William Pitt Ballinger

Who was William Pitt Ballinger?

William Pitt Ballinger was a respected and influential Texas lawyer and statesman. His behind-the-scenes life had a major impact on the development of Texas realty and railroad law, furthering the Confederacy during the Civil War, the Reconstruction in Texas, the emancipation of black slaves, and the industrialization of the South.

Throughout the many local, state, and national events and issues, Ballinger’s life as a lawyer and a politician became firmly committed and driven to uphold and argue the law to its fullest extent without his biased interpretation. Ballinger, although rooted in the U.S. Constitution, evolved as the law evolved. In the words of Ballinger after rational examination, “Times have changed, my dear friend—the practice of law is going forward at such a rate that those who do not accept these changes will be left behind.”