Chapter 1

Introduction

Laredo was under 7 flags

Texas caught b/n Santa Annas ambitious plans

• Immigration in Texas

  • always been a hot topic regarding Texas

• Crossroads between new and old

• The true Texas

Texas Geography

• Second largest US state

• Variety of climates

• Limited interactions due to size

• More expensive campaigning

• Complex social connotations

• Shares culture and history

• Resistance to new arrivals

History: The Birth of Texas Traditions

• First inhabited 12,000 years ago

• Native peoples of Texas

• Columbus and Spanish Empire

• Brief French presence

• Missions and presidios

• Spanish legacy in Texas

  • architecture

• Empresario

• Mexican Independence

  • Mexico was anti-slavery

    • Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

    • Austin’s colonization plan

    • Tension between Mexico and Anglo settlers

• The Texas Revolution

  • Statehood with Mexico versus independence

  • Tejanos torn

    • between their current properties and their culture

  • Texans gathers a consultation

  • Sam Houston

  • 1836 elections

• The Republic of Texas

  • Houston first president

  • Population doubled

  • Second president

  • Houston reelected

Texas Statehood

• Texas annexation

• Right to secede

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• More population growth

• Texas in the Confederacy

  • Rise in cotton farming

  • Houston opposed slavery, lost office

  • Black people, Germans, and Tejanos

• Reconstruction in Texas

  • Juneteenth

  • Formerly enslaved people exploited and abused

  • New state constitutions: 1866 and 1869

• The End of Reconstruction and Rise of the “Redeemers”

  • Confederate sympathizers allowed to vote

  • Patrons of Husbandry

  • Cowboy legends

  • Encouraged immigration to settle West

• The Era of Reform

  • Transition to industrial and oil

  • People’s Party (Populists).

  • Gubernatorial versus legislative victories

  • Prohibition

  • Economic changes

• The Great Depression and the New Deal in Texas

  • Break from Democratic Party

  • Oil overproduction

  • “Ma” Ferguson and “Pappy” O’Daniel

Transitions to the 21st Century

• Desegregation

• Women’s Rights

• Presidential republicanism

• Texas today

  • Political culture

  • Three political subcultures

  • Based on immigration patterns

  • Diverse political culture

  • Eleven “nations,” four of which are in Texas

  • Texas legends are diverse

Tradition of Change

• Texas is founded on change

• Population growth since annexation

• Diversity also increasing

• Challenge to meet everyone’s needs

• Newcomers against residents

• Broad categories unreliable

• Economy is also diverse

• Income inequality

Winners and Losers

• Immigration defines Texas

• Tejanos and Anglos