Texas

The Lone Star State

Rupert N. Richardson, Cary D. Wintz, Angela Boswell, Adrian Anderson, Ernest Wallace

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000403763
• Edition: 11
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Now in its 11th edition, Texas: The Lone Star State offers a balanced, scholarly overview of the second largest state in the United States, spanning from prehistory to the twenty-first century.

Organized chronologically, this comprehensive survey introduces undergraduates to the varied history of Texas with an accessible narrative and over 100 illustrations and maps. This new edition broadens the discussion of postwar social and political dynamics within the state, including the development of key industries and changing demographics. Other new features include:

• 
  
  

• New maps reflecting county by county results for the most recent presidential elections

• 
  
  

• Expanded discussions on immigration and border security

• 
  
  

• The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas and a look to the future

• 
  
  

• Updated bibliographies to reflect the most recent scholarship

This textbook is essential reading for students of American history.

1 The Land and Its First People

The name Texas comes from Tejas, a Caddo word meaning “friends” or “allies.” Originally quite small, the shape and size of the land identified by the name changed many times until the Americans established the current state boundaries in 1850. As borders expanded, they encompassed increasingly diverse geographic environments. Today Texas is a land of contrast, a land of forests and plains, mountains and prairies, deserts and swamps.

Artifacts found at various points throughout the state indicate the presence of people in Texas perhaps 12,000 years ago or earlier. Over time, the lifestyles of these prehistoric people evolved, leading to a large variety of native cultures by the time Europeans and Africans arrived in the 1500s.

The Land

The distinctive shape that outlines Texas today developed slowly over several centuries. As finally adjusted in 1850, a large part of the border of the state consists of natural boundaries—three rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. The remainder of the boundaries consists of straight lines determined at one time or another by various treaties and agreements.

Within these boundaries are 268,596 square miles of territory, making Texas the second-largest state in the Union. One can travel nearly 800 miles in a straight line from east to west or north to south within its borders. The lands within these borders may be divided into five natural regions and further separated into geographic sections where wildlife, vegetation, soil, climate, and other resources are similar.

The largest natural region in Texas, the Coastal Plains begins on the eastern coast of the United States and extends into Mexico. Geographic sections within Texas in the region include the Piney Woods, the Post Oak Belt, the Blackland Prairie, the Gulf Coast Plain, and the South Texas Plain. The geographic section located in East Texas is known as the Piney Woods or by other names that emphasize the presence of the great, tall, stately pine trees. It is a country of forests and farmlands, of rolling hills and broad valleys. Although the original timber stand has long since been cut, replanting of forests has maintained a steady and valuable timber industry that, together with petroleum and agriculture, has made the area prosperous.

Before assuming the familiar shape of today, the boundaries of Texas changed many times. (1) For almost two centuries after the first Spanish explorations, Texas was simply a place, the land where the Hasinai lived. (2) Boundaries during the remainder of Spanish rule after Texas became a province changed on several occasions; the northern boundary was never clearly defined. At the largest stage, Texas extended from the Arroyo Hondo–Calcasieu rivers on the east to the Nueces on the west. (3) Boundaries during Mexican rule extended from the Sabine on the east to the Nueces on the west. The Red River formed the northern boundary. During the Republic, ambitious Texans claimed all of present Texas and parts of present-day New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming. Congress established the current boundaries in 1850.

Immediately to the west of the Piney Woods are two long bands of land extending from near the Red River to the vicinity of San Antonio. The first, a strip of sandy soils and post oak timber, is the geographic section known as the Post Oak Belt. Although it is primarily an agricultural area, light industry, commerce, and education have supported the growth of cities such as Tyler, Bryan, and College Station and a number of smaller towns. West of the Post Oak Belt lies one of the most heavily populated geographic sections of the state, the Blackland Prairie, sometimes associated with adjacent areas and known as the Central Texas Prairies. With rich, black soils, this was once the heart of cotton country, but today it is mostly devoted to grain and livestock. Most inhabitants, however, make their livelihood in commerce, transportation, military installations, manufacturing, health services, government, tourism, and other urban activities. Dallas, San Antonio and Austin (the latter two located partially in other geographic sections) are the largest cities, but there are ten or so cities of lesser but substantial size.

Texas contains a number of regions determined by geological makeup and the resultant physiographic forms. Grasses, timber, soils, and other natural resources have affected its history greatly.

The Gulf Coast Plain extends from the shore a little south of Corpus Christi to the Sabine River and inland for as much as 100 miles. Near the coast, the land is low and marshy, and there is much heavy soil with a great variety of vegetation. Due to petroleum, chemical manufacturing, and aerospace technology production, this region has seen the greatest industrial development since World War II. As a result, it has become one of the more populated areas of the state and now includes Houston and a host of smaller cities.

The South Texas (or Rio Grande) Plain forms roughly a triangle, bounded by a point near Corpus Christi and stretching westward by way of San Antonio to about Del Rio on the Rio Grande and southward to the Gulf. It is a rugged land, interspersed with fertile prairies. Petroleum production is important, but there is also considerable farming and ranching. A subsection of this plain is the lower Rio Grande Valley with warm temperatures and rich delta soils, allowing its rise to the greatest citrus and winter vegetable growing area. The Spanish and Mexican heritage of Texas is particularly evident in the people and cultures of the region. San Antonio, only partially located in the South Texas Plain, is the largest city, but there are a number of others, especially along the Rio Grande.

The natural region known as the North Central Plains contains three geographic sections: the Cross Timbers, the Grand Prairie, and the Rolling Plains. The Cross Timbers, which are actually two narrow belts of land that are sometimes sandy and often hilly, are located generally between Fort Worth and Abilene and extend from near the Red River southward to the vicinity of the Colorado River. A variety of oaks and other hardwood trees flourished on the land in its native state. Peanuts, vegetables, dairy products, and poultry are grown today on soils that range from belts of loose, blowing sand to black loams. Like most of the other regions in Texas, it contains some petroleum and coal deposits and at one time was the center of a major coal mining industry.

The Cross Timbers are separated, sometimes for a distance of almost 100 miles, by the Grand Prairie. The Grand Prairie extends south from near the Red River for more than 200 miles and contains one of the state’s major cities, Fort Worth. However, it is primarily an agricultural area where livestock production and farming provide support for a relatively small population.

The Rolling Plains includes the Abilene, Vernon, and Wichita Falls country. It is bounded on the east by the Cross Timbers and separated from the High Plains to the west by the Caprock, a prominent limestone escarpment. Some of the Rolling Plains terrain is highly eroded; other areas consist of spacious prairies. There is some petroleum production, but cattle-raising and agriculture—mainly cotton, wheat, and grain sorghum—is the foundation of the economy of most areas.

The Great Plains natural region is part of a large plain that extends from Mexico northward into Canada. The portion in Texas contains three geographic sections: the High Plains, the Edwards Plateau, and the Llano Basin. The High Plains, which extends southward to the vicinity of Midland and Odessa, was once an awesome sea of grass. Today, the area is mostly farmland, largely dependent on irrigation supplied by an underground aquifer. Ranching and petroleum production are important in the economy, and urban activities are found in a number of cities and towns, such as Amarillo and Lubbock.

The Edwards Plateau is a broken tableland, an extension of the Great Plains but eroded into rocky, hilly country. It is situated between the Rolling Plains and Cross Timbers on the north and the South Texas Plain on the south. In most places, the soil is too shallow for farming, but it supports a ranching economy that produces cattle, sheep, goats, wool, and mohair. The development of water reservoirs and the attractiveness of both the land and the climate have drawn a large number of people since the end of World War II. Located on the southern fringe of the region are portions of Austin and San Antonio.

The smallest geographic section of the state, the Llano Basin includes much of the area sometimes called the Hill Country. A favorite area of native peoples in earlier times, it was primarily a ranching country until tourism and recreation became major industries. A number of rivers, including the Colorado, Pedernales, Llano, and San Saba, and several lakes have turned a rugged, rocky land into a scenic, attractive one. The towns of the basin remain relatively small, but large cities such as Austin and San Antonio are nearby.

The Basin and Mountain natural region, lying mainly west of the Pecos River and sometimes called the Trans-Pecos, is the most diverse of the Texas regions. It is a country of deserts and mountains, of cold winters and hot summers, and of splendor and harshness. It is primarily livestock country, but there is a scattering of irrigated areas. There is some petroleum production, particularly natural gas, and from time to time, a number of mines have operated. Except for the area on the Rio Grande around El Paso, which accounts for most of the population, it was the last part of Texas to be settled by Europeans and their descendants. As is true of the South Texas Plain, the people and the cultures of the region often reflect their Spanish and Mexican heritage.

The Rivers

Although there are many streams, bayous, and creeks (altogether about 4,000) in Texas, there are only 14 major rivers. Most of these flow from the northwest to the south and east, and all but two empty into the Gulf of Mexico or other Texas rivers. In most instances, the Spanish named the rivers and mapped their courses. The rivers, which were very important in the lives of the native peoples, have continued to play a major role in the settlement of the land and the development of towns and cities.

Three rivers make up parts of the boundary of Texas. The Sabine (named after the Spanish word for “cypress”) forms a part of the eastern boundary of the state. The Red River begins in New Mexico, flows to the east, and forms a portion of the boundary between Oklahoma and Texas. The Rio Grande begins in Colorado, flows across New Mexico, and then forms the boundary between Texas and Mexico.

There are three major rivers whose locations are largely confined to East Texas. The Trinity, which begins near Dallas, travels in a relatively southern course to empty into Galveston Bay. The Neches, with its tributary, the Angelina, begins and travels through East Texas until it empties ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico. Used by steamboats for a time during the nineteenth century, today it forms a channel for seagoing ship traffic as far north as Beaumont. One of the shorter rivers, the San Jacinto flows into Galveston Bay, and in the story of nineteenth-century Texas, it is almost always associated with the battle that ended the Texas Revolution.

The rivers of Texas have influenced the land and people throughout the ages. Rivers have provided transportation but also posed problems for travelers. Rivers have guided the location of cities and affected the distribution of lands. Today three rivers form a part of the boundary of Texas; during Spanish and Mexican rule, two others, the San Antonio and the Nueces, provided boundary lines.

There are two major rivers that make their way from northwestern Texas southeastward through the center of the state to the Gulf of Mexico. The Brazos, which extends for 840 miles from near the edge of the High Plains, finally enters the Gulf of Mexico near present-day Freeport. The Brazos River Valley attracted many settlers during the period of Mexican rule and is associated with many of the events of the Texas Revolution. The Colorado begins in canyons cut into the edge of the High Plains and travels for about 600 miles before it enters Matagorda Bay. The river provided many of the favorite campgrounds of the Comanches and their allies.

Four rivers are located in the central and west central portion of the state and flow southeastward toward the Gulf. The Nueces, which begins in Edwards County, enters the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi. At one time, it formed a part of the western boundary of the Spanish province of Texas, and later it was a dividing point between Coahuila and Texas during the period of Mexican rule. The Guadalupe, which forms in Kerr County and flows some 250 miles before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, was the site of the first land battle of the Texas Revolution. Beginning in the midst of the modern city, the San Antonio River captured the in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• 1 The Land and Its First People
• 2 Spanish Texas: Exploration and Occupation, 1519–1763
• 3 Spanish Texas: The Last Years, 1763–1821
• 4 Mexican Texas
• 5 The Prelude to Revolution, 1826–1835
• 13 Cultural Conflict on the Frontier
• 14 The Populists and Progressives, 1890–1910
• 15 Life at the Turn of the Century
• 16 Crusades and Complacency, 1910–1930
• 17 The Great Depression and World War II, 1930–1945
• 18 Postwar Texas, 1945–1963
• 19 The Politics of an Urban Land, 1963–1995
• 20 Republican Texas, 1995–2020
• Index