Government 2 Exam 4

Angelina

"Angelina," the Christian name given at baptism to a Native American woman, was educated by Spanish friars at the Mission of San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande River. She spoke Spanish as well as several Indian languages, and served as a translator for Luis Juchereau de St. Denis during his travels in East Texas. In 1718 and 1719, Angelina served as translator for an expedition that founded the Alamo and the city of San Antonio de Bexar. She is the only woman to have a Texas river, county, and national forest named for her.

Travis Guard and Rifles

(a Texas militia named for Alamo defender William B. Travis, organized in 1840 to protect the state)

Commissioner of the General Land Office

- George P. Bush - R.

U. S. Representative, District 2

- Ted Poe - R.

Offices and corresponding duties of the Texas plural executive

-The Texas Constitution grants the governor very limited powers, and the powers that are retained in the office overwhelmingly emanate from statutory grants of power by the Texas legislature and informal political skills such as persuasion, charm, and charisma that may be possessed by the person holding the office. The governor has statutory or constitutional authority to appoint the secretary of state and fill offices left vacant due to death, retirement, or impeachment until an election can be held; to veto legislation passed by the state legislature subject to a two-thirds majority override vote by both chambers of the legislature; and, to call out the Texas National Guard when the Guard has not been federalized (called into service) by the President of the United States. Unlike the president, the Texas governor also has the power of line item veto over budget bills. If, for example, the governor wanted to approve all sections of a budget bill except for one that appropriates funds to construct a new building at Texas A&M University, the governor could use the power of line item veto to reject only that section of the bill that appropriates building funds for Texas A&M while leaving intact all other sections of the bill. A standard (non-line item) veto by the governor eliminates a bill in its entirety and is subject to a twothirds majority vote in both legislative chambers. Also unlike the national executive branch, the governor as well as all elected members of the Texas plural executive are not subject to term limits. State-level elected executives may continue to be reelected as long as the voters of Texas continue to choose them over their opponents. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, for example, began his tenure as governor in December 2000 when, as Lieutenant Governor, he assumed the office of Governor of Texas after Governor George W. Bush vacated the office to become President of the United States. Perry was subsequently elected governor in the 2002 elections and reelected in the 2006 and 2010 elections. Despite the lack of term limits and the power of line item veto, the governor has extremely limited discretionary authority over the personnel in the state's executive branch. All decisions by the governor to dismiss executive branch personnel must be approved by the Texas Senate unlike the sweeping power of the President of the United States to remove high-ranking executive officials without approval by the United States Senate. -The office of the lieutenant governor - not the governor - possesses the greatest amount of constitutional and statutory power in the Texas plural executive. The Texas Constitution establishes the office of lieutenant governor as part of the state executive branch; but, in order to keep the officeholder in check, the powers designated to the office are largely legislative rather than executive in nature. Two legislative powers held by the lieutenant governor deserve elaboration. First, state statutes empower the lieutenant governor to serve as the chair of the very powerful Legislative Budget Board (LBB). The LBB is responsible for preparing the state's legislative budget which is subsequently submitted to the state House and Senate for approval. Second, the Texas Constitution calls for the lieutenant governor to serve as President of the Texas Senate. You will recall in our studies of American government that the vice-president of the United States serves as president of the Senate; however, the legislative powers granted to the United States President of the Senate are extremely limited and consist almost exclusively of casting the tie-breaking vote in case of a tie vote in the Senate. The Texas lieutenant governor also has the power to break a tie vote; but, his or her role as President of the Texas Senate is much more expansive than that of the President of the United States Senate. As President of the Texas Senate, the lieutenant governor presides over the Senate in ways similar to those of the Speaker of the House presiding over the House of Representatives. The lieutenant governor has immense influence over the Texas legislature in his or her ability to select the chairs and members of all Senate committees and subcommittees. -The comptroller of public accounts also plays a critical role in the functioning of the state. The comptroller sets the state legislature's spending limit for the biennium, or twoyear legislative cycle. Unlike the United States Congress, the Texas legislature meets in regular session only once every other year in odd-numbered years; therefore, the budget set by the state comptroller must project and apply to a two-year rather than one-year legislative cycle. The comptroller's budgeted spending limit is important because it helps ensure the legislature does not spend more money than the state can afford. Unlike the United States Congress, the Texas legislature is constitutionally restricted by a balanced budget requirement meaning the legislature cannot enact appropriation bills without the existence or projected existence of state funds available to cover the cost of the appropriation. The three remaining elected offices in the Texas plural executive have less direct involvement with the legislature than do the governor, lieutenant governor, and comptroller, and primarily work to carry out and enforce state policies and administrative regulations. -The land commissioner, elected by the voters of Texas to four-year terms, manages all state-owned lands, mineral rights, assets, and income derived from Texas public lands. Managing Texas lands and their assets is no small task given that Texas holds land and mineral rights totaling nearly 13 million acres.1 Texas lands include vast properties in West Texas; the Gulf Coast region including beaches, bays, and all "submerged" lands 10.35 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico; and, acreage and timberlands in East Texas.2 The primary responsibility of the General Land Office is to lease public lands for the benefit of the Permanent School Fund, an endowment fund established in 1876 specifically designated to benefit Texas public education.3 The office also manages royalties derived from oil and gas production on state lands; is responsible for developing state environmental protection policies; and administers services for Texas veterans through public land income. -The agriculture commissioner, also elected to four-year terms, is responsible for regulating all fuel pumps, weights and measures, residential and commercial pesticide use and application, and organic agricultural products. The agriculture commissioner's office is also charged with protecting and advocating on behalf of the state's $106 billion agricultural sector, which comprises 10% of the Texas economy;4 overseeing healthy living initiatives such as national school lunch and breakfast programs; providing financial assistance to Texas farmers and ranchers; and offering infrastructure grants to rural communities.5 Occasionally, the agriculture commissioner is faced with politically charged issues such as recent approval by the Texas Department of Agriculture (headed by the agriculture commissioner) for private individuals and the state to use the poison warfarin to help control the state's estimated 2 million wild hogs.6 - The state attorney general, also elected by Texas voters to four-year terms, serves as legal counsel for the state. The Texas Constitution charges the attorney general with defending the laws and Constitution of Texas; representing the state in federal and state litigation; and approving public bond issues. Over time, nearly 2000 state statutes have greatly expanded the responsibilities of the office to include representation of the state's interests in cases involving health, safety, and consumer regulations; educational outreach programs; and protection of the elderly and disabled. The attorney general is also statutorily charged with collecting court-ordered child support and administering the state's Crime Victims' Compensation Fund. - The only non-elected member of the Texas plural executive in the secretary of state. The Texas secretary of state is appointed by the governor, confirmed by the state Senate, and is constitutionally charged with overseeing all elections in the state. While elections and voter registration are carried out by Texas county officials, the secretary of state is responsible for maintaining over 14 million voter registration records on behalf of the state as well as administering and enforcing the Texas Election Code that regulates Texas voters, elections, voting systems, candidates, and political parties.8 Additionally, the Business and Public Filings Division of the Office of Secretary of State maintains filings and records related to Texas corporations and public organizations, and publishes the weekly Texas Register which publicizes official state rules, meetings, opinions, and proclamations.9 The responsibilities and functions of the Texas secretary of state have historically held no resemblance to the United States secretary of state in terms of the latter's role as senior official to the president in matters concerning foreign policy. More recently, however, the role of the Texas secretary of state has been extended into the realm of foreign policy through executive orders issued by the Governor of Texas. Today, the appointed secretary of state serves as the governor's lead liaison for Texas Border and Mexican Affairs and chief international protocol officer of the state. As chief international protocol officer, the secretary of state receives international dignitaries and delegations on behalf of the governor and represents the governor at meetings and events attended by the international diplomatic corps.

unicameral legislature

A legislature with only one legislative chamber, as opposed to a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature, such as the U.S. Congress.

County Commissioners' Courts

All Texas counties are divided into four precincts14 with one county commissioner elected from the voters of each precinct and a county judge elected at‐large by the voters of the entire county. The county commissioners and the county judge serve together on the county commissioners' court, with the county judge presiding over the constitutional county court. County commissioners' courts in Texas have some judicial power as outlined in Figure 3 below; but, since the state of Texas allows county governments a large degree of discretion over the duties and responsibilities their county governments hold and well as the ability to delegate power among county offices, the scope of judicial authority held by county commissioners' courts and county judges ranges considerably from county to county. In more rural counties, for example, the commissioners' court and county judge continue to exercise a wide range of constitutional and statutory judicial authority; however, in more populous Texas counties, constitutional county courts and the county judge devote the vast majority of their time to running the day‐to‐day business of county government. At least 74 Texas counties have delegated, in whole or in part, the judicial duties of the county commissioners' court and county judge to statutory county courts in order to allow the constitutional courts time to perform the executive and legislative functions of the county

county judge

All Texas counties are divided into four precincts14 with one county commissioner elected from the voters of each precinct and a county judge elected at‐large by the voters of the entire county. The county commissioners and the county judge serve together on the county commissioners' court, with the county judge presiding over the constitutional county court. County commissioners' courts in Texas have some judicial power as outlined in Figure 3 below; but, since the state of Texas allows county governments a large degree of discretion over the duties and responsibilities their county governments hold and well as the ability to delegate power among county offices, the scope of judicial authority held by county commissioners' courts and county judges ranges considerably from county to county. In more rural counties, for example, the commissioners' court and county judge continue to exercise a wide range of constitutional and statutory judicial authority; however, in more populous Texas counties, constitutional county courts and the county judge devote the vast majority of their time to running the day‐to‐day business of county government. At least 74 Texas counties have delegated, in whole or in part, the judicial duties of the county commissioners' court and county judge to statutory county courts in order to allow the constitutional courts time to perform the executive and legislative functions of the county.15 The main responsibilities of the county judges in these counties are to preside over the commissioners' court and serve as the county's chief administrator, and the primary tasks of the county commissioners' courts are to oversee the construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges and set the county budget and tax rate.16 If we consider the most popular form of city government in Texas - the council‐manager form, outlined in Chapter 4 - we can deduce that in many Texas counties the executive and legislative roles of the constitutional county commissioners' court are similar to those performed by the city council for the city, and the role of the county judge as presiding officer over the county commissioners' courts is similar to that of the mayor presiding over the city council.

Jean Lafitte

Although France officially abandoned its claims to Texas in 1762 with the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, settlement attempts continued to be made by French individuals such as the pirate Jean Laffite who in 1817 set up a "republic" on Galveston Island as a base from which to conduct smuggling and privateering activities. Jean Lafitte was born in Bayonne, France, to a French father and a Spanish mother. The family migrated from France to the island of Hispaniola but then fled during a rebellion on the island. Jean and his brother, Pierre, arrived in New Orleans around 1804, and by 1808 were heavily involved in the smuggling trade. The brothers held shares in many privateers that sailed the Gulf and the Caribbean, and the privateers brought their prizes to the Lafitte brothers at Barataria, a village on the outskirts of New Orleans in present-day Jefferson Parish. The British asked Lafitte for his help during the War of 1812, but he rejected the offer and sided with the United States in hopes of gaining a pardon for his illegal activities. He supplied the United States with men, weapons, and his knowledge of the region to help secure Andrew Jackson an overwhelming victory at the Battle of New Orleans (1814-1815). Lafitte was not the only "scallywag" involved in Jackson's war. Using court records, vessel registries, and letters of marque, the National Archives at Atlanta recently documented over 200 cases of privateering and its accompanying "prizes of war" during the War of 1812. Schemers in New Orleans led by Louis Michel Aury sought to open a port on the Texas coast that would serve as a haven for privateers and a base for an attack against Texas. Aury arrived in Galveston in July 1816, and was joined by the Mexican rebel José Manuel de Herrera on a mission to constitute Galveston as a puerto habilitado of the Mexican republic. In the meantime, Jean Laffite was sent to Galveston as an agent in the Spanish secret service. There, Lafitte organized a government for Galveston and swore its allegiance to Mexico. In a plot to capture Aury, Laffite's brother succeeded in causing so many of Aury's men to desert that Aury left the island. Laffite secured the island republic in September 1817, and made it a center for smuggling and privateering. The brothers made quite a team with the more adventurous and conniving Jean handling the matters of their privateering business and the more capable Pierre managing intrigues with Spanish officials and the brothers' business arrangements in New Orleans. The Laffites abandoned Galveston in May 1820 and sailed to Isla Mujeres, off the coast of Yucatán. There, Jean continued his illegal activities. He died around 1825.

Gutierrez-Magee Expedition

Among the individuals ready to take up arms and lay claim to the land were the Mexican revolutionary Bernardo Gutierrez and U. S. Army officer Augustus Magee. In 1812, the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition led a filibustering campaign to liberate Texas from Spanish rule. The expedition first assembled near Natchitoches, Louisiana. Armed with a militia of about 130 men, the expedition crossed the Sabine River, entered Nacogdoches, and continued to travel into present-day central Texas. After successfully seizing Presido La Bahia (near present-day Goliad), the expedition grew to a force of about 800 men and surged west into San Antonio. On March 29, 1813, the revolutionaries defeated a Spanish royalist army in the Battle of Rosillo. The battle was followed by a rapid series of bungled plots, allegiances, and alliances, and the Spanish army firmly defeated the revolutionaries five months later in the Battle of Medina. Among those fighting for Spain in both the Battle of Rosillo and the Battle of Medina was a young Spanish lieutenant named Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Santa Anna was cited for bravery at the Battle of Medina and quickly rose through the ranks of the Spanish army. The Gutierrez-Magee Expedition lasted only about a year but it reinforced the idea that complete peace in Texas could not be restored.

Baron de Bastrop

Bastrop, a native of Louisiana (but probably born in Holland),24 had since settled in San Antonio and gained significant prestige among the city's residents and Spanish officials. When Bastrop heard the enthusiasm with which Austin spoke of his colonization plan, he worked on Austin's behalf to secure permission for him to establish the colony.

State Senator, District 4:

Brandon Creighton - R.

Battle of San Jacinto

By the time the new constitution was written, Sam Houston had gathered some 900 Texan soldiers and again met up with Santa Anna's troops (numbering around 1,250) at The Battle of San Jacinto near present-day Houston. Spurred on by cries of "Remember the Alamo!" the Texan forces defeated Santa Anna's army on April 21, 1836, and with the capture of the general ensured Texas independence. The next day, Santa Anna issued orders for all Mexican troops to pull back behind the Rio Grande River, and on May 14, 1836, Texas officially became an independent republic.29 As word of the Battle of San Jacinto and Texas independence spread, refugees of the Runaway Scrape began to turn back toward home only to find their homes no longer existed.

Cinco de Mayo

Contrary to the popular belief of many Texas, the Mexican and Mexican-Texan holiday Cinco de Mayo does not mark Mexican independence from Spain (achieved on August 21st, not May 5th). Cinco de Mayo marks the day of the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla fought during the French-Mexican War. The year was 1862. The United States was embroiled in the American Civil War, and the country of Mexico was in financial ruin. Mexican President Benito Juarez was forced to default on his country's debts to European governments, and France decided to use the opportunity to expand its empire into Mexico. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet (consisting of approximately 6,000 French soldiers) arrived in Veracruz and set out to attack Puebla de Los Angles, a small town in east-central Mexico. President Juarez set up new headquarters in northern Mexico and rounded up a "rag-tag force" of about 2,000 loyal men to go to Puebla to take on the French.8 Led by Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza (whose birthplace home still stands at the Presidio de La Bahia just outside of Goliad), the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (Cinco de Mayo). The battle itself was not a major strategic victory in the overall war; however, it did symbolize Mexico's ability to defend its sovereignty against the powerful French army under the rule of Napoleon III, and served to tighten Mexican resistance against the French.9 Six years later, the French army withdrew from Mexico in 1867.10 Cinco de Mayo is a huge celebration in Texas because General Zaragoza was born in the state, and in 1999 the Texas Senate declared Goliad the official state annual celebration11 The holiday became a nationally celebrated event in the 1960s when Mexican American activists transformed the day into a commemoration of Mexican culture, heritage, and pride in their community.12 Today, extremely large Cinco de Mayo celebrations are held in Los Angeles, Denver, St. Paul, and in Waterfront Park in Portland and Douglas Park in Chicago.13 The day is, however, a rather minor holiday in Mexico and has never been declared a national holiday. Celebrations are largely confined to the Mexican states of Puebla and Veracruz with Cinco de Mayo celebrations that include military reenactments of the Battle of Puebla.

Clinton v. City of New York

Court found the line-item veto to be unconstitutional as a violation of the Presentment Clause of the Constitution which describes what the president can do when a bill comes forth from congress.

State Representative, District 21:

Dade Phelan - R.

Lieutenant Governor:

Dan Patrick - R.

Don Antonio Gil Y'Barbo

During the Adaesenos' stay in San Antonio, Don Antonio Gil Y'Barbo emerged as the group's most influential member and soon caught the attention of Spanish Governor Domingo Cabello. Y'Barbo, born and raised at Presidio Los Adaes, had followed in his father's footsteps and served as a member of the Spanish military at the presidio.72 During his many years at Los Adaes, Y'Barbo had forged close commercial and social relationships with both the local Caddo Indians and the French at the Natchitoches

Chief Quanah Parker

Early in the morning of June 27, 1874, a combined force of some 700 Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho warriors led by Comanche Chief Quanah Parker attacked the buffalo camp. There were only 28 Anglo men - including William Barclay "Bat" Masterson and William "Billy" Dixon - at the camp at the time of the attack; but, the Indian warriors were virtually defenseless against the hunters' superior weapons. An estimated 70 Indians were killed and Chief Parker was wounded.38 The Second Battle of Adobe Walls was a crushing defeat for the Indians, but they nonetheless continued to raid in desperate and final attempts to retain their ancestral and spiritual homelands. The Red River War (1874-75) marked the final chapter in the centuries-long history of Native American sovereignty in Texas. On June 2, 1875, the Comanche Indians and Chief Parker surrendered at Fort Sill (near present-day Lawton, Oklahoma)

Edmund "E.J." Davis

Edmund "E.J." Davis, a Reconstruction Republican and former Union general, was named governor of the state. Texans despised Davis, who used the newly expanded powers of the governor to preside over what many perceived to be a corrupt, extravagant administration.

Emily West

Emily West is better known as the "Yellow Rose of Texas." While much of the history of Emily West is shrouded in myth and legend, she is thought to have been an orphan who came to Texas from New York in 1835 with Colonel and Mrs. James Morgan. In Texas, she fell in love with a black man, a musician, thought to be a runaway slave. Bounty hunters and the pressures of the fast-approaching war for independence from Mexico interrupted their relationship. Not only was her relationship destroyed by the encroaching war - the plantation on which Emily worked was in the direct path of Mexican soldiers marching to fight General Sam Houston at San Jacinto. The soldiers burned most of the planation and killed several of its inhabitants; but General Santa Anna discovered Emily and ordered she saved and held captive. Anita Richmond Bunkley, author of Emily, The Yellow Rose (1989) recreates and resituates in her novel the presumed incidents, overtones and undertones of race that spawned the fame of the Yellow Rose32 and historians have verified at least some of the incidents surrounding the legend.33 Emily was said to have been a beautiful woman of mixed African-Caucasian blood, a race that was both legally and popularly referred to at the time as "mulatto," or, in the South, "yellow." While being held captive by Santa Anna, Emily supposedly sent word to General Sam Houston about Santa Anna's whereabouts and then "entertained" Santa Anna as Houston's troops swooped in and captured San Jacinto. The Mexican army was caught completely by surprise, and reports at the time assert that Santa Anna was literally caught "running away from the battle with his studded silk shirt opened and concealed under a dead soldier's blue smock - hurriedly put on during his attempted escape".34 Emily survived the battle and made her way to New Washington where Colonel Morgan was residing. Morgan was "so impressed with Emily's heroism that he repealed her indenture and gave her a passport back to New York - the final chapter of which we have no record."35 The unknown black musician from whom Emily was separated just before the Battle of San Jacinto is said to have composed the song "The Yellow Rose of Texas" sometime just before or after the battle. It was first published in 1858.36

Treaty of Cordoba

Ended Spanish rule in Mexico and made Mexico an independent nation.

William P. Hobby

Ferguson's successor, Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby, was friendly toward woman suffrage and entered into a deal with the suffragettes: If the Texas Equal Suffrage Association would support his candidacy for governor for a full term (he was at the time serving out the remainder of "Pa" Ferguson's unexpired term), he would ensure women the right to vote in the state. Hobby first pushed for women to gain the right to vote in the state primary - a measure that was adopted by the Democratic Party in 1918. And, when the Texas legislature convened in January 1919, Hobby sent a message recommending that the Texas Constitution be amended to extend full suffrage to women. The amendment passed, and an amazing number of women - 386,000 - quickly registered to vote.76 Hobby won the governorship by 80 percent of the total vote.

Battle of Medina

Fought on August 18, 1813 along the Medina River south of San Antonio between the republican forces of the Gutierrez-Magee expedition and the Spanish Royal army.

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Governor:

Greg Abbott - R.

"Grito de Delores"

Hidalgo then led a militia from the city of Delores, where his church was located, to Mexico City, leaving a bloodbath in his wake. When the militia was defeated at Calderon in 1811, Hidalgo fled north to Chihuahua and was captured and executed by firing squad. Militia members quickly assumed the helm, and rebellion continued throughout the cities and countryside of Mexico. Armies of indigenous and racially mixed revolutionaries fought against the Spanish royalists for the next decade as the "Grito de Delores" spurred on the Mexican War of Independence.

Abode Walls

Hutchinson County is the site of Adobe Walls, the name given to a couple of trading posts built by Anglo settlers around 1843.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

In 1845, the United States Congress approved a resolution that would bring Texas into the union. President Polk signed the act that made Texas the 28th state in 1845, and the raising of the fifth Texas flag - the flag of the United States - resulted in war. Lasting from 1846 -1848, the Mexican-American War ended in a decisive victory for the United States. The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, along with the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, resulted in the United States gaining not only Texas but also northern parts of Mexico that would later become part of Arizona and New Mexico, thus allowing the United States a significant land mass upon which to build a southern transcontinental railroad.

Constitution of 1845

In 1845, the United States Congress approved a resolution that would bring Texas into the union. President Polk signed the act that made Texas the 28th state in 1845, and the raising of the fifth Texas flag - the flag of the United States - resulted in war. Lasting from 1846 -1848, the Mexican-American War ended in a decisive victory for the United States. The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, along with the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, resulted in the United States gaining not only Texas but also northern parts of Mexico that would later become part of Arizona and New Mexico, thus allowing the United States a significant land mass upon which to build a southern transcontinental railroad. On July 4, a convention was called to draft a new state constitution. The Constitution of 1845 contained important features such as a bicameral legislature, a governor and lieutenant governor, and a supreme court composed of three judges. The constitution also contained a provision that the state could divide into as many as five states if it chose to do so. The Constitution of 1845 stayed in effect until 1861 when Texas seceded from the union to join the Confederacy.

women's suffrage movement

In 1919, Minnie Fisher Cunningham, president of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association (which became the League of Women Voters), wrote that suffrage passed in Texas due to "intra-party competition, the need for something to trade, and a leader politically shrewd enough to recognize it." 74 During the 1915 and 1917 legislative sessions, the governor of Texas was James "Pa" Ferguson, an inexorable opponent of woman suffrage. When dissatisfaction with Ferguson's conduct in office grew into a movement to impeach him, the suffragists and many others rose up against Ferguson and he was impeached in the summer of 1917.75 Ferguson's successor, Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby, was friendly toward woman suffrage and entered into a deal with the suffragettes: If the Texas Equal Suffrage Association would support his candidacy for governor for a full term (he was at the time serving out the remainder of "Pa" Ferguson's unexpired term), he would ensure women the right to vote in the state. Hobby first pushed for women to gain the right to vote in the state primary - a measure that was adopted by the Democratic Party in 1918. And, when the Texas legislature convened in January 1919, Hobby sent a message recommending that the Texas Constitution be amended to extend full suffrage to women. The amendment passed, and an amazing number of women - 386,000 - quickly registered to vote.76 Hobby won the governorship by 80 percent of the total vote.77 The following month, June 1919, the federal women's suffrage amendment was submitted to the states. The Texas House convened in special session on June 23 and adopted the resolution, and the Senate quickly followed suit on June 28.78 The 19th Amendment ensuring women the national constitutional right to vote was formally ratified on August 26, 1920.

Indianola

Indianola, originally named "Indian Point," was founded on Matagorda Bay in present-day Calhoun County in August 1846 by the commissioner general of the Adelsverein as the landing place for German immigrants bound for western Texas under the sponsorship of the Society. Indianola played a crucial role in the early history of Texas. It served as the chief port through which European and American immigrants flowed into western Texas; was an essential deep-water port during the Mexican War; served as an army supply depot to frontier forts in western Texas; was the terminus for Charles Morgan's New York-based steamship line; was the beginning point of a military road that led to San Antonio, Austin, and Chihuahua; and was the landing place of the "camel experiment" (1855-1863) designed to transport military supplies into the American southwest. Indianola was second only to Galveston as the largest port in Texas until a catastrophic hurricane hit the port in 1875. The town was again hit by a hurricane in 1886, and by 1887 the site had been abandoned. Indianola is now a ghost town marked only by a historical marker commissioned by the Texas Historical Commission.

Jane Wilkinson Long

Jane Long, the wife of James Long (the Long Expedition), traveled from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nacogdoches with her two children and Kian, a slave girl (whose birth name, birthdate, and family are unknown). The group then traveled from Nacogdoches to Point Bolivar to join Jane's husband at his military fort. They arrived at Point Bolivar in 1821. Soon after their arrival on Bolivar, Long left his pregnant wife, their surviving daughter (one child died alone the way), and 12-year-old Kian on the peninsula to continue his military activities. The three females remained at Point Bolivar - alone - after all others had left, and together they survived a severe winter with little food or protection. Jane gave birth in the deep cold of December with only young Kian to assist in the delivery. Somehow, Kian was able to find enough food to keep the women alive In 1822, Jane received word that her husband had died, and when the child she had delivered with Kian's help also died, Jane, her surviving daughter (Ann), and Kian left Point Bolivar and travelled to San Antonio, then back to Natchez, then back to Texas. In 1827, Jane became a member of Austin's Colony and received land in present-day Waller County. Together the women opened a boarding house near present-day Brazoria, and Jane subsequently secured another tract of land near present-day Richmond. There, Jane and Kian (Ann had since married) developed a plantation, raised cattle, and grew cotton. Jane Long thereby became one of Texas' first Anglo women business entrepreneurs. It is reported that Jane Long was courted by Texas patriots Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Ben Milam. Her life might have been made "more comfortable" by marriage given the harsh Texas climate of the 1830s; however, she refused to "settle" and some historical accounts claim Long broke Milam's heart because she refused to remarry. Kian remained with Jane after emancipation and upon her death (date unknown), Kian's granddaughter, also named Kian, came to live with Jane. Jane died in 1880. Kian's descendants were reported in the 1900 U.S. Census to be living in the Richmond area but no subsequent accounts are recorded.

County Judge, Jefferson County, TX:

Jeff Branick, R.

U. S. Senators from Texas:

John Cornyn - R./Ted Cruz - R.

justice of the peace courts

Justice of the peace courts have original jurisdiction over minor misdemeanor criminal offenses and minor civil matters including small claims; may issue search or arrest warrants; and may serve as the coroner in counties where there is no provision for a medical examiner. The Texas Constitution requires each county in Texas to establish between one and eight justice of the peace precincts depending upon the population of the county.22

Attorney General:

Ken Paxton - R.

Los Adaes

Los Adaes, located near present-day Robeline, Louisiana, included both a mission (founded in 1717) and a presidio (established in 1721). It was the easternmost establishment in Spanish Texas for more than half a century. The original purpose of Los Adaes was to block the French from encroaching into Spain's southwestern lands. The major trail west, the El Camino Real, was barely a footpath at the time, and the mission's remote location in east Texas (now Louisiana) was isolated and far removed from the centers of Spanish government emerging in San Antonio de Bexar and La Bahia (Goliad). Out of necessity, the inhabitants of Los Adaes turned to the French at nearby Natchitoches, Louisiana, on the Red River, for food supplies. Despite trade prohibitions by Spanish authorities, the Spanish Adaesenos, the Louisiana French, and the friendly local Caddo-speaking Indians, the Adaes (for whom the mission was named), developed a system of commerce, trade, and friendship.70 When possession of French Louisiana was transferred to Spain in 1762 (the Treaty of Fontainebleau), the Spanish crown ordered the inhabitants of Los Adaes (estimated at 500) to abandon the site and move to San Antonio.71 Those who survived the long and treacherous trip to San Antonio found the city did not suit their frontier sensibilities, and they sought permission to leave the city and return to East Texas. During the Adaesenos' stay in San Antonio, Don Antonio Gil Y'Barbo emerged as the group's most influential member and soon caught the attention of Spanish Governor Domingo Cabello. Y'Barbo, born and raised at Presidio Los Adaes, had followed in his father's footsteps and served as a member of the Spanish military at the presidio.72 During his many years at Los Adaes, Y'Barbo had forged close commercial and social relationships with both the local Caddo Indians and the French at the Natchitoches.73 Governor Cabello's attention in Y'Barbo grew when the governor received a personal visit from a group of five Tejas Caddo Indians who traveled from East Texas to San Antonio de Bexar to express their concerns about the future of the Adaesenos. Clearly, the governor figured, Y'Barbo was well respected by the "Nations of the Tejas"74 and his respect could be used to further Spanish alliances with Native Americans in East Texas. The Governor named Y'Barbo principal trader and Indian agent to the Louisiana-Texas borderlands,75 and the Adaesenos left San Antonio. Stopping along the Old San Antonio Road (in current Madison County), an epidemic and subsequent Comanche raid ravaged their new settlement, and the surviving Adaesenos again began moving north and east.

Maria Gertrudis Perez

María Gertrudis Pérez, a descendent of the Canary Island immigrants who formed the core of the first organized civil government in Texas in the 18th Century, was born in 1790 in the family homestead at the Royal Presidio of San Antonio de Béxar. When she was 14, her family, which had a long history in ranching and the military, bought the Spanish Governor's Palace and made it not only their home, but a center for military and social activity.At 24, she married Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, an experienced military commander nearly 40 years her senior and the Governor of Coahuila. For the nine years of their marriage, he was often gone, commanding western provinces. María, considered an equal to men in the inheritance, administration, buying, and selling of property, took over her husband's duties in his absence, including reviewing the troops in Military Plaza, on horseback, dressed in an embroidered military jacket. She became known as La Brigaviella (or "the Brigadier-General").After her husband died, she married a wealthy Italian, José Cassiano. She died in 1832, and in her will refused to leave any money for "pious works," allegedly to ensure that her assets would not fall into the hands of the Mexican government. Her husband, declaring that it would have been her desire, donated money to public charities and school funds.

Daniel J. Elazar

Most political scientists refer to Daniel J. Elazar's typology for describing Texas political culture.44 Elazar describes political subcultures in the United States as moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic, and provides an excellent framework for understanding Texas political culture and, hence, the Texas Constitution.

Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice:

Nathan Hecht - R.

General Order No. 3

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, which read in part: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."

"Juneteenth"

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, which read in part: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."16 News of emancipation traveled slowly to Texas, and by the time General Order No. 3 was announced, the "Executive" to whom Granger was referring, President Abraham Lincoln, was dead. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was well on its way to ratification and the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the Confederacy (at least on paper) had taken effect two-and-a-half years prior to the announcement of the Order in Texas.17 Despite its long delayed arrival, the General Order No. 3 by no means signaled the instant freedom of most of the Lone Star State's 250,000 slaves. Planation masters decided when and how to announce freedom to their slaves and it was not uncommon for them to delay the news until after the harvest. In Galveston, the ex-Confederate mayor flouted the Army by forcing freed people back to work,18 and terror and violence toward blacks followed the announcement of the order. Freed black men and women in Texas nonetheless transformed June 19th from a date marking the announcement of an unheeded military order into a day of celebration described as "one of the most inspiring grassroots efforts of the post-Civil War period."19 The first "Juneteenth" celebration was held in 1866 - exactly one year after the announcement of Order No. 3 in Texas20 - and a larger celebration was held in Austin the following year.21 Ex-slaves in many parts of Texas purchased land, or "emancipation grounds," specifically for the purpose of holding Juneteenth gatherings. Some of the originally purchased property still serve as gathering places for Juneteenth celebrations including Emancipation Park in Houston (purchased in 1872), Comanche Crossing - now known as Booker T. Washington Park - in Mexia (purchased 1898); and Emancipation Park in East Austin (purchased in 1907). The celebration of Juneteenth spread from Texas to the neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and then to Alabama, Florida, and California as African-American Texans migrated after emancipation.22 Today, Juneteenth celebrations are held in most, if not all, 50 states, and almost all states now have some form of legislation or declaration establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday or day of recognition.23

Long Expedition

On June 8, 1819, a group of 120 Anglo fighters led by Eli Harris crossed the Sabine River and traveled on to Nacogdoches to meet up with James Long, a Natchez, Mississippi merchant and doctor. The troops established a provisional government, or "Supreme Council", in Nacogdoches, and declared Long its chief. The Council then proclaimed Galveston a port of entry; authorized the construction of a fort at Point Bolivar; and declared Jean Laffite governor of the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island. By July, Long had enlisted more than 300 men under his command and appealed to Laffite for assistance. When both Laffite and the Supreme Council in Nacogdoches failed to deliver aid, Long fled to Point Bolivar where he established his headquarters and attempted to reorganize his forces. Spain quickly called out troops to put down the Long Expedition, and Long and fifty-two men left Point Bolivar and traveled inland in hopes of capturing La Bahia. At La Bahia, Spanish forces soundly defeated the expedition and Long was taken prisoner, sent to Mexico City, and later shot and killed by a prison guard.

Ann Richards

Richards, the first female governor to serve the state since Miriam Ferguson, was well-known for her wry wit, feisty demeanor, and independent spirit. She significantly increased the role of minorities and women in state government; added African-American and women to the state law enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers; and improved the Texas prison system. She was defeated in her second bid for governor by George W. Bush in 1994.

San Fernando de Bexar

Settlement near the San Antonio de Bexar presidio that became San Antonio and had the first civil government in Texas.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge:

Sharon Keller - R.

Fletcher v. Peck

Supreme Court case which protected property rights and asserted the right to invalidate state laws in conflict with the Constitution

Battle of Gonzales

Texans fought to keep a cannon that the Mexican troops were trying to take, first battle of the texas revolution

Texas political culture

Texas political culture can be understood as an amplification of American political culture. Most political scientists refer to Daniel J. Elazar's typology for describing Texas political culture.44 Elazar describes political subcultures in the United States as moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic, and provides an excellent framework for understanding Texas political culture and, hence, the Texas Constitution. Elazar's description of a moralistic subculture holds that government is a positive force for promoting the "public good or the well-being of the community."45 While Texas political culture is currently moralistic in terms of embracing social conservativism (meaning generally against abortion, gay marriage, medicinal marijuana, and gun control, and in favor of school prayer), it tends not to reflect the moralistic subculture belief that government is positive force in achieving a common good. Most Texans are classical republicans in the sense that an ideal government is one that governs least. Limited government is central to Texas political culture and underlies the individualistic and traditionalistic political cultures that mark the state's ideology. As we will see in our study of the current Texas Constitution and Texas government, the Texas Constitution reflects both the past and present state political culture by creating divisions upon divisions of governmental power. Dividing governmental power, as James Madison reminds us in his discussion of the "auxillary precautions" separation of powers and federalism,46 limits human inclinations toward ambition and self-interestedness, and preserves liberty. "If men were angels," Madison writes, "no government would be necessary."47 Limited government is intertwined with a sense of rugged individualism that pierces Texas political culture. Individualism holds that government should benefit the individual and therefore (again) kept to a strict minimum. In Texas political culture, individualism strongly relates to a free market and a sense of capitalist economic expression. The individual, most Texans hold, should be free to express herself or himself in the marketplace, or in the church or statehouse, as she or he sees fit, without government interference. Texans are, indeed, a 'giving people' and in 2013 the state ranked 13th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of charitable donations.48 But, Texas political culture holds that giving back to the community or to a person or group is a matter of individual choice rather than government dictate about where, or how, or how much they should give. The idea of independent giving is a high priority among Texans; but, the idea of "public service" is not - which helps explain why members of the Texas legislature are among the lowest paid legislators in the country.

Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas

Texas' first constitution - the Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, 1827. Under the newly independent Mexican government, the State of Coahuila and the sparsely populated province of Texas were combined. The new state was organized at Saltillo, Mexico in August 1824, with the Baron de Bastrop representing Texas.22 The constitution supported efforts to curtail and limit slavery; created a unicameral legislature charged with promoting education and freedom of the press; and named Roman Catholicism the official religion of Texas. But Texans soon began to grow discontent with the Mexican federal system and two political conventions were called in San Felipe de Austin in 1832 and 1833. The 1833 convention produced a constitution for a newly proposed state of Texas. When Stephen F. Austin brought the new constitution to the attention of the central government in Mexico City he was imprisoned by the Mexican government. Austin's imprisonment pushed Texas ever closer to rebellion against Mexico. State political leaders again met in San Felipe in 1835, and a declaration was adopted stating the reasons Texans were beginning to take up arms against Mexico.

Gregg v. Georgia

The 1976 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, stating, "It is an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes." The court did not, therefore, believe that the death sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Constitution of 1836

The Constitution of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Constitution of 1836, was the first Anglo-American constitution to govern the state. Drafted by the convention that had met in March 1836 at Washington-on-the Brazos, and ratified in September of that year, the Constitution of 1836 used large portions of the United States Constitution to create a document that consisted of a preamble, separation of powers among three branches of government (a bicameral legislature, a chief executive, and a tiered judicial branch), checks and balances on government power, and a Bill of Rights. Unlike most other state constitutions at the time, no specific limitations and restrictions were placed upon the state government, and unlike the U.S. Constitution the document gave preference to AngloAmerican settlers, the protection of the rights of Anglo people in the unoccupied lands of the republic and, significantly, made specific exemptions of "Africans, the descendants of Africans, and Indians" from state citizenship.37 The republic's defense of slavery as an institution largely explains why Texas remained independent from the United States for the next nine years since the state, if admitted into the union, would be admitted as a slave state.

La Bahia

The Goliad site of Presidio La Bahia dates back to 1747, when it was first built as a Spanish mission and fortress. Later it became one of the two major garrisons in Mexican Texas, together with the Alamo.

Runaway Scrape

The Mexican army's victory at the Alamo fueled Santa Anna's fervor to conquer Texas. Upon receiving word on March 11 in Gonzales of the fall of the Alamo, Sam Houston decided to retreat to the Colorado River and ordered all inhabitants to accompany him.25 People all over Texas began to leave everything and join Houston's retreat. By March 17, Washington-on-the-Brazos was deserted and by April, Richmond was evacuated as were settlements on both sides of the Brazos River.26 Houston's retreat moved further toward the Sabine and Texans closely make their way to Galveston Island or Louisiana, leaving all of the settlements between the Colorado and the Brazos unprotected. Further north in East Texas (around Nacogdoches and San Augustine), settlements were abandoned by mid-April.27 Known as the Runaway Scrape, many former settlers in Texas died as a result of disease, famine, cold and rain - with most being buried where they fell.28

Red River War

The Red River War (1874-75) marked the final chapter in the centuries-long history of Native American sovereignty in Texas. On June 2, 1875, the Comanche Indians and Chief Parker surrendered at Fort Sill (near present-day Lawton, Oklahoma).39 The surrender is significant to Texas history for a number of reasons: it was the final subjugation by Anglos of the powerful Comanche, Kiowa, and southern Cheyenne Indians; it marked the virtual extinction of the southern herd of buffalo; and, it signaled the opening of the Texas Panhandle to white settlement and the accompanying West Texas ranching industry.40 The Red River War also resulted in the final relocation of the Southern Plains Indians onto reservations. The United States government, in response to the war and Indian surrender in 1875, forced the last Indians living east of the Pecos River into the Oklahoma territory.

County Courts at-Law

The Texas Constitution limits each county to a single constitutional county court.17 Since constitutional county courts in the state's more populous counties now perform the executive and administrative functions of the county, the Texas Legislature has created statutory county courts at‐law to aid counties in their judicial functions. The creation and jurisdiction of every county court at‐law is controlled by state statute; therefore, the respective jurisdiction of each county court at‐law varies considerably from county to county.18 As of 2017, the Texas legislature has created 243 statutory county courts at‐law serving 88 Texas counties (Figure 3). In general, county courts at‐law handle all civil and criminal cases that would otherwise be handled by the constitutional county courts and have concurrent original jurisdiction with state district courts over civil matters involving possible judgments ranging from $200 to $200,000 (Figure 3). County courts at‐law also have appellate jurisdiction over cases appealed from municipal and justice of the peace courts.19

part-time legislature

The Texas Constitution requires a part‐time legislature meaning the state legislature only meets in regular session once every other year, in odd‐numbered years, for a period not to exceed 140 days. Regular sessions begin in January and end in late spring

Constitution of 1876

The Texas Constitution we have today - the Constitution of 1876 - was written in direct response to the governorship of E.J. Davis, as well as to the state's experience with reconstruction and as a reflection of our individualistic and traditionalistic political culture. One thing was for certain: The framers of the Texas Constitution were going to make absolutely sure the likes of E. J. Davis would never control the state again.

Texas Equal Rights Amendment

The Texas Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in the Texas Legislature more than a decade before the U. S. Congress passed and submitted to the states the federal ERA, but the first amendment failed to pass the state legislature. A later state equal rights bill, introduced by State Representative Rex Braun (D-Houston) and co-sponsored in the Texas House by Frances "Sissie" Farenthold (D-Corpus Christi)80 and in the Texas Senate by Barbara Jordan (D-Austin),81 cleared the legislature in 1972, and in November Texas voters approved a Texas Equal Rights Amendment.82 And, while a national Equal Rights Amendment to the U. S. Constitution failed to be ratified by the requisite number of states, the state of Texas did vote in favor of its ratification.

municipal court judge

The Texas legislature has created at least one municipal court for every incorporated city in Texas, and larger cities have more than one depending on the city's population and need.20 Municipal courts have original jurisdiction over cases concerning city laws and ordinances relating to fire safety, zoning, public health, sanitation, and city traffic laws. Most Texas municipal court judges are selected by the city council rather than elected by the city's voters. Municipal court judges may issue search or arrest warrants but generally do not have civil law jurisdiction except in cases concerning owners of dangerous dogs.

Treaty of Fontainebleau

The Treaty of Fontainebleau is rarely discussed in Texas government textbooks but deserves further mention because of its impact on later political and historical events in Texas history. First, the treaty was signed after Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War. The treaty ceded to Spain all territory west of the Mississippi River including the "Isle of Orleans" (New Orleans). While Spain was not a direct participant in the Seven Years' War, Great Britain's gift to Spain was an attempt to strengthen ties and develop an alliance with Spain against France. But, in the three decades following the signing of the treaty, the French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte took hold of Europe, and Spain again renewed its alliance with France. The two countries entered into a series of treaties that included Spain returning Louisiana and the Isle of Orleans to France, and France in turn ceding to Spain parts of Tuscany (an area that would be then granted to the King of Spain's son-in-law).

Louisiana Purchase

The United States was unaware Spain had returned Louisiana to France and when French officials closed the Port of New Orleans to American citizens and forbade trade, President Thomas Jefferson sent his Minister to France, Robert Livingston, and future United States President James Monroe to negotiate a deal. The result of the negotiations was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 in which the United States paid just over twelve million dollars for 828,000 square miles of land known as the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Purchase infuriated Spain, which in turn filed a protest against France for selling Louisiana to the United States. But a "deal was a deal" and even though Spain had originally ceded the Isle of Orleans and present-day Louisiana to France, the country had no authority to undo the purchase agreement between the United States and France. The Louisiana Purchase did not specify the exact boundaries of the land the United States had gained in the purchase. (The Lewis and Clark expedition did not begin until the following year.) Old French maps had, however, charted the area from West Florida along the Gulf Coast into present day Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and the United States claimed the entire area. Spain disputed the United States' claim of ownership of the area since the Louisiana Purchase did not define the exact parameters of the land the United States had purchased, and many individuals saw the area - particularly that of present-day east and central Texas - as essentially "up for grabs."

African Movements into Texas

The arrival of slaves at Austin's Colony increased the number of Africans living in Texas but did not mark the beginning of African movement into Texas. Beginning with Esteban's arrival in 1528 as the slave of a member of de Vaca's crew, African movements into Texas increased largely as a result of slaveholders bringing indentured servants into the area. Under Spanish rule, free blacks were accepted socially and permitted to work in professions or skilled trades, and under Mexican rule had all the legal and political rights of citizenship.7 Even though the Mexican government legally abolished slavery in 1829, there were approximately 5,000 enslaved people living in Texas in early 1830,8 and by the time Texas became a republic in 1836, slavery was an established and thriving institution that subjugated approximately 13,000 African people. 9 The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (the Constitution of 1836), gave preference to Anglo-American settlers, protected the rights of Anglo people in the unoccupied lands of the republic and, significantly, made specific exemptions of Africans and the descendants of Africans and Indians from state citizenship. In early February, 1840, the Republic of Texas passed An Act Concerning Free Persons of Color. The act held that unless the Congress of the Republic ruled that a petitioner could stay, "all free persons of color were required to leave the state by January 1, 1842, or be sold into slavery. Further, any free person of color caught entering Texas would be arrested, jailed, and put up for public auction if a $1,000 bail wasn't paid".10 The act, combined with the Republic's constitutional protection of the ownership of both slaves and land, created an incentive for southerners in the Deep South to expand the system of slavery westward into Texas. The number of slaves in Texas rose dramatically from 5,000 in 1830 to over 182,000 by the end of the Civil War.11 Emancipation for African people living in Texas was announced on June 19, 1865. In an effort to place severe restrictions on the rights of newly emancipated black Texans, the Texas legislature passed a series of laws that included "Black Codes," Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, and restrictive covenants. In 1867, the United States Congress eliminated the Black Codes and ushered in a new phase of Reconstruction in Texas. African Americans made substantial contributions to the transition of Texas from a slave-labor state. Ten African-American delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1868-1869 helped to write a new state constitution that protected civil rights; established the state's first public education system; and, extended the franchise to all men regardless of race, and forty-one African American Texans served in the Texas legislature between 1868 and 1900.12 After the Civil War, many African American Texans moved from the state's rural areas to cities such as Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. The townships they established on the outskirts of urban cities were referred to as "freedmen towns," which became distinct African-American communities. 13 Some of the freedmen town communities still exist today including "Deep Ellum" in Dallas, 14 and the Fourth Ward, later known as "Little Harlem," in Houston."1

bifurcated high court system

The astute reader of the preceding section will have noticed the term "high court system" rather than "Supreme Court" was used to describe the Texas judiciary - and for very good reason. Texas and Oklahoma are the only two states in the nation that have a bifurcated high court system. A bifurcated high court system divides judicial power between two high courts with one court having civil law jurisdiction and the other court having criminal law jurisdiction. In Texas, the bifurcated high court system consists of one state Supreme Court and one state Court of Criminal Appeals (not to be confused with the state courts of appeals, to be discussed later in this chapter). The Texas Supreme Court is the highest court in the state over civil matters, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest court in the state over criminal matters. Both courts have appellate jurisdiction, and in their respective spheres (civil law and criminal law) are the highest courts of last resort in the state. The types of cases each court is empowered to hear are strictly defined by state constitutional and statutory law.

Spindletop - Lucas Gusher

The discovery of oil at Spindletop near Beaumont on January 10, 1901, dramatically transformed the Texas economy and strengthened Texans' attachment not only to the land but to the natural resources it contained. Speculators, entrepreneurs, "wildcatters", and corporate developers flocked to southeast Texas, arriving by the tens of thousands. The Lucas Gusher resulted in rapid industrialization of the Gulf Coast with companies now known as ExxonMobil and Texaco developing and building large-scale refineries, pipelines, and export facilities. Extremely close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico along the "Golden Triangle" of Houston-Beaumont-Port Arthur allowed for the expansion of ports that would provide national and international exports of oil and gas from the region. Soon after Spindletop, other regions of the state experienced their own oil booms with oil and gas deposits discovered in the Permian Basin in West Texas in 1923 and the "Daisy Bradford No. 3" gusher near Kilgore in 1930. Furthermore, oil and gas discovered on state lands resulted in permanent funds to pay for higher education systems through state royalties, and extreme wealth provided to individuals and families by the discovery of oil and gas on their land spawned a culture of philanthropy that provided funding for the arts, health, education, and historical preservation around the state.

Henri Castro

The father of French immigration to Texas was Henri Castro, who in 1844 founded a French settlement now known as Castroville. Born in Landes, France, Castro's family descended from Portuguese Jews who had fled to France after the inception of the Spanish Inquisition. Castro immigrated to the United States, and in 1842 entered into a contract with the Republic of Texas government to settle a colony in Southwest Texas on the Medina River. From 1843 to 1847, Castro brought to Texas almost 2,000 French immigrants66 consisting of 485 families and 457 single men. 67 A wise, learned, and humane man, Castro used his own money to improve the welfare of his colonists, furnishing them with cows, farm implements, seeds, and medicines.68 Out of gratitude for his influence and kindness to Texas, the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, appointed Castro consul general for Texas at Paris, France. Castro County, in the Texas Panhandle, was named in his honor.

Mexican War of Independence

The first flag to fly over Texas was the Spanish flag. Spain governed Texas for almost three centuries until a series of revolts occurred after Napoleon's invasion and occupation of Spain from 1808 to 1813. Among the revolts was the Mexican War of Independence. On September 16, 1810 - during the height of Napoleon's occupation of Spain - Father Miguel Hidalgo issued from his pulpit a cry (or "grito") for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico. In addition to a cry for revolution, Hidalgo's impassioned speech called for the redistribution of land and a concept of racial equality for all people of indigenous descent.6 Hidalgo then led a militia from the city of Delores, where his church was located, to Mexico City, leaving a bloodbath in his wake. When the militia was defeated at Calderon in 1811, Hidalgo fled north to Chihuahua and was captured and executed by firing squad. Militia members quickly assumed the helm, and rebellion continued throughout the cities and countryside of Mexico. Armies of indigenous and racially mixed revolutionaries fought against the Spanish royalists for the next decade as the "Grito de Delores" spurred on the Mexican War of Independence. Political events unfolding in Spain would greatly influence the outcome of the war. After liberal forces sympathetic to the Mexican revolutionaries gained control of Spain in 1820, formerly staunch royalist Mexican conservatives led by Agustin Iturbide took up the cause of Mexican independence in hopes of retaining their status in Mexico after the country gained independence.7 Iturbide assumed command of the Mexican army, allied himself with the existing revolutionary forces, and worked with the new representative of the liberal-control Spanish government to devise a plan that would culminate in the Treaty of Cordoba, signed on August 21, 1824. The Treaty of Cordoba granted Mexico independence from Spain.

First Official Spanish Settlements

The first official Spanish settlements were established in 1716 (present-day Nacogdoches); 1718 (present-day San Antonio); and 1721 (La Bahia near present-day Goliad). Colonization by Spanish explorers and missionaries continued throughout the 1740s and 1750s to include both banks of the Rio Grande River in the areas surrounding present-day Laredo

Moses Austin

The first person to obtain official permission to bring Anglo-American settlers into Spanish Texas was Moses Austin. A Connecticut-born Philadelphia dry-goods business owner, Austin extended his business to Richmond, Virginia, and in 1789 secured a contract to roof the Virginia state capitol in lead.

Constitution of 1861

The issue of secession was a very controversial one that divided the state along regional, ethnic, and party lines. Texas geography played a large role in the issue of secession. Cotton was king in the Gulf Coastal Plains of East Texas and slavery had become a vital institution to the economy of that part of the state. In large sections of the north and west, however, the economy was based primarily on ranching or corn and wheat production and slavery was virtually nonexistent.39 Governor Sam Houston, a staunch Unionist, refused to call a special session of the legislature to discuss secession, but a group of influential state political leaders called for a special convention. Lawyers and slaveholders dominated the secession convention, and in 1861 produced the Texas Ordinance of Secession. The convention later reconvened to enact a new constitution to mark the state's membership in the Confederacy. The Constitution of 1861, under which Texas joined the Confederacy, was remarkably similar to the Constitution of 1845 with one glaring exception: All references to the United States of America were replaced with references to the Confederate States of America.

Adelsverein Society

The non-Spanish European ethnic group to make the greatest impact on Texas was the Germans. The German-Texan culture started in 1831 when Frederick Ernst, "Father of German Immigration to Texas", received a grant of more than 4,000 acres in present-day Austin County.46 In 1840, the Adelsverein - the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas - was created in Germany, and through the Society's sponsorship thousands of Germans immigrated to Texas. Upon their arrival in Galveston or Indianola, 47 the immigrants traveled to Houston and then on to the valleys between the Brazos and Colorado rivers. Most of the original German immigrants to Texas settled in Central Texas around present-day New Braunfels and Fredericksburg.48 German immigration and migration exploded after Texas entered the Union in 1845, and until 1877 German speakers in the city of San Antonio outnumbered both Hispanics and Anglos.

Demographics of Austin's Colony

The vast majority of Anglo-Americans that arrived at Austin's Colony were of British ancestry,1 but a number of Irish colonists were also counted among the original settlers.2 Most of the Old Three Hundred were farmers by trade and tended to arrive in Texas as independent, single family units instead of in groups.3 The largest numbers had migrated from the Trans-Appalachian South and were part of a larger trend in early 19th century America toward westward migration.4 Stephen F. Austin, in an effort to avoid controversy and conflict among the colonists, generally accepted into his colony only those who were of "higher" economic standing, and several families including the Bells (British), Bordens (British), Kuykendalls (Dutch), and Rabbs (Austrian) already possessed substantial economic means before they arrived at Austin's Colony. Furthermore, only four of the original 300 grantees were illiterate5 and a large number were slaveholders when they arrived and brought their slaves to the colony. By the fall of 1825, sixty-nine of the families in Austin's Colony owned a total of 443 slaves which accounted for nearly a quarter of the colony's total population of 1,790.6

Furman v. Georgia

This 1972 Supreme Court case struck down all state laws allowing the death penalty stating that they allowed for too much discretion on the part of the judge and jury resulting in lack of consistent administration of the penalty.

Adams-Onis Treaty

Unrest and invasion continued for the next six years despite the fact that the question of "ownership" of Texas was settled by the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. The Adams-Onis Treaty clearly established the Sabine River as the boundary between the United States and Spain and granted all of Florida to the United States and all of Texas to Spain. The treaty did not quell the desires of some individuals to "liberate" Texas.

Austin's Colony

When both his Philadelphia and Virginia businesses began to fail, Austin looked toward the rumored lead deposits in Spanish Upper Louisiana and began developing a plan to settle an Anglo-American colony in Spanish Texas. Austin traveled to San Antonio and upon his arrival in 1820 was treated to a dinner meeting hosted by the Spanish governor. As fate would have it, Austin recognized at the meeting the Baron de Bastrop whom Austin had met almost twenty years earlier in New Orleans. Bastrop, a native of Louisiana (but probably born in Holland), had since settled in San Antonio and gained significant prestige among the city's residents and Spanish officials. When Bastrop heard the enthusiasm with which Austin spoke of his colonization plan, he worked on Austin's behalf to secure permission for him to establish the colony. On December 26, 1820, Spanish Governor Martínez endorsed and forwarded Moses Austin's colonization plan to higher authorities in Spain. Austin returned home to Virginia to await word. Unfortunately, he contracted pneumonia either while in Texas or en route home, and received news on his deathbed that permission for his colony had been granted. His dying wish was that his wife make sure their son, Stephen Fuller Austin, fulfilled his colonization plan. Stephen F. Austin set out for San Antonio de Bexar shortly after his father's death on June 10, 1821, and upon arrival was declared the rightful heir to his father's grant. The grant allowed Austin to settle 300 families - later known as the Old Three Hundred - in Spanish Texas. Austin selected the rich river bottom between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers, south of the El Camino Real, as the land upon which to establish Austin's Colony. The settlement of Austin's Colony from 1821 to 1836 has been called the most successful colonization movement in American history. The grant opened up a flood of American immigrants, and by 1835 as many as 30,000 had arrived at Austin's Colony. The settlement also brought Anglo and African settlers from the United States into contact with "the governmental and ranching traditions of Spain and Mexico [and] helped set the course for much of Texas' history in the 19th century."

Coke-Davis Controversy

When the Union defeated the Confederacy in the Civil War, Texas was required to write a new constitution that would comply with President Andrew Johnson's policy of Reconstruction. The Texas Constitution of 1866 was short-lived and replaced only three years later by a new state constitution following the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the dominance of the Radical Reconstruction Republicans in the United States Congress. The Constitution of 1869, also known as the Reconstruction Constitution, goes a very long way in explaining the complicated system of state government we have today in Texas. We will examined the current Texas constitution and system of government it creates in greater depth in subsequent chapters. But, for now, it is important to keep in mind that the state's current constitution is an extremely long and unwieldy document that creates divisions upon divisions of government power in an attempt to prevent unifications of power such as those the state witnessed under the Constitution of 1869. The Constitution of 1869 was written to comply with the mandates of the United States Reconstruction Act, passed by the United States Congress after the Union defeated the Confederacy in the Civil War. First, critical changes were made to the Texas executive branch, and the powers of the governor were greatly expanded. Edmund "E.J." Davis, a Reconstruction Republican and former Union general, was named governor of the state. Texans despised Davis, who used the newly expanded powers of the governor to preside over what many perceived to be a corrupt, extravagant administration. Second, Article V of the Constitution of 1869 established a Supreme Court consisting of only three judges appointed by the governor (at the time, Edmund Davis) with the advice and consent of the senate.40 After Davis was defeated by Richard Coke, a Democrat, in the gubernatorial election of 1873, Davis appealed the election to the Texas Supreme Court. The Court ruled the election illegal41 and Davis proclaimed his right to finish out his four-year term as governor and barricaded himself in the Texas Capitol. Texas Democrats secured the keys to the second floor of the Capitol and took possession of the building. Coke then summoned the "Travis Guard and Rifles" (a Texas militia named for Alamo defender William B. Travis, organized in 1840 to protect the state);42 but the Rifles converted from a state guard into a sheriff's posse and instead of protecting Davis protected Coke. Davis then appealed to United States President Ulysses S. Grant who responded by sending a telegram that he would not be sending federal troops to keep Davis in office.43 The Coke-Davis Controversy ended with E. J. Davis resigning his office on January 19, 1874. Republicans would not hold the Texas governorship for another 104 years.

"plural" executive

While national executive power is concentrated in one leader - the president - state executive power in Texas is constitutionally divided between six elected officials and one appointed official together known as the plural executive. The elected members of the plural executive are the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, and Attorney General. The seventh member, the Secretary of State, is appointed by the governor.

Frances "Sissie" Farenthold

Woman in the House, sponsored equal rights amendment

Nacogdoches

Y'Barbo and the Adaesenos eventually settled in Nacogdoches in Spring 1779. First established as a Spanish settlement in 1716, Nacogdoches (named for the Nacogdoches Indians, a Caddo Indian group) had become a gateway for trade - mostly illicit - with the French. 77 Y'Barbo was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the settlement of Nacogdoches in October 1779, and with his appointment to the post the Spanish government effectively "legalized" Nacogdoches as a permanent town in Spanish Texas. Y'Barbo became a "powerful commercial, diplomatic, and cultural broker indispensable to the survival of Spanish colonization in East Texas amidst perpetual warfare to the west".78 The strong ties Y'Barbo and the Adaesenos had with the French and the Caddos on the Louisiana-Texas borderlands "played an instrumental role in the reversal of Spanish policy toward the Lipan Apaches and laid the foundation upon which peace negotiations with the Comanches became possible".79 Y'Barbo laid out Nacogdoches streets with the intersection of El Camino Real and El Calle del Norte serving as the town's center; established a ranch, La Lucana, on the Attoyac River in Nacogdoches County; and built a stone trading house that is today called the "Old Stone Fort." The trading house became a "gateway from the United States to the vast Texas Frontier".80 Y'Barbo died at his ranch in 1809.81

bicameral legislature

a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts

political ideology

a more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue

Kian

a slave girl accompanying Jane Long

Kay Bailey Hutchison

elected State Treasurer becoming the first Republican woman elected to statewide office in Texas. Hutchison served in the Texas House of Representatives (1972 - 1976) before being elected State Treasurer, and in 1993 was elected to the U.S. Senate. Originally elected to fill a two-year unexpired term left vacant by Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.,84 Hutchison continued to be elected to the Senate in the 1994, 2000, and 2006 elections. Her work in the Senate included strengthening health care benefits for veterans, preventing the federal government from receiving royalties from oil companies drilling on public land, keeping the U. S. government from seizing states' tobacco lawsuit settlements, and maintaining a robust national defense. In 2009, she lost her bid for Texas Governor to Rick Perry, and decided not to seek reelection to the Senate. Her seat was filled by tea party candidate Ted Cruz85 in the election of 2012.

Barbara Jordan

first African American woman to serve in the Texas legislature 1967-72, sponsored equal rights bill in the Senate

Miriam "Ma" Ferguson

first female governor of Texas and second female governor in US history

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

highest court in the state over criminal matters.

Battle of the Alamo

n December 1835, a group of Texans overwhelmed the Mexican garrison at The Alamo, captured the fort, and seized control of San Antonio. By mid-February 1836, Colonel James Bowie and Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis had arrived in San Antonio, and Sam Houston was named the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Texan forces. Houston argued San Antonio should be abandoned due to an insufficient number of troops; but Bowie and Travis refused to leave. Despite later reinforcements including Davy Crockett, the number of defenders of the Alamo never numbered more than 200.23 Mexican troops ranging from 1,800 to 6,000 (a large range, but historical estimates vary widely) under the command of General Santa Anna arrived at the Alamo on February 23, 1836, and began a siege of the fort24. The Texans held out for 13 days but Mexican forces breached the outer wall of the courtyard and overpowered the Texans on March 6.

Alonso de Pineda

the first European to arrive in present-day Texas in 1519 and explored and mapped the Texas coastline

Esteban

the first known African to arrive in Texas, who was promptly enslaved by the native people of the area, the Karankawa Indians. Esteban's rudimentary medical knowledge and gift for languages increased his influence over the Karankawa, and after eight years he was released and set off to Mexico City to find Cibolo, the "Seven Cities of Gold".

Texas Supreme Court

the highest civil court in Texas; consists of nine justices and has final state appellate authority over civil cases