Question

What happened to Texas Governor Sam Houston when he tried to stop his state from seceding? What did he warn his fellow Texans about?​

Answer 1

Texas Governor Sam Houston was a staunch Unionist and opposed secession. Despite his objections, on February 1, 1861, Texas became the seventh state to secede from the Union when a state convention voted 166 to 8 in favor of the measure. Houston grumbled that Texans were “stilling the voice of reason,” and he predicted an “ignoble defeat” for the South. He refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy and was replaced in March 1861 by his lieutenant governor.

Houston had warned that the day that produces a dissolution of this Union will be written in the blood of humanity. He had said: "I wish no prouder epitaph to mark the board or slab that may lie on my tomb than this: 'He loved his country, he was a patriot; he was devoted to the Union.'.

Answer 2

Sam Houston, the governor of Texas, was opposed to the idea of secession from the Union when it was proposed in 1861. He warned his fellow Texans that secession would lead to a disastrous civil war and that Texas was not prepared to fight such a war. Houston argued that the Constitution did not provide for secession and that the idea of secession was unconstitutional.

Despite his opposition, the Texas legislature voted to secede from the Union in February 1861, and Houston was removed from office for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. He was replaced by Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark, who was a strong supporter of secession.

After his removal from office, Houston retired from politics and refused to take part in the Civil War. He died in 1863, before the end of the war.