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Texas
For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation).
Texas (IPA: /ˈtɛk.səs/) is a state located in the southern and southwestern regions of the United States of America. With an area of 261,797 square miles (678,051 km²) and a population of 23,507,783 (based on a 2006 U.S. census bureau estimate) in 254 counties, the state is second-largest in both area (behind Alaska) and population (behind California). About half the state's population resides in either the Dallas–Fort Worth or Houston metropolitan areas. [2] The state's name derives from táyshaʔ, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies". [3] [4] [5] Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and existed as the independent Republic of Texas for nearly a decade. In 1845, it joined the United States as the 28th state. Texas is internationally known for its energy and aeronautics industries, and for the ship channel at the Port of Houston—the largest in the U.S. in international commerce and the sixth-largest port in the world.[6] The state is home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the United States and has the second-largest economy in the United States, behind California.[7] [8] The Texas Medical Center in Houston contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions. [9]
HistoryIn addition to its own state flag, Texas boasts that "Six Flags" have flown over its soil: the national flags of Spain, the Fleur-de-lis of France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America.[10] American Indian tribes who once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Wichita, Hueco and the Karankawa of Galveston. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.[11] On 6 November 1528, shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European in Texas.[12] Most of Texas was immediately claimed by Spain (mostly western Texas) as part of the Spanish dominions of New Spain.[13] However, France took advantage of Spain's failure to settle the land and in 1685 established Fort St. Louis and claimed most of Texas. The first Spanish colonization did not come until a few years after Fort St. Louis, as Spain was spurred by France to enforce its claims. The French claim was inherited by the United States as they bought the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Spanish claim was later inherited by Mexico during the Mexican Revolution of 1821, setting the stage for the Mexican–American War. The French settlement was massacred by American Indians, and Spain only started sparse settlements, so most permanent settlements by Europeans didn't start until long after the first explorer arrived in 1521. In the 1800s, two main ethnic groups settled the land: Tejanos and eventually Anglo Americans. By 1830, the 30,000 Anglo settlers in Texas outnumbered the Tejanos two to one. Smaller numbers of Europeans also came. Moses Austin bought 200,000 acres (810 km²) of land of his choice, and moved to San Antonio in August of 1821.[14] His son, Stephen F. Austin, joined him. In 1821, Texas became part of the newly independent Republic of Mexico and, in 1824, became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas. On 3 January 1823, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 300 Anglo American families known as the "Old Three Hundred" along the Brazos River, after Austin was authorized to do so by Governor Antonio María Martínez and then successive Mexican officials as Mexico went through tumultuous political regime changes. Austin soon organized even more groups of immigrants, with authorization from the Mexican government. Meanwhile, more Tejanos were also settling in Texas, and as Antonio Menchaca writes in "Memoirs" in 1907, many Tejanos were already desirous of joining the United States. Tejanos were mostly full-blooded Spanish immigrants, few partly or entirely of American Indian heritage as most Mexicans south of the Rio Grande were. The "Conventions" of 1832 and 1833 were a response to rising unrest at the policies of the ruling Mexican government, which included the end of duty free imports from the United States and the potential end to the special allowance for slavery in the state. Slavery had been abolished in Mexico with the independence.[14] Spain's policy of allowing only full-blooded Spaniards to settle Texas also ended with independence. In 1835, Antonio López de Santa Anna, President of Mexico, proclaimed a unified constitution for all Mexican territories, including Texas.[14] The new Constitution ended the republic and the federation, imposed a central style of government with power concentrated in the President, and turned states into provinces with governors appointed from Mexico City. Some states around Mexico rebelled against this imposition, including Chihuahua, Zacatecas and Yucatan. Texans were also irritated by other policies including the forcible disarmament of Texan settlers, and the expulsion of immigrants and legal land owners originally from the United States. The example of the Centralista forces' suppression of dissidents in Zacatecas also inspired fear of the Mexican government.[15] 
 On 2 March 1836, the Convention of 1836 signed a Declaration of Independence,[16] declaring Texas an independent nation.[17] On 21 April 1836, the Texans—led by General Sam Houston—won their independence when they defeated the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured and signed the Treaties of Velasco, which gave Texas firm boundaries; Mexico repudiated the treaties, considered Texas a breakaway province, and vowed to reconquer it. Later in 1836, the Texans adopted a constitution that formally legalized slavery in Texas. The Republic of Texas included the area of the present state of Texas, and additional unoccupied territory to the west and northwest.[15] Texans wanted annexation to the United States. Texas was fast-growing, but still poor and had great difficulty maintaining self-defense. Events such as the Dawson Massacre and two recaptures of Béxar in Texas of 1842 helped add momentum to the desire for statehood. [18]. However, American politics intruded; strong Northern opposition to adding another slave state blocked annexation until the election of 1844 was won on a pro-annexation platform by James K. Polk. On 29 December 1845, Texas was admitted to the U.S. as a constituent state of the Union.[19] The Mexican–American War followed, with decisive American victories.[20] Soon after, Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the cotton lands.[21] Just prior to the American Civil War, elected delegates met in convention and, in an act whose legality was later upheld by the Texas Legislature, authorized secession from the U.S. on 1 February 1861 by a thundering majority. Texas voters later overwhelmingly approved the measure in referendum, and the state was accepted as a charter member by the provisional government of the Confederate States of America on 1 March 1861.[22][3] Partly due to its distance from the front lines of the war, a major role for Texas was to supply hardy soldiers for Confederate forces (veterans of the Mexican–American War), especially in cavalry. Although Texan regiments fought in every major battle throughout the war, [23]
Texas was largely considered a "supply state" for the Confederate forces until mid-1863, when the Union capture of the Mississippi River made large movements of men or cattle impossible. The last battle of the Civil War was fought in Texas, at Palmito Ranch, on 12 May 1865, well after Lee's surrender on 9 April 1865 at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.[24] Texas descended into near-anarchy during the two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by Union General Gordon Granger, as Confederate forces demobilized or disbanded and government property passed into private hands through distribution or plunder.[25] Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on 19 June 1865 in Galveston by General Gordon Granger; nearly 1-1/2 years after the original announcement of 1 January 1863.[26] On 30 March 1870, although Texas did not meet all the requirements, the United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union.[27] The first major oil well in Texas was drilled at Spindletop, a little hill south of Beaumont, on the morning of 10 January 1901. Other oil fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, West Texas, and under the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting “Oil Boom” permanently transformed the economy of Texas.[28] Oil production eventually averaged three million barrels of oil per day at its peak in 1972.[29] The economy, which had experienced significant recovery since the American Civil War, was dealt a double blow by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. From 1950 through the 1960s, Texas modernized and dramatically expanded its system of higher education. Under the leadership of Governor John B. Connally, the state produced a long-range plan for higher education, a more rational distribution of resources, and a central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more efficiently. Because of these changes, Texas universities received federal funds for research and development during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.[30] GeographyThe geography of Texas spans a wide range of features and timelines. Texas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. It is in the south-central part of the United States of America. It is considered to form part of the U.S. South and also part of the U.S. Southwest. The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River all provide natural state lines where Texas borders Oklahoma on the north, Louisiana and Arkansas on the east, and New Mexico and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south. By residents, the state is generally divided into North Texas, East Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, and West Texas, but according to the Texas Almanac, Texas has four major physical regions: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and The Basin and Range Province. This is the difference between human geography and physical geography. Some regions of Texas are associated with the South more than with the Southwest (primarily East Texas, Central Texas, and North Texas), while other regions share more similarities with the Southwest (primarily far West Texas and South Texas). The upper Texas Panhandle and the South Plains parts of West Texas do not easily fit into either category. The former has much in common with the Midwestern United States, while the latter, originally settled primarily by anglo Southerners, yet with a notable Hispanic population, is somewhat of a blend of South and Southwest. The size of Texas prohibits easy categorization of the entire state wholly in any recognized region of the United States; geographic, economic, and even cultural diversity between regions of the state preclude treating Texas as a region in its own right.
GeologyTexas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. The continental crust here is a stable Mesoproterozoic craton which changes across a broad continental margin and transitional crust into true oceanic crust of the Gulf of Mexico. The oldest rocks in Texas date from the Mesoproterozoic and are about 1,600 million years old. These Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks underly most of the state, and are exposed in three places: Llano uplift, Van Horn, and the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso. This is overlain by mostly sedimentary rocks. The oldest sediments were deposited on the flanks of a rifted continental margin, or passive margin that developed during Cambrian time. This margin existed until Laurasia and Godwana collided in Pennsylvanian time to form Pangea. This is the buried crest of the Appalachian Mountains—Ouachita Mountains—Marathon Mountains zone of Pennsylvanian continental collision. This orogenic crest is today buried beneath the Dallas—Waco—Austin—San Antonio trend. During this time E. Texas was a region of high mountains and shallow seas covered W. Texas. The late Paleozoic mountains collapsed as rifting in Jurassic time began to open the Gulf of Mexico. Pangea began to break up in the Triassic but seafloor spreading to form the Gulf of Mexico occurred only in the mid and late Jurassic. The shoreline shifted again to the eastern margin of the state and the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf began to build out. Today there are 9 miles (14 km) to 12 miles (19 km) of sediments buried beneath the Texas continental shelf and a large proportion of remaining US Oil reserves are to be found here. At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely to form thick evaporite deposits of Jurassic age. These salt deposits have buoyantly risen up through the passive margin sediments to form salt diapirs, which are very common in East Texas and along the Gulf coast and offshore. East Texas outcrops consist of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments. These sediments contain important deposits of Eocenelignite which are increasingly used for generating electricity. Oil is found in the Mississippian ad Pennsylvanian sediments in the north, Permian sediments in the west, Cretaceous sediments in the east, and along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas continental shelf. Oligocene volcanic rocks are found in far west Texas, in the Big Bend area. A blanket of Miocene sediments known as the Ogallala formation in the western high plains region is an important aquifer. Texas has no active or dormant volcanoes and few earthquakes, being situated far from an active plate tectonic boundary. (The Big Bend area is the most seismically active; however, the area is sparsely populated and suffers minimal damages and injuries, and no known fatalities have been attributed to a Texas earthquake.) 
ClimateThe large size of the state of Texas and its location at the intersection of several climate zones gives the state highly variable weather. In general, though, there are three main climate zones: the humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) of the eastern half of Texas, the temperate semi-arid (Koppen BSk) steppe climate of the northwestern part, including the Panhandle, and the subtropical steppe climate (nearly an arid desert climate, Koppen BSh) of the southern parts of West Texas, particularly around El Paso. The Panhandle of the state is cooler in the winter than North Texas or the Gulf Coast. Different regions of Texas experience vastly different precipitation patterns: El Paso averages as little as 7.8 inches (198 mm) of rain per year while the average annual precipitation is 59 inches (1,499 mm) in Orange.[31] Moderate snowfall often falls in the winter months in the north. Maximum temperatures in the summer months average from the 80s °F (26 °C) in the mountains of West Texas and on Galveston Island to around 100 °F (38 °C) in the Rio Grande Valley. Nighttime summer temperatures range from the upper 50s °F (12 °C) in the West Texas mountains[32] to 80 °F (27 °C) in Galveston.[33] Thunderstorms are more common in the eastern and northern part of the state, although they are far from rare elsewhere in the state. Tornadoes are common in Texas, with the state averaging around 139 a year, more than any other state.[34] Tornadoes are most frequent in the northern and central western half of the state from April-July, although tornadoes can happen anywhere in the state at any time of year. Texas ranks first among the 50 states as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.[35] The state's annual carbon dioxide emissions are nearly 1.5 trillion pounds. Texas would be the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases if it were its own country, emitting more carbon dioxide than France, the United Kingdom, or Canada.[36][37]
Average lows and highs
Government and politicsThe Texas Constitution—adopted in 1876—is the second-oldest state constitution still in effect. As with many state constitutions, it explicitly provides for the separation of powers and incorporates its bill of rights directly into the text of the constitution (as Article I). The bill of rights is considerably lengthier and more detailed than the federal Bill of Rights, and includes some provisions unique to Texas. Political systemThe executive branch consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary of State. All of these positions are elected by the populace, with the exception of the Secretary of State, who is appointed by the Governor. The Comptroller decides if expected state income is sufficient to cover the proposed state budget. There are also many state agencies, and numerous boards and commissions. The Governor commands the state militia and can veto bills passed by the Legislature and call special sessions of the Legislature (this power is exclusive to the Governor and can be exercised as often as desired). The Governor also appoints members of various executive boards and fills judicial vacancies between elections. The Legislature of Texas is bicameral. The House of Representatives has 150 members, while the Senate has 31. The speaker of the house, currently Tom Craddick (R–Midland) leads the House, and the Lieutenant Governor (currently Republican David Dewhurst) leads the state Senate. The Legislature meets in regular session only once every two years. The Legislature cannot call itself into special session; only the Governor may call a special session, and may call as many sessions as often as desired. The judicial system of Texas has a reputation as one of the most complex in the United States, with many layers and many overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, which hears civil cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except in the case of some municipal benches, partisan elections choose all of the judges at all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies by appointment. 
Republican Rick Perry has served as Governor of Texas since December 2000, when George W. Bush vacated the office to assume the Presidency. Two Republicans represent Texas in the U.S. Senate: Kay Bailey Hutchison (since 1993) and John Cornyn (since 2003). Texas has 32 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives: 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats. There are 32 congressional districts in Texas, the second-most after California. Districts are usually drawn after the national census every 10 years. The Democratic Party held a monolithic political presence in Texas from the beginning of its statehood until the late 20th century. Like other ex-Confederate states, Texas harbored a deep resentment towards the Republican Party for their engineering of Reconstruction for years after the Civil War. Conservative Democrats held a virtual monopoly on elected offices in the state, but many began endorsing Republican presidential candidates as the national Democratic Party grew increasingly liberal. In 1978, the state elected its first Republican governor since Reconstruction. In 2003, Republicans achieved a majority in the state legislature for the first time. Today, the bulk of the Texan House delegation is Republican, and both U.S. Senators are Republican as well. No Democrat has been elected to a statewide office in Texas since 1994. The state's base of Democratic voters is comprised primarily of African-Americans, Hispanics, and urban voters, particularly in Austin. The Texas political atmosphere tends towards fiscal and social conservatism. Texas leads the country in the number of executions performed, and is one of the few states that permits the execution of a mentally retarded person. The state recently adopted a resolution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and a long-standing law making sodomy a criminal offense was overturned in 2003 only after the intervention of the Supreme Court. The state capital, Austin, is considered the state's liberal bastion (though liberals in Texas tend to prefer the term "populist"), though Austin's suburbs generally follow the conservatism of the state at large. Houston and Dallas are among the few urban areas that consistently vote Republican, however their metro areas themselves are very divided politcally. However, these cities tend to favor a more socially tolerant, pro-business brand of Republicanism. In Houston, the election of conservative commentator Dan Patrick to the State Senate in 2006 sparked an outcry from the city's moderate Republican establishment. Justice systemThe justice system in Texas has a strict sentencing for criminals. Texas leads the nation in executions by far, with 381 executions from 1976 to 2006. Only capital murder is eligible for the death penalty.[38] A bill making child rape a capital crime in some instances is currently under consideration.[39] Prior to 2005, the alternate sentence was life with the possibility of parole after 40 calendar years; a 2005 law change changed the alternate sentence to life without parole. Known for their role in the history of Texas law enforcement, the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety continue today to provide special law enforcement services to the state. Texas Game Wardens—law enforcement officers working for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department—are given the same amount of authority as any other law enforcement officer. It is a common myth that they are able to enter private property without a search warrant and search people or vehicles with no probable cause. Administrative divisions
Texas has a total of 254 counties—the most of any state. Each county is run by a commissioners’ court consisting of four elected commissioners and a county judge elected from all the voters of the county. County government is similar to the "weak" mayor-council system; the county judge has no veto authority, but votes along with the other commissioners. All county elections are partisan. Unlike other states, Texas does not allow for consolidated city-county governments, nor does it have a form of metropolitan government. Cities and counties are permitted to enter "interlocal agreements" to share services. Further, counties are not granted "home rule" status; their powers are strictly defined by state law and the Texas Constitution. Texas does not have townships—areas within a county are either incorporated or unincorporated. Incorporated areas are part of a city, though the city may contract with the county for needed services. Unincorporated areas are not part of a city; in these areas, the county has authority for law enforcement and road maintenance. Cities are classified as either "general law" or "home rule". A city may elect home rule status (draft an independent city charter) once it exceeds 5,000 population and the voters agree to home rule. Otherwise, it is classified as general law and has very limited powers. All municipal elections in Texas are nonpartisan. Once a city elects home rule status, it keeps that status even if the population later falls below 5,000.
EconomyIn 2006, Texas had a gross state product of $1.09 trillion[40], the second highest in the U.S. after California, after recently surpassing New York state.[41] Gross state product per capita as of 2005 was $42,975. Texas leads the nation in number of beef, which usually exceed 16 million head. Cotton is the leading crop and the state's second-most-valuable farm product. Texas also leads in national production of grain sorghum, watermelons, cabbages, and spinach. Wheat, corn, and other grains are also important. 
Texas' growth is often attributed to the availability of jobs, the low cost of housing (housing values in the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio areas, while generally rising, have not risen at the astronomical rates of other cities such as San Francisco), the lack of a personal state income tax, low taxation and limited regulation of business, a geographic location in the center of the country, limited government (the Texas Legislature meets only once every two years), favorable climate in many areas of the state, and vast, plentiful supplies of oil and natural gas. The known petroleum deposits of Texas are about 8 billion barrels, which makes up approximately one-third of the known U. S. supply. Texas has 4.6 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.[42] There are currently 33 billionaires residing in Texas today. Dallas has 11 billionaires, the most of any city in Texas. 
Texas remained largely rural until World War II, with cattle ranching, oil, and agriculture as its main industries. Cattle ranching (though important) was never Texas's chief industry – before the oil boom back to the period of the first Anglo settlers, the chief industry was cotton farming (as in most of the South). After World War II, Texas became increasingly industrialized. Its economy today relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, fuel processing, electric power, agriculture, and manufacturing. The major segment of the economy depends largely on the region involved – for example, the timber industry is a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
