Population Growth During Early Texas Statehood

Introduction Texas joined the United States in 1845, and was growing rapidly. By 1850, Texas already had 212,000 people! And by 1860, the population had tripled to over 604,000. Over half of the population was Anglo-American, and over a quarter of the population was African- American.

As you can tell, the population of Texas skyrocketed from 1834 to Immigrants came to Texas because they offered large plots of land for very cheap prices. The Texas Preemption Act made this possible for immigrants. When the first national census was taken in 1850, Texas already held 212,000 people!

The Texas Preemption Act The Texas Preemption Act was passed by Legislation in This act was passed to attract immigrants to Texas and develop the state. Through this act, people who came to the state of Texas were offered 160 acre plots of land for as low as 50 cents an acre! The act was definitely effective, and attracted many people to the state.

Population in Texas When the first federal census was taken in 1850, Texas already had 212,000 people, a big jump from 125,000 in Southern Anglo- Americans made up 53.7% of the population. Over a quarter of the population in 1850 consisted of African-Americans. That makes it pretty clear that Texas was a big slave state at the time. By 1860, 604,000 were living in Texas.

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Slavery In 1850, 58,161 slaves lived in Texas. Although, only about one third of the farms in Texas in that time had slaves working for them. 40 percent of Texas slaves on Gulf Coast farms and in the East Texas river valleys. 50 percent of slaves worked alone or in groups of less than 20. In 1860, there were 182,566 slaves in Texas. In that time, almost 25% percent of white families owned at least one slave. Texas ranked 10th in total slave population and 9th in percentage of slave population.

How Did People Get to Texas? Although Texas’s roads and bridges were in very bad condition, people still found a way to get here from all over. The transportation routes were just as bad as they had been in the republic years. Government said they would provide money to fix roads, but local authorities convinced them to stay as they were. Only a few bridges existed aside from the bad roads. Water travel was also quite hard, because navigation in the Gulf Coast was treacherous.

Summary Early Statehood was a hard time for some Texans. But for most, it was a time of opportunity. The population of Texas grew over 464,000 people! Through the Texas Preemption Act and annexation, Texas was a very large part of the United States by the beginning of the Civil War. The majority of their population consisted of Anglo-Americans, and African-Americans were not far behind. There were many slaves living in Texas at that time, therefore Texas was ranked 10 th in total slave population out of all states. Transportation routes to and in Texas were very bad back then. Roads and bridges were rough, and people did not like to travel by water, because navigation in the Gulf Coast was still hard for them. Without the skyrocketing population growth that Texas went through then, it would probably not be the state that it is today.

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