Texas Politics Chapter 1 Key Terms

Adelsverein Society

An organization that promoted German immigration to Texas in the 1840s

Anglos

Here, refers to a non-Hispanic white North American of European descent, typically (but not exclusively) English-speaking

Scalawags

A derogatory term for Southerners who were working with the North to buy up land from desperate Southerners

Carpetbaggers

A northerner who went to the South immediately after the Civil War, especially one who tried to gain political advantage or other advantages from the disorganized situation in southern states

Civil Rights Movement

movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by Blacks in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual Black citizens

Classical Liberalism

An ideology that stresses the protection of individual rights, limited government, the rule of law, and a free market economy

Demography

The scientific study of population characteristics.

Economic regions

divisions of the state based on dominant economic activity

empresario

A person who contracted with the Spanish or Mexican government to recruit new settlers to Texas in exchange for the ability to claim land

Individualistic subculture

A government that benefits the individual rather than society in general

land-based economy

An economic system in which most wealth is derived from the use of the land

Majority-Minority

minority groups that make up a majority of the population of the state

Moralistic Subculture

The government is viewed as a positive force to achieve a common good for all citizens

Political Action Committee (PAC)

A spin-off of an interest group that collects money for campaign contributions and other activities

political culture

A system of beliefs and values that defines the role of government and the role of citizens in that government

Populism

An ideology that emphasizes the role of government in economic concerns, while simultaneously supporting the government's role in upholding socially conservative values

Progressive Era

A movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that sought increased federal and state government regulations to help wipe out economic, social, and political ills

Progressive or modern liberal

An ideology that stresses the positive role of government intervention in the economy for the common and public good

Social conservatism

An ideology that stresses the dangers of unregulated capitalism and supports relatively conservative social values

Traditionalistic subculture

A government that maintains the existing political order for the benefit of a small elite