1: Political Culture and the People of Texas

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Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Outline the political history of Texas.
Analyze the political culture of Texas.
Describe the geography of Texas and the politics of each region.
Identify the major industries that have shaped Texas.
Examine the diversity of the people in Texas.

Texas Proud—being a Texan is a way of life, and people from other states just do not understand.

The state is big. People in Texas do not talk about the number of miles from one city to another; they talk in terms of hours. It will take twelve hours to travel from north to south or west to east across the state. It is about an hour from Austin to San Antonio or five hours from Houston to Dallas. No one likes to take road trips in Texas more than Texans, particularly in the spring when the bluebonnets, the state flower, are in bloom (Figure 1.1).

Screen Shot 2021-09-03 at 3.48.07 PM.png — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Bluebonnets in Texas. SOURCE: Julian Onderdonk CC BY 2.0,

It stands to reason that people from such a big state will also like big things. Texans like big hats, big trucks, big monuments and a big Capitol. For example, the Texas Capitol is taller than the U.S. Capitol, and the San Jacinto monument (located on the Houston Ship Channel and erected to commemorate the victorious battle when Texas won its independence from Mexico) is thirteen feet taller than the Washington monument in Washington, D.C.

Texans are proud of the lone star on their flag, which has flown over the Lone Star State since it became the Republic of Texas in 1836. It is a reminder of those ten years when Texas was its own nation, and its fiercely independent streak. Texans can fly their flag at the same height as the U.S. flag, another fact that people outside Texas do not understand. People in Texas will use the lone star or the shape of Texas to make everything from waffles to cookies to stepping-stones.

We have our own iconic foods in Texas. You can eat some version of Tex Mex all day long, from a breakfast burrito in the morning to fajitas for dinner, and don’t forget the chips and queso. We’ve got pecan pie and Blue Bell ice cream. Chicken fried steak—with cream gravy. Barbecue, which is an all-day event resulting in mouth watering brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken, and more. The official dish of Texas is chili, the hotter the better, and there are weekend-long competitions to perfect the best recipe.

Football is also serious business in Texas, and the devotion to the sport starts young. There are high school football stadiums that could be compared to some professional stadiums. Although fictional, the films Friday Night Lights and Varsity Blues just about sums up how seriously Texans take the sport.

Students in the public schools start taking Texas history in kindergarten and keep at it through high school. Most Texans can tell you that Sam Houston was the first president of the Republic of Texas, and that the state bird is the mockingbird.

We say, Yes, Ma’am and Yes, Sir.

We claim Austin City Limits, television’s longest-running music series, and those who hail from Texas, like Beyonce and Selena Gomez.

We have Texas Longhorns, horned toads, armadillos, and monarch butterflies.

“Friendship” is our state motto, and true to the motto, Texans are friendly. Hospitality is extended to everyone. We want people to come over and come back.

In short, we take pride in our state. This chapter will give you an overview of the state of Texas and set the stage for the rest of the book