Texas, history

The American state of Texas has a history stretching back centuries.

Spanish Texas

Exploration

Spanish interest in Texas dates from the mapping of the Gulf of Mexico by Alonso Alvárez de Pineda in 1519. Juan Ponce de León's expedition to Florida in 1513 and the completion of the conquest of the Aztecs quickened Spanish concern with the lands to the north. In 1528-36 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and in 1540-44 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explored much of western Texas, fruitlessly seeking the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. After Hernando de Soto's death survivors of his expedition entered east Texas and may have reached the Brazos River. De Vaca and Coronado's reports, stressing Indian hostility and the arid nature of the land, discouraged permanent settlement north of the Rio Grande.

The Spanish title to Texas remained uncontested until 1684, when three French ships appeared off the Gulf coast. Commanded by Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, the French party of soldiers and colonists erected Fort Saint Louis in the vicinity of Matagorda Bay. Encountering fierce resistance from the Karankawa, the French were compelled to flee, and in the hasty retreat La Salle was murdered by some of his own disaffected crew. As a response to the French intrusion, Alonso de León led an expedition northward from the Rio Grande and established three missions in east Texas. Continuing border struggles with French forces across the Sabine River led to the creation of additional missions and presidios (forts).

Spain founded San Antonio in 1718 as its principal military garrison to rival the French in New Orleans. Emanating from San Antonio, campaigns, generally unsuccessful, were mounted against the Apache, Comanche, and Tonkawa of central Texas, although the barrier to significant permanent colonization was not lifted. In accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) western Louisiana was ceded to Spain. Relieved of the French threat on its borders, Spanish authorities determined to abandon the missions and presidios between the Trinity and Red rivers and to relocate several hundred colonists at San Antonio. A rancher, Gil Ybarbo, acted as spokesman for a number of settlers who preferred to remain in the area. Sent by force to San Antonio in 1790, they returned of their own will and founded the city of Nacogdoches, which became the major Spanish city in east Texas.

In 1800, because of European diplomatic considerations, Spain returned western Louisiana to France. The likelihood that the port of New Orleans would be closed to American commerce greatly stimulated President Thomas Jefferson's desire to purchase Louisiana and in 1803 the entire Louisiana territory was sold by France to the U.S. Boundary disputes with Spain soon followed along the Texas border, and in 1806 both nations signed the "Neutral Ground Agreement." Entered into by American and Spanish military commanders, the compact stated that neither country would exercise sovereignty over the land between the Sabine River and the Arroyo Hondo, a tributary of the Red River just west of Natchitoches, in what is now Louisiana. Finally, in 1819 the Adams-Onís Treaty, ratified in 1821, fixed the northern boundary of Spanish Texas at the Sabine River.

Texas in 1835

American settlers

American colonization of Texas began in 1821 under the leadership of Moses Austin, who was awarded a permit by Spanish authorities at San Antonio to settle 300 families in Texas. The contract was later honored by the National Congress of Mexico after independence was won. Austin died on his return to the United States to begin the task of colonization, but the provisions of the agreement were subsequently carried out by his son Stephen Austin. Empresarios were licensed by the Mexican government and continued the recruiting of colonists for permanent settlement in Texas. Attracted by the prospect of free land--the United States had no such policy at the time--the bulk of settlers came from the states of the Old South, as well as from Britain, Ireland, and Germany. Later efforts to balance the American predominance by encouraging Mexicans to colonize proved generally unsuccessful.

In 1835, on the eve of the revolution, there were approximately 25,000 colonists residing in Texas, plus several thousand Mexicans, called "Tejanos," as well as Indian tribes that were not under control of Mexico. Slavery of blacks was a major question. After lengthy bargaining with the Mexicans, Stephen Austin had assured his colonists that slavery had obtained legal recognition, but with the stipulation that children born to slaves in Texas would be emancipated at the age of fourteen. But the institution was placed in jeopardy again in 1827, when the state legislature of Texas-Coahuila, comprised entirely of Mexicoans, sought to prohibit slavery. Relief was obtained from this decree and from an executive proclamation of emancipation in 1829. The law of Apr. 6, 1830, the "Stamp Act" of the Texas Revolution, once again outlawed slavery in the province but recognized a subterfuge known as "work contracts" to evade the terms of the law.

Revolution

Although full legal slavery was not allowed, slavery in practice existed because of the lifetime labor contracts. The fight for independence was not waged to protect property in slaves. The colonists' specific grievances were lack of trial by jury, the use of Spanish as the official language in legal and commercial transactions, and burdensome customs regulations. The basic cause of the Texas Revolution lay in the conflicting political and social ideologies of the Mexican government and the American pioneers. Some of the colonists believed that outstanding differences could be resolved if Texas were granted separate statehood, but a more radical faction, led by Sam Houston, looked to complete autonomy and eventual annexation by the United States.

When Antonio López de Santa Anna seized dictatorial authority in Mexico City in 1834 and called for additional troops to invade Texas, a military conflict became inevitable. The first clash of the war for independence took place at Gonzales on Oct. 2, 1835. Encouraged by the relative ease of their triumph in that skirmish, the Texan "Army of the People" moved quickly to capture Goliad; in December, San Antonio was occupied after the Mexican garrison capitulated.

Texas was momentarily free of Mexican troops, but in the interim an invasion force was organizing. In late February 1836 the main contingent of Santa Anna's army reached San Antonio, where the Texas defenders were encamped in the Alamo, a church fortress dating from the Spanish missionary period. Although vastly outnumbered, the garrison of some 180 defenders held out until the last man. William B. Travis, David Crockett, and James Bowie were among those who died here. Campaigning along the coast, Gen. José Urrea forced the surrender of Col. James Fannin at Goliad. Even though Urrea had pledged honorable treatment, Santa Anna personally ordered the deaths of Fannin and about 400 of his followers; and on Palm Sunday the executions were carried out by a firing squad. Since the majority of Fannin's men had recently arrived in Texas as volunteers from the United States, the executions were designed to discourage further aid in the cause of Texas.

News of the fall of the Alamo reached Gen. Houston at Gonzales. Mustering a band of early colonists to Texas and some American volunteers, Houston retreated to the Brazos River, casually pursued by an overconfident Santa Anna. Believing victory to be in his grasp, the Mexican commander turned to pursue the Texas provisional government at Harrisburg; but, spurred by President David G. Burnet, the administrators escaped to Galveston. Now convinced that the strategic position was in his favor, Houston left his encampment along the Brazos and blocked Santa Anna's troops at San Jacinto as they tried to regain their original position. The decisive battle of the campaign was fought at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Inspired by the rallying shout, "Remember the Alamo, remember Goliad," the Texans vanquished the Mexican army and imprisoned its leader. In return for his life Santa Anna recognized the independence of Texas, with its boundary at the Rio Grande.

The Texas navy also contributed to the remarkable victory. Failure to control the sea lanes of the Gulf of Mexico impeded the movement of supplies to Mexican troops and compelled Santa Anna to undertake a lengthy and hazardous overland march into Texas. Financed mainly by contributions from the United States, four Texas sloops proved more than a match for Santa Anna's naval squadrons. But in the period of the early republic the navy languished under Houston as Mexico partially blockaded the Texas coast. President Mirabeau B. Lamar determined to change the situation and embarked on a policy of naval construction. A partial alliance was entered into with the state of Yucatán, which was also seeking independence from Mexico. The navy was employed in that campaign.

Republic

During the early stages of the war, Texas had been governed by a "Consultation." When all hope of a negotiated settlement proved unrealistic and Mexican liberals failed to support the goal of separate statehood, a convention was called to debate the question of independence. A declaration of independence was essential to facilitate volunteering and financial aid from the United States, and on Mar. 2, 1836, it was promulgated. A constitution for an independent Texas was also written, with the stipulation that it would not become legally binding until ratified by the people. With independence achieved, the Republic of Texas was born. Elected president in September 1836, Houston quickly turned his attention to the internal problems of land legislation, frontier defense, and a sound financial base for Texas. But Mexico soon repudiated the Treaty of Velasco, whereby Santa Anna had acknowledged Texan independence. The United States became the first nation to commence diplomatic relations with Texas. Annexation talks were tentatively begun but were quickly abandoned in the face of substantial northern antislavery pressure. In accordance with the constitution of the republic, Houston could not immediately succeed himself as president, and Lamar was elected in 1838. Believing that the likelihood of annexation was small, Lamar opened diplomatic relations with England and France. When Mexico refused to meet with peace commissioners sent to Veracruz, the president launched a military expedition to Santa Fe in order to assert the Texan claim to the Rio Grande as its western boundary. Miscalculating the anti--Santa Anna sentiment in New Mexico, the poorly led Texans were captured and marched in irons overland to Mexico City.

Meanwhile, the Texans were also waging intermittent warfare against the Indians, particularly the Cherokee and Comanche, and were expending substantial sums on frontier defense. At the same time, the new republic initiated a progressive public school and homestead program. Houston was reelected in 1841. Despite numerous border provocations, he insisted on a posture of peace toward Mexico. Financial conditions made stability imperative as the republic's indebtedness approached $10 million and the value of Texas currency depreciated to less than twenty cents on the dollar. Rivalry between east and west Texas over land titles and the location of the permanent seat of government also troubled the president.

Annexation 1845

The capstone of his Republic was the successful conclusion of the annexation negotiations with the U.S. Fear of British designs and the increasing economic importance of Texas spurred President John Tyler to reopen talks. A treaty of annexation was rejected by the U.S. Senate, mainly by anti-slavery votes, and the question of annexation became the major issue in the election of 1844. Democrat James K. Polk's victory for president on a platform calling for the "reannexation" of Texas prompted the passage of a joint congressional resolution. A final Mexican offer of independence, backed by England and France, was overwhelmingly spurned by the people of Texas. All formalities were completed when the Texas constitution was accepted by Congress, and the state officially joined the Union on Dec. 29, 1845. Since Houston had left office in 1844, Anson Jones functioned as the last president of the Republic of Texas.

Statehood

Intensified migration to Texas after statehood raised the population to about 150,000. Societies such as the Texas Emigration and Land Company now pledged to settle colonists who would agree to constitute a militia for defense against the Indians; in return they would receive a grant of 320 acres of choice land. Most of the newcomers continued to migrate from the states of the lower South; slavery was granted legal protection by the Texas constitution of 1845.

Transportation

A liberal land grant program encouraged the construction of intrastate railroads, and by 1875 rail connections with many cities outside the state had also been effected. Stagecoach travel was popular, and a number of cities in northern Texas were serviced by the celebrated Butterfield Overland Stage. Some river traffic, particularly freight on the Brazos and Colorado rivers, continued to flourish.

The Texas Rangers were formed during the Republic and continued as state police took an active part. Originally intended by Stephen Austin as a striking force against hostile Indians, the rangers were famous for their ability as horsemen and their courage when greatly outnumbered. Hispanics portray them as brutal and intolerant.

U.S. War with Mexico

Mexico had never tolerated annexation and swore to invade and reconquer the breakaway province, and to go to war with the U.S. if annexation took place. The immediate cause of war was a boundary dispute; Mexico insisted that it owned the area south of the Nueces river. A claims dispute and the failure of John Slidell's diplomatic mission to Mexico led to war in 1846. There were no batrtles in texas, but it was an important staging point for American army movements that invaded and conquered Texas.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848 made the Rio Grande the boundary.

Compromise of 1850

The US acquired New Mexico, but Texas also claimed the Rio Grande to its source, thence north on the meridian to the 42nd parallel, thereby including parts of New Mexico as well as the future states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Wyoming. The dispute had national consequences because it involved lands north of 36°30'and was related to the divisive question of slavery in the territories. Congressional debate soon revealed that Texas was willing to compromise if some settlement of its outstanding indebtedness could be realized. The Compromise of 1850 resolved the issue. The Texas debt, of approximately $10 million, was assumed by the United States as compensation for a reduction in the state's boundary claims. The northern limit was placed at the intersection of the 100th meridian and 36°30', thence west to the 103rd meridian, thence south to the 32nd parallel, then following that line to the Rio Grande, and along the channel of that river to the Gulf of Mexico.

Coming of Civil War

In the 1850s, loyalty to the Union or secession became the dominant issue in Texas politics. In the U.S. Senate, Houston was the only southerner to vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the 1820 Missouri Compromise. Believing that slavery had reached its natural limit of expansion and that further agitation would only destroy the Union, Houston defied an angered Texas state legislature. With his career in the Senate stymied, Houston returned to Texas and suffered his only political defeat in 1857 in the gubernatorial contest. But in 1859, campaigning on a platform of loyalty to the Union, he successfully defeated the incumbent governor, Hardin Runnels. In the 1860 presidential election, John Breckinridge, a southern Democrat and proslavery nominee, carried the state. Commenting on Abraham Lincoln's election, Houston urged that Texas remain in the Union until it became the victim of a "federal wrong." The majority of Texans, on the other hand, chose to view Lincoln's victory at the polls as a threat to their slave property and to states' rights. Houston adamantly refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy and was deposed in 1861 in favor of Lt. Gov. Edward L. Clark. A popular convention endorsed secession, the people ratified it, and Texas officially joined the Confederacy on Mar. 2, 1861.

Civil War

In the war the state supplied the South with about 60,000 soldiers, most of whom remained in Texas to guard against Union invasions and Indian raids. "Terry's Texas Rangers" (a cavalry unit commanded by Benjamin F. Terry) and John Sibley's brigade, which campaigned in New Mexico, were the best known. There was little fighting within Texas, which served principally as a conduit for supplies from Mexico. Matagorda, Brownsville, and Galveston fell to Union forces, but in a combined military and naval assault Galveston was recaptured by the Confederacy.

Reconstruction

Reconstruction began in Texas in 1865. Andrew J. Hamilton, a staunch Unionist before the war, was named provisional governor by President Andrew Johnson in 1865, and by 1866 local elections were held and a constitution written. However, the Reconstruction Act of 1867 declared all prior governments illegal and resulted in the adoption of a new constitution in 1869. The Republican party won the elections of 1869 and placed E. J. Davis in the statehouse at Austin, and the makeup of the state legislature also underwent significant change. Legislative inexperience was primarily responsible for the passage of many questionable statutes, particularly concerning taxation. Financial irregularities increased; in their spleen at "bottom rail on top" (a reference to the improved status of blacks) some Texans unwisely embraced the Ku Klux Klan and other violent informal groups seeking to impede legitimate political gains of former slaves. By 1874 the conservative Democrats, or Redeemers, took power as Richard Coke, was elected governor. Shortly thereafter the last federal troops were withdrawn from military occupation duty.

A famous case denying the legality of secession arose in Texas and was carried to the Supreme Court. In Texas v. White (1869) the state attempted to recover title to certain U.S. bonds, formerly Texas property but sold by the Confederate state government during the war. The court held that the United States was an "indissoluble Union of indissoluble states," and thus the "pretended" Confederate state government was in its relations to the United States a "mere illegal combination."

Gilded Age

The Gilded Age of the 1870s and 1880s generated a major economic boom. Internal railroad construction, made possible by state land bonuses, increased appreciably. By the mid-1870s nearly every major city in Texas had passenger and freight service, and attention turned to interstate and transcontinental railroads. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas (Katy) Railroad, chartered in Kansas, was completed across northern Texas in 1872. In that year the Houston and Texas Central became a part of the gigantic Southern Pacific railway system, the International and Great Northern Railway spanned the state from northeast to southwest, and the Texas and Pacific, building westward, joined the Southern Pacific at a point near El Paso and ran to San Francisco.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, Texas increased its production and became the leading cotton-growing state in the Union. The cattle industry also made great strides. Range cattle had roamed the Texas Plains since the days of the Spanish explorers, but removal of the Indian barrier in west Texas and improved methods of drilling for subsurface water greatly facilitated the growth of the cattle business. Overland drives brought the cattle to rail points in Kansas, where they were shipped to eastern and mid-western markets. The piney woods area of east Texas continued to sustain the lumber industry. In the Rio Grande Valley citrus fruit production became increasingly important.

Oil

It was the discovery of oil at Corsicana in 1895 and Spindletop, near Beaumont, in 1901 that revolutionized the state and the national economy. The Texas Company (later Texaco), Gulf Oil Company, and Humble Oil Company (now Exxon-Mobil) all had their beginnings in the Texas oil fields.

1920s

Governors James S. Hogg (1891-95) and Miriam A. Ferguson (1924-26, 1932-34), who was elected after the impeachment of her husband James Ferguson, gave the state enlightened, progressive government. I

Postwar

The state maintained its rate of economic growth and vitality in the 20th century. Construction of a ship channel linking Houston, the U.S. petrochemical center, to the Gulf of Mexico and the advent of the space age combined to make the city one of the fastest-growing in the nation. Houston also became a medical and research center of international fame. Dallas continued to lead in finance, marketing, and insurance activities, while such west Texas cities as Lubbock, Amarillo, and Wichita Falls showed marked economic growth. The rate of employment in Texas was consistently above the national average.

Bibliography

• The Handbook of Texas Online - Published by the Texas State Historical Association thousands of scholarly articles on every aspect of Texas history
• Bailey Jr. Alvin R., and Light Townsend Cummins, eds. A Guide to the History of Texas. (1988). online edition

Surveys

• Campbell, Randolph B. Gone to Texas: a History of the Lone Star State (2003), 500 pages. the best scholarly history; online edition
• Dawson III, Joseph G. ed. The Texas Military Experience: From the Texas Revolution through World War II. 1995. online edition
• De Leon, Arnoldo. Mexican Americans in Texas: A Brief History 2nd ed. 1999.
• Patricia Evridge Hill. Dallas: The Making of a Modern City 1996.
• Great River, The Rio Grande in North American History, Paul Horgan, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, reprint, 1977, ISBN 0-03-029305-7
• Jordan, Terry G. Texas, a Geography (1984)online edition
• David G. McComb. Houston, a History, 1981.
• D. W. Meinig, Imperial Texas: An Interpretive Essay in Cultural Geography, , 1969, 145 pages.
• Montejano, David. Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836–1986 , 1987.
• Wooster, Ralph A. and Robert A. Calvert, eds. Texas Vistas (1987) reprinted scholarly essays

Pre–1865

• Baum, Dale. The Shattering of Texas Unionism: Politics in the Lone Star State during the Civil War Era, 1998.
• Bell, Walter F. "Civil War Texas: A Review of the Historical Literature" Southwestern Historical Quarterly 2005 109(2): 204-232. Issn: 0038-478x
• Buenger, Walter L. Secession and the Union in Texas. , 1984.
• Campbell, Randolph B. An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 1821–1865, 1989.
• Campbell, Randolph B. Sam Houston and the American Southwest 1993.
• Campbell, Randolph B., and Richard G. Lowe. Wealth and Power in Antebellum Texas 1977.
• Cantrell, Gregg. Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas. 1999.
• Carroll, Mark M. Homesteads Ungovernable: Families, Sex, Race, and the Law in Frontier Texas, 1823–1860 , 2001.
• Chipman, Donald E. Spanish Texas, 1519–1821 , 1992.
• Chipman, Donald E., and Harriett Denise Joseph. Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas. , 1999.
• De Leon, Arnoldo. The Tejano Community, 1836–1900 1982.
• Friend, Llerena B. Sam Houston: The Great Designer , 1954.
• Hardin, Stephen L. Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution, 1835–1836 , 1994.
• Jordan, Terry G. German Seed in Texas Soil: Immigrant Farmers in Nineteenth Century Texas , 1966.
• Kerby, Robert L. Kirby Smith's Confederacy: The Trans-Mississippi South, 1863–1865 1972.
• Lack, Paul D. The Texas Revolutionary Experience: A Political and Social History, 1835–1836 1992.
• Lowe, Richard G., and Randolph B. Campbell. Planters and Plain Folk: Agriculture in Antebellum Texas 1987.
• Lowrie, Samuel H. Culture Conflict in Texas, 1821–1835 1932.
• Poyo, Gerald E., ed. Tejano Journey, 1770–1850 , 1996.
• Siegel, Stanley. A Political History of the Texas Republic , 1956.
• Silverthorne, Elizabeth. Plantation Life in Texas 1986.
• Weber, David J. The Spanish Frontier in North America. 1992.

1865–1920

• Barr, Alwyn. Reconstruction to Reform: Texas Politics, 1876–1906 , 1971.
• Buenger, Walter L. The Path to a Modern South: Northeast Texas between Reconstruction and the Great Depression , 2001.
• Campbell, Randolph B. Grass-Roots Reconstruction in Texas, 1865–1880 1997.
• Clampitt, Brad R. "The Breakup: the Collapse of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Army in Texas, 1865" Southwestern Historical Quarterly 2005 108(4): 498-534. Issn: 0038-478x
• Cotner, Robert C. James Stephen Hogg: A Biography . , 1959.
• Crouch, Barry A. The Freedmen's Bureau and Black Texans. , 1992.
• Gould, Lewis N. Progressives and Prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the Wilson Era , 1973.
• Johnson, Benjamin H. Revolution in Texas: how a forgotten rebellion and its bloody suppression turned Mexicans into Americans. 2003.
• Jordan, Terry G. Trails to Texas: Southern Roots of Western Cattle Ranching (1981).
• McArthur, Judith N. Creating the New Woman: The Rise of Southern Women's Progressive Culture in Texas, 1893–1918. (1998).
• Martin, Roscoe C. The People's Party in Texas: A Study in Third Party Politics , 1933. History of the Populist party in Texas.
• Nunn, W. C. Texas under the Carpetbaggers. . 1962. online edition
• Pitre, Merline. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: The Black Leadership of Texas, 1868–1900 , 1985.
• Ramsdell, Charles William. Reconstruction in Texas (1910).
• Rice, Lawrence D. The Negro in Texas, 1874–1900 1971
• Spratt, John Stricklin. The Road to Spindletop: Economic Change in Texas, 1875–1901. 1955.
• Utley, Robert M. Lone Star Justice: The First Century of the Texas Rangers 2002.

1920–2008

• Blackwelder, Julia Kirk. Women of the Depression: Caste and Culture in San Antonio, 1929–1939. 1984.
• Brown, Norman D. Hood, Bonnet, and Little Brown Jug: Texas Politics, 1921–1928 1984.
• Robert A. Caro. The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1) (1990); Means of Ascent (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 2) (1991)
• Cox, Patrick. Ralph W. Yarborough, The People's Senator. , 2001.
• Dallek, Robert. Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908–1960. Oxford University Press, 1991. online edition
• Davidson, Chandler. Race and Class in Texas Politics. 1990.
• Foley, Neil. The White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas Cotton Culture (1997).
• Green, George Norris. The Establishment in Texas Politics: The Primitive Years, 1938–1957 (1979). online edition
• Knaggs, John R. Two-Party Texas: The John Tower Era, 1961–1984 (1986).
• Lee, James Ward, et al., eds. 1941: Texas Goes to War. 1991.
• Miller, Char. Deep in the Heart of San Antonio: Land and Life in South Texas (2004).
• Olien, Diana Davids, and Roger M. Olien. Oil in Texas: The Gusher Age, 1895–1945 (2002).
• Patenaude, Lionel V. Texans, Politics, and the New Deal (1983).
• Perryman, M. Ray. Survive and Conquer, Texas in the '80s: Power—Money—Tragedy … Hope! Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company, 1990. On 1980s
• James Reston. The Lone Star: The Life of John Connally (1989)
• San Miguel, Guadalupe, Jr. “Let All of Them Take Heed”: Mexican Americans and the Campaign for Educational Equality in Texas, 1910–1981 (1987).
• Whisenhunt, Donald W. The Depression in Texas: The Hoover Years (1983).

Primary source collections

• Gallaway, B. P., ed. Texas, The Dark Corner of the Confederacy: Contemporary Accounts of the Lone Star State in the Civil War 3rd. Ed. 1994.