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John Henninger Reagan (October 8, 1818March 6, 1905) was an American politician from Texas. A
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
, Reagan resigned from the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
when Texas declared
secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
from the
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and joined the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
. He served in the cabinet of
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...
as
Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...
. After the Confederate defeat and his release from prison after the war, Reagan called for cooperation by the Southern states with the U.S. government, an unpopular position among most conservative whites. He was elected to Congress in 1874 and was elected in 1886 by the state legislature as a Democrat from Texas to the U.S. Senate, where he served one term from 1887 to 1891. He resigned from the seat when appointed by the governor as chairman of the
Texas Railroad Commission The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and s ...
. He was among the founders of the
Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
. He was the only former Confederate cabinet member to be sat in the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
Alexander H. Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the first and only Vice President of the Confederate States of America, vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and l ...
, the only Confederate
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
, was also elected in 1866 to represent
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, but was refused to be seated to the Senate due to his war history. Elected as the representative of the Democratic Party for the state of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, he sat in the Senate for just one term; he was one of just three former Confederate cabinet members to take major political offices after the war.


Early life

John Henninger Reagan was born in 1818 in
Gatlinburg, Tennessee Gatlinburg is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville and had a population of 3,577 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a popular mountain resort town, as it ...
, to Timothy Richard and Elizabeth (Lusk) Reagan. His parents were primarily of Irish,
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and
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
descent; his middle name was for his Irish ancestors. He left
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
at age nineteen and traveled to the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
, which had become independent from Mexico the year before in 1836. Reagan worked as a surveyor from 1839 to 1843. He bought a property and farmed in Kaufman County until 1851. During the time he worked as a surveyor, he also served as a private tutor to the children of John Marie Durst. Reagan read the law, served as an apprentice in an established firm, and was licensed to practice in 1846. He opened an office in
Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
and the same year was elected a
probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...
in Henderson County. In 1847 he was elected to the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...
but was defeated for a second term in 1849. He was admitted to the bar in 1848 and practiced in both Buffalo and
Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the County seat, seat of Anderson County, Texas, Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named after Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker (Baptist), Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that ...
. Reagan was elected as a district judge in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, serving from 1852 to 1857. His efforts to defeat the American Party (
Know-Nothings The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s. Members of the m ...
) resulted in his election to Congress as a Democrat in 1857 from
Texas's 1st congressional district Texas' 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives serves the Northeast Texas, northeastern portion of the state of Texas. As of 2022, the 1st district contained 775,992 people. It consists largely of four small Eas ...
. Reagan was a staunch supporter of slavery. He believed abolition would cause such social problems as to require Southern whites "exterminate the greater portion of the
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race." He also believed in the federal protections of slavery under the U.S. Constitution as extensions of private property rights, therefore he supported the United States. But when it became clear that Texas would secede, Reagan resigned from Congress on January 15, 1861, and returned home to the state to participate in the rebellion. He participated in the secession convention at
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
on January 31, 1861. Chosen as a member of the
Provisional Confederate Congress The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, fully the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a unicameral congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing ...
, President Jefferson Davis appointed Reagan to his cabinet as Postmaster General within a month.


Civil War

Despite the hostilities, the
United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet of the Un ...
continued operations in the Confederacy until June 1, 1861, when the Confederate service took over its functions. Reagan sent an agent to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, with letters asking the heads of the United States Post Office Department's various bureaus to work for him. Nearly all did so and brought copies of their records, contracts, account books, etc. "Reagan in effect had stolen the U.S. Post Office," historian William C. Davis later wrote. Reagan cut expenses by eliminating costly and little-used routes and forcing railroads that carried the mail to reduce their rates. Despite the problems the war caused, his department managed to turn a profit, "the only post office department in American history to pay its own way," wrote William C. Davis. Reagan was the only member of the cabinet to oppose
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
's offensive into
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in June–July 1863. He instead supported a proposal to detach the First Corps of the
Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...
to reinforce
Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from ...
in Mississippi, to break the
Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
. Historian
Shelby Foote Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American writer, historian and journalist. Although he primarily viewed himself as a novelist, he is now best known for his authorship of ''The Civil War: A Narrative'', a three- ...
noted that, as the only Cabinet member from west of the Mississippi, Reagan was acutely aware of the critical consequences of Vicksburg's capture and control of the river by U.S. forces. When Davis abandoned
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
on April 2, 1865, shortly before the entry of
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...
under
George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army and the Union army as Major General in command of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War from 1 ...
, Reagan accompanied the president on his flight to the Carolinas. On April 27, Davis made him Secretary of the Treasury after
George A. Trenholm George Alfred Trenholm (February 25, 1807 – December 9, 1876) was a South Carolina businessman, financier, politician, and slaveholding planter who owned several plantations and strongly supported the Confederate States of America. He was a ...
's resignation. Reagan served in that capacity until he, Davis, and
Texas governor The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Established in the Constitut ...
Francis R. Lubbock were captured near
Irwinville, Georgia Irwinville is an unincorporated community in Irwin County, Georgia, United States. Irwinville was founded as "Irwinsville" in 1831 as the seat for the newly formed Irwin County. The community was named for Georgia governor Jared Irwin. It was ...
, on May 10. Reagan was imprisoned with Confederate vice president
Alexander Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the first and only vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 unti ...
at Fort Warren in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. He was held in solitary confinement for twenty-two weeks. On August 11, he wrote an
open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
to his fellow Texans urging cooperation with the United States, renunciation of the secession convention, the abolition of slavery, and letting formerly enslaved people vote. He warned that the U.S. government would be forced to impose military rule to enforce these measures if Texans did not voluntarily adopt them. Abolition was underway, and Reagan knew there was support for granting the vote to
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
. Texans denounced him. After being released from prison later that year, he returned to his home in
Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the County seat, seat of Anderson County, Texas, Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named after Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker (Baptist), Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that ...
in December.


Return to public life

To those who felt that the
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
was unduly harsh, Reagan's prescience was hailed—he became known as the "Old Roman," a Texas
Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus () was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a famous model of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Modern historians quest ...
. He was part of the successful effort to remove Republican Edmund J. Davis from the
governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...
in 1874 after Davis attempted to remain in office illegally after losing the election. That year, Reagan was elected to the Congressional seat he held before the war, and he served from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1887. In 1875, he was a delegate to the convention that wrote a new state constitution for Texas. In Congress, he advocated federal regulation of railroads and helped create the
Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...
. He also served as the first chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads. Elected by the Texas State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1887 (serving from March 4, 1887 to June 10, 1891), Reagan resigned to become chair of the
Railroad Commission of Texas The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and su ...
at the behest of his friend, Governor
Jim Hogg James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the List of Governors of Texas, 20th governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservativi ...
. He chaired it until 1903, continuing to serve under governors
Charles A. Culberson Charles Allen Culberson (June 10, 1855 – March 19, 1925) was an American political figure and Democrat who served as the 21st governor of Texas from 1895 to 1899, and as a United States senator from Texas from 1899 to 1923. According to one ...
and Joseph D. Sayers. Hogg had run on a platform of state regulation of railroads. Conscious of the importance of recounting and interpreting history, Reagan founded the
Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
. He also attended reunions of Confederate veterans in his state. He wrote his ''Memoirs, With Special Reference to Secession and the Civil War'', published in 1905. Later that year, Reagan died of pneumonia at his home in Palestine, the last surviving member of Jefferson Davis' cabinet in the Confederate government. Reagan was buried in East Hill Cemetery in Palestine, Texas.


Legacy and honors

*Historian Ben H. Procter included Reagan in his list of the "four greatest Texans of the 19th century," along with Stephen F. Austin,
Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
, and
James Stephen Hogg James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 20th governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservative New South Creed which beca ...
. *
Reagan County, Texas Reagan County is a county on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,385. The county seat is Big Lake. The county is named after John Henninger Reagan (1818–1905), who was the postmast ...
, was named in his honor. *Several schools were named for him, including John H. Reagan Elementary School in Dallas and a Reagan High School in Houston and Austin. Reagan High School in Houston was renamed in 2016 to
Heights High School Heights High School, formerly John H. Reagan High School, is a senior high school located in the Houston Heights in Houston, Texas. It serves students in grades nine through twelve and is a part of the Houston Independent School District. Hei ...
by the Houston Independent School District. In 2019, Reagan Early College High School in Austin was renamed as Northeast Early College High School.AUSTIN'S JOHN REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL DECIDES ON NEW NAME
/ref> *The John H. Reagan State Office Building on the
Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 188 ...
grounds was named in his honor. *Reagan was commemorated by a statue on the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
campus. On August 21, 2017, Reagan's statue in Austin was removed. Plans were announced to add it to the
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History is an organized research unit and public service component of the University of Texas at Austin named for Dolph Briscoe, the 41st governor of Texas. The center collects and preserves documents and a ...
. *A park in his hometown of
Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the County seat, seat of Anderson County, Texas, Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named after Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker (Baptist), Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that ...
, was named for him. A statue of Reagan was installed on the grounds.


See also

* List of United States senators from Texas


References


Further reading

* Anderson, John Nathan. "Money or Nothing: Confederate Postal System Collapse during the Civil War," ''American Journalism,'' 30 (Winter 2013), 65–86. * Branner, Peter A. ''The Organization of the Confederate Postoffice Department at Montgomery''. Montgomery, Alabama: The Author, 1960. * Dietz, August. ''Confederate States Post-office Department''. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Press, 1962. * Dietz, August. ''The Postal Service of the Confederate States of America''. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Printing, 1929. * Garrison, L. R. “Administrative Problems of the Confederate Post Office Department, I.” ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 18#2 (1915), pp. 111–14
online
* Garrison, L. R. “Administrative Problems of the Confederate Post Office Department, II.” ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 19#3 (1916), pp. 232–250
online
* McCaleb, Walter Flavius. "The Organization of the Post-Office Department of the Confederacy." ''American Historical Review'' 12#1 (1906), pp. 66–74
online
* Ben H. Procter. ''Not Without Honor''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1962. * Reagan, John Henninger
''Memoirs, With Special Reference to Secession and the Civil War''
New York: Neale, 1905. * Wirenga, Theron, editor. ''Official Documents of the Post-office Department of the Confederate States of America''. Holland, Michigan: The Editor, 1979. Two volumes. Retrieved on 2009-03-19


External links

* *
John H. Reagan lineage
— Smokykin.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reagan, John H. 1818 births 1905 deaths Methodists from Texas American people in rail transportation Executive members of the Cabinet of the Confederate States of America Confederate States Department of the Treasury officials Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Democratic Party United States senators from Texas Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Kaufman County, Texas People from Palestine, Texas People from Sevier County, Tennessee People of Texas in the American Civil War Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States Texas lawyers Presidents of the Texas State Historical Association Members of the Railroad Commission of Texas 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature