Texas History - Edmund J. Davis

The 14th Governor of Texas was Edmund J. Davis Accomplishments: Appointed provisional governor on January 8, 1870 (about five weeks after the election and before the official outcome had been confirmed), Davis began a four-year term and was inaugurated on April 28, 1870. After the state legislature ratified the 14th and 15th Amendments, the civilian rule of the state officially replaced the military rule on March 30, 1870. The Constitution of 1869 had given the governor power to appoint more than 9,000 offices, impinging on the independence of local government and the will of the people. A taxpayers' convention met in September 1871, chaired by E.M. Pease, to protest high taxes, needless expenditures, and the legislature's cancellation of that year's regular elections. A special election was held in October, with Democratic victories for seats to the U.S. Congress. Democrats won a majority in the state legislature the next year, despite the presence of the state police at polling places. The legislature nearly impeached Governor Davis in 1873. The Texas Supreme Court in Ex Parte Rodriguez (the "semi-colon case" of December 1873) invalidated the election of 1873 in which Richard Coke had defeated Davis. Texans ignored this decision, and President U.S. Grant refused to intervene on Davis' behalf. Davis did not intend to leave office until April 1874, but he did so reluctantly in January, officially marking the end of Reconstruction in Texas. He was born on January 02, 1827 in Florida and died on February 07, 1883 in Austin,Texas.