Texas Government (GOVT 2306) -- History, Political Culture, and Geography

1. History, Political Culture,
and Geography
GOVT 2306
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3. Geography
 Size of the state
 Over 267,000 square miles of territory
 Texas is 2nd to Alaska in area
 Roughly 800 miles in a straight line from Brownsville to the
northwestern corner of the Panhandle (30 miles NW of Dalhart)
 Approximately 222,000 miles of roadways
 80,000 miles of major highways maintained by the Texas Department of
Transportation
 Texas leads the country in miles of roadways
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4. Geography
 Size of the state
 In the Republic period, the Texas legislature developed a concept
of five areas as five potential states
 North, South, East, West, and Central
 The congressional resolution that admitted Texas to the United
States in 1845 states that four other states “may be formed out of
its (Texas’) territory” and that each “shall be entitled to admission
in the Union”
 In 1868, a provisional constitution for the “State of West Texas”
was drafted
 However, all efforts to split the state have failed
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5. Physical Regions of Texas
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7. Physical Regions of Texas
 Gulf Coast Plains
 Stretches from the Louisiana border to the Rio Grande; an extension
of the Gulf Coastal Plains of the United States
 Follows the Balcones Fault
 Includes the Piney Woods of East Texas and the Rio Grande Plains of
South Texas
 Greenest region of the state with more than 50 inches of rain annually
 The area has seen significant industrial growth since the Great
Depression
 Oil strikes in the area produced significant profits after 1900
 “Hot Oil” strikes in the Tyler area during the Great Depression
 Today, the state’s chief petrochemical industries, based on oil and natural
gas are located between Beaumont and Houston
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8. Physical Regions of Texas
 Interior Lowlands
 Covers the North Central Plains of Texas extended from the
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex westward to the Abilene area and
northward to the Wichita Falls area
 Farming and ranching are major activities within this region within
this largely prairie region
 Great Plains
 Large area in West Texas extending from Oklahoma to Mexico
 Largely known for its large-scale production of cotton and grain
 Water is typically drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer, formed from runoff
from the Rocky Mountains
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9. Physical Regions of Texas
 Basin and Range Province
 Arid region in West Texas that includes the Davis Mountains, Big
Bend National Park, and El Paso
 Only area of Texas classified as mountainous
 Highest mountains: Guadalupe Peak (8749 ft.) and El Capitan (8085
ft.)
 Popular vacation area that includes the Davis Mountains and Big
Bend National Park
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10. Historic Regions of Texas
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12. Historic Regions of Texas
 Panhandle Plains Region
 Cities: Abilene, Amarillo, Mineral Wells, and Archer City
 Big Bend Region
 Cities: El Paso, Del Rio, Fort Davis, Odessa, Midland, Marfa,
and Big Bend National Park
 Hill Country Region
 Cities: Austin, San Marcos, Wimberly, New Braunfels,
Fredericksburg, Luckenbach
 South Texas Plains Region
 Cities: San Antonio, Laredo, McAllen
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13. Historic Regions of Texas
 Gulf Coast Region
 Cities: Houston, Corpus Christi, South Padre Island, Galveston,
Beaumont, and Brownsville
 Prairies and Lakes Region
 Cities: Waco, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington
 Piney-Woods Region
 Cities: Nacogdoches, Tyler, Gilmer, Kilgore, Gladewater,
Huntsville, and Conroe
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14. Political Borders
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15. Crisis and Compromise
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16. Crisis and Compromise
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18. A Brief History of Texas
 Before 1500 - Indian tribes occupied the region between the
Rio Grande and the Red River before the arrival of
Europeans
 1519 – Alonso Alvarez de Pineda (Spain) was the first known
European to explore and map the Texas coastline
 Nov. 1528 – Cabeza de Vaca (Spain) shipwrecked near
Galveston Island. He explored Texas for roughly 6 years
before returning to Mexico
 1540-1542 – Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (Spain) lead
an expedition through northern Texas
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19. A Brief History of Texas
 18 Feb. 1685 – Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle (France)
established Fort St. Louis near Matagorda Bay. This formed the
basis for France’s claim to Texas.
 1716-1789 – Spain establishes presidios, Catholic missions,
and settlements throughout Texas
 Notable settlements: San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches
 1810-1820 – The Mexican Revolution; authority of Texas is
transferred to the provisional Mexican government
 3 Jan. 1823 – Stephen F. Austin received a empresario grant
(inherited from his father) to colonize near the Brazos River
 1824 – The Constitution of 1824 gave Mexico a republican form
of government. It fails to define the rights of its states, including
Texas
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20. Check my SlideShare page
(rfair07) for more lectures
Lectures posted for:
 United States History before 1877 / after 1877
 Texas History
 United States (Federal) Government / Texas Government
 Slide 20 of 47
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 If you would like a copy of all the Texas Government lectures
posted in PDF format, please check out
at:https://gumroad.com/l/GXhg 
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