 During Reconstruction, the rift between Unionist and Secessionist Democrats remained.For a short period immediately after the war, the Texas Democratic Party was a formidable political force, but they quickly split apart because their positions on freedmen varied greatly; some supported basic civil rights, while most opposed anything more than emancipation.As a result, Republicans captured both the governor's office and the Texas Legislature in 1869, but Republican political dominance in the post-Civil War era was short-lived.