 6)), and that decorative "fluting, turning, or carving" be kept to a minimum so as to not attract "dust and microbes."

School Building Standards Today

The Texas Administrative Code (19 TAC §61.1036) lays out guidelines for school facility construction. Notably, since 1913, the code now includes specifications for computer classrooms and acknowledges that regular classrooms may have technology in them (computers on carts, for example) that necessitates extra space. This webpage on the TEA’s website includes information on design standards, facilities funding, and other relevant information.

You can view current legislation about school facilities by searching with the subject “Education--Primary & Secondary--Facilities (I0241)” using the Texas Legislature Online or, for older bills, the library’s Legislative Archive System.

Texas Education Rankings, among U.S. States, in 1913 and Present

NB: See end of blog post for footnotes.

Learn More about Education in the Early 20th Century

• See a map of all the ISDs created during the 1913 session.
• Read this report on the history of school building standards.
• Some schools of the early 1900s are still around today; come to the library and page through Early Texas Schools: A Photographic History to see these historical buildings.
• A Study of Rural Schools in Texas, published in 1914 by the University of Texas, reviews the plight of rural school communities in Texas; this report is available as part of the library’s collection of higher education documents.

Table Footnotes

Sources

• Baker, L. (2012). A History of School Design and its Indoor Environmental Standards, 1900 to Today. Washington, D.C.: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. Available at http://www.ncef.org/pubs/greenschoolshistory.pdf
• Bush, M., Ryan, M., & Rose, S. (2011, August). Number of Instructional Days/Hours in the School Year. Denver, Colo.: Education Commission of the States. Available at http://www.cga.ct.gov/ed/AchGap/Documents/2012/9505.pdf
• NEA Research (2012). Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2012 and Estimates of School Statistics 2013. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association. Available at http://www.nea.org/assets/img/content/NEA_Rankings_And_Estimates-2013_(2).pdf
• Texas Public Schools Sesquicentennial Handbook. Austin, Tex.: Texas Education Agency.
• United States, Bureau of Education (1917). Report of the Commissioner of Education Made to the Secretary of the Interior for the Year Ended June 30 1916. Volume II. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Available at http://books.google.com/books?id=iGMWAAAAIAAJ
• White, E.V. and Davis, E.E. (1914, October 10). “A Study of Rural Schools in Texas.” Bulletin of the University of Texas, No. 364 (Extension Series No. 62). Available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/scanned/SIRSI/A%20Study%20of%20Rural%20Schools%20in%20Texas.pdf

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Rep. Richard Burges Photo courtesy of the State Preservation Board	Rep. David Glasscock Photo courtesy of the State Preservation Board
Lake Houston, May 2011 Photo by dasroofless via Flickr Creative Commons

Fourth in a series of posts about the 33rd Legislature, held 100 years ago. Read the previous posts on the general atmosphere, veterans, and women’s rights.

"We Will Be Your Rainmakers"

So begins an advertisement in the May 16, 1913 edition of the Hereford Brand for a company offering irrigation and well services. At the time, Texas was coming out of a severe drought period from 1908 to 1912. (View this animated map to see just how severe.) Water management was at the fore of legislators’ minds as they met for the 33rd legislative session.

A patchwork of water laws existed at the time, applying to different parts of Texas and sometimes contradicting each other. The Burges-Glasscock Act, also known as the Irrigation Act of 1913, created the Board of Water Engineers and centralized the procedure for water-rights claims by making those claims go through the Board (in “certified filings").

In an address to the House, Rep. David Glasscock described a reason for the bill:

“In the magnificent sweep of her imperial domain Texas numbers localities where there is little or no rainfall, and others where the rainfall is constant and excessive that rumor reports the inhabitants as web-footed; but the complaint common to her widest region lies in the alternation of superabundance and scarcity.” (p. 952, H.J., 33rd Lege., R.S.)

And as he closed his quite lengthy speech explaining the various aspects and benefits of the bill, he looked towards the future:

“It brings nearer to attainment the promise of the future toward which our people have set their forward faces, when the sleeping resources of Texas shall under the touch of wiser legislation awake in matchless strength to lead the nation.” (p. 955, H.J., 33rd Lege., R.S.)

Drought and Water Law in 2013

The Handbook of Texas Online points out that “Droughts have been recorded as a problem in Texas since Spaniards explored the area.” It’s no surprise, then, that 100 years later, legislators are once again faced with addressing the water needs of a growing population. The state is in the midst of a drought—2011 was the worst single-year drought on record—and new practices such as hydraulic fracturing have altered the water landscape in Texas.

Funding for water development has been a high priority this session, especially funding for the State Water Plan. This library blog post reviews the relevant legislation and provides links to many other legislative resources.

Recently, the House voted to send the first major water bill, HB 4 by Rep. Allan Ritter, to the Senate. According to the HRO analysis, the bill “would create special funds outside of the state treasury to implement the state water plan and provide a prioritization funding system on the regional and state levels, with consideration given to conservation and reuse projects and projects in rural areas," among other things.

Learn more with these library and government resources:

• View a timeline of Texas water law
• Get the highlights of water development legislation this session as well as important background information
• Read the full speech by Rep. Glasscock in House Journal, 33rd Lege., R.S., p. 949
• Search for current bills at TLO or historic bills on the library’s site. Use subjects “Water--Development (I0875)” and/or “Water--General (I0885).”
• Browse through this comprehensive review of Texas water law: Sahs, Mary K. Essentials of Texas Water Resources. State Bar of Texas: Austin, 2012. Call number: B600.8 ES74 2012

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