Texas
Texas was the twenty-eighth state to enter into the union and was admitted on December 29, 1845. Texas is the second largest in population after California and has the second largest land-area after Alaska. It has the largest land-area in the continental US. Before its admission, it was its own country, having gained independence from Mexico.
| Capital | Austin |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Lone Star State |
| Official Language | English |
| Governor | Rick Perry, R |
| Senator | John Cornyn, R {{{s1phone}}} [{{{s1email}}}] |
| Senator | Kay Bailey Hutchison, R {{{s2phone}}} [{{{s2email }}}] |
| Ratification of Constitution/or statehood | December 29, 1845 (28th) |
| Flag of Texas | Motto: "Friendship" |
The capital of Texas is Austin, and the largest city is Houston. It was solidly Democratic from about 1900 to the 1970s, then Republicans gradually took control and now dominate the political atmosphere of Texas.
Up until the 1980's Texas had a booming oil industry, starting with the Spindletop oil gusher. For many years Texas was one of the largest oil producers in the world.
Currently, Texas is shifting from the oil industry to the service sector. It has a growing tech industry and is home to many well-known corporations such as Dell and Texas Instruments.
The current governor of Texas is Republican Rick Perry, a conservative.
Education
The state of Texas is home of many notable institutions of higher learning.
Notable Texans
- Lance Armstrong, who holds the record for most consecutive Tour de France victories, was born in Plano.
- Pat Garrett, the policeman who shot Billy the Kid, lived in multiple locations in Texas.
- Sam Houston was the president of Texas when it was an independent nation, and lent his name to Texas's largest city.
- Howard Hughes, the reclusive billionaire who was the subject of the movie The Aviator, was born in Humble.
- Lyndon B. Johnson, former president, lived and died in Stonewall.
- Stevie Ray Vaughn, musician.
- Claudia Johnson "Lady Bird Johnson", Born December 22, 1912. Lady Bird Johnson was the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She is also known for her involvement in improving the physical conditions along the nations highways.
Embarassing Texans
- George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, former Governor of Texas.
- Ted Nugent, controversial conservative musician, lives near Crawford.
- Ross Perot, former presidential candidate, lives in Dallas
Further reading
- The Handbook of Texas Online - Published by the Texas State Historical Association thousands of scholarly articles on every aspect of Texas history
- Bailey, Alvin R., Jr. and Light Townsend Cummins, eds. A Guide to the History of Texas. 1988. online edition
- Campbell, Randolph B. Gone to Texas: a History of the Lone Star State (Oxford University Press, 2003, 500 pages.], standard scholarly survey excerpt and text search; also complete online edition
- Fehrenbach, T. R. Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans (2007), popular survey excerpt and text search
- McDonald, Archie P. Texas: A Compact History (2007) excerpt and text search
- Wooster, Ralph A. and Robert A. Calvert, eds. Texas Vistas (1987) reprinted scholarly essays
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