Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47044

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47044

[Reconstruction]. Petition of the People of Texas to Congress, to Guarantee to the People a Republican Form of Government. Austin: Printed at the Daily Republican Office, 1870.

8vo (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches). Supplied (and presumed facsimile) front wrapper attached with archival tissue. A very scarce Texas imprint petitioning Congress for the state's readmission to the Union during Reconstruction.

Under the Reconstruction Acts, Texas was required to convene a constitutional convention elected by all adult male citizens regardless of race, adopt a new state constitution guaranteeing equal civil rights, ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, and subsequently approve the Fifteenth Amendment. The convention met in Austin from June 1868 to February 1869, producing a new constitution that expanded suffrage and reorganized state government. This petition was issued in direct response to those proceedings and argues against the legitimacy and consequences of the laws and constitutional changes approved by the convention, appealing to Congress to reassess Texas' political reorganization.

Condition: Front wrapper very worn, with numerous areas of loss, repaired and attached at spine with archival tissue and later paper. Inner pages quite toned with dampstaining throughout; a few chips and short tears, dark foxing at edges.

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