6th Texas Legislature

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The 6th Texas Legislature met from November 5, 1855 to September 1, 1856 in its regular session and one adjourned session. All 80 members of the Texas House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Texas Senate were elected in 1855.

Contents

Sessions

Party summary

The 6th Texas Legislature (1869–1871) was dominated by the Republican Party, a rarity in the state's history. Its defining feature was the Radical Republican control during the Reconstruction era, which passed landmark legislation aimed at fulfilling the requirements of Congressional Reconstruction. The party's power, however, was brief, and it was ousted by the resurgent Democratic Party in the following election. [1]

Radical Republican majority

The legislature was composed primarily of Republicans who aligned with the federal government's Reconstruction efforts. [2]

Officers

Senate

Lieutenant Governor
Hardin Richard Runnels, Democrat
President pro tempore
Jesse Grimes, Regular session, Adjourned session

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House
Hamilton P. Bee

Members

Senate

Members of the Texas Senate for the Sixth Texas Legislature:

DistrictSenatorPartyTook office
1 Solomon H. Pirkey Democrat1855
2 Johnson Wren Democrat1855
3 Robert H. Taylor Democrat1855
4 Malachi W. Allen Democrat1853
5 Jefferson Weatherford Democrat1853
6 Jonathan Russell Democrat1855
7 M. D. K. Taylor Democrat1851
8 William Thomas Scott Democrat1851 (First time: 1846–1847)
9 James Winwright Flanagan Democrat1855
10 Elisha Everett Lott Democrat1853
11 Robert Henry Guinn Democrat1853
12 William M. Taylor Democrat1855
13 Madison G. Whitaker Democrat1853
14 James A. Truitt Democrat1855 (First time: 1851–1853)
15 James M. Burroughs Democrat1855
16 Henry C. Pedigo Democrat1853
17 Mark M. Potter Democrat1851
18 Edward A. Palmer Democrat1855
19 Jesse Grimes Democrat1855 (First time: 1846–1853)
20 James W. McDade Democrat1853
21 Elliot McNeil Millican Democrat1853
22 William Harrison "Howdy" Martin Democrat1853
23 James H. Armstrong Democrat1851
24 Guy Morrison Bryan Democrat1853
25 John Caldwell Democrat1855
26 Samuel Addison White Democrat1855
27 Henry Eustace McCulloch Democrat1855
28 Edwin B. Scarborough Democrat1855
29 Edward R. Hord Democrat1855
30 Antoine Supervièle Democrat1853
31 Samuel A. Maverick Democrat1855
32 Isaac Lafayette Hill Democrat1853
33 Rufus Doane Democrat1851

House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives for the Sixth Texas Legislature:

Membership Changes

The 6th Texas Legislature saw several changes in membership due to the deaths and resignations of elected officials. The Legislative Reference Library of Texas's database on past and present legislators can confirm these specific changes. During this era, state legislative vacancies were typically filled by a special election. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Wise About Texas (May 25, 2022). History Minute: Governor E J Davis . Retrieved September 25, 2025– via YouTube.
  2. ↑ "The 1860s: Reconstruction | Texas State Library". www.tsl.texas.gov. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  3. ↑ Heersink, Boris; Jenkins, Jeffery A., eds. (2020), "The Rise and Fall of a Republican South, 1865–1877", Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865–1968, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 66–100, ISBN   978-1-107-15843-6 , retrieved September 25, 2025
  4. ↑ "State legislative vacancies, 2023". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Search results". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved September 25, 2025.

References

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