1. Chapter 1
The Political
Culture, People,
And Economy of Texas

2. Texas Political Culture
Political culture: broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government and society should function
Political culture in U.S. states: Daniel Elazar
Shaped by state founding origins and experiences
Defined by state orientation toward:
Marketplace
Role of government
Who should participate in government and politics
Elazar’s work has many critics. For the purposes of this chapter though, his classification is useful in drawing differences between states that students may not have considered.
These three criteria can generate a larger discussion about political culture differences that students can engage in more readily.
Broadly asking: why are Texas and New York, or Texas and California different usually yields discussion that gets at the heart of the political culture ideas.

3. Texas Political Culture
Three state political culture categories:
Moralistic
Individualistic
Traditionalistic
Some are a blend of two
Broad definitions for each category help understand state-level differences
Not a literal/direct definition of all people in all states in contemporary society.
It is worthwhile to remind students political culture theory helps explain why policy and other differences occur across states (e.g., variation on gun control laws. There are many good policy examples that can be addressed here).
It is not a tool to say “people in X state believe this today.”

4. Texas Political Culture
Moralistic political culture
Rooted in New England Puritanism
The common good (expressed through politics) is everyone’s concern.
Government should promote the public good.
Examples: MN, IA, WI, CA, WA, ME, VT, NH
In Puritanism, the contract between God and his people was not individual but rather collective, meaning the whole community had to be good for God to be pleased.
Theoretically, all citizens have a duty to participate in politics, and bureaucracy/government is a means to achieve the public good.
In looking for links to modern politics, voter turnout rates are highest in moralistic states, see:

5. Texas Political Culture
Individualistic political culture
Focuses more on commercial success
Government should provide order and protect property.
Bureaucracy viewed as interference
Less concern for mass participation in politics
Examples: NY, PA, OH, IL, NV
Politics seen as a means to further economic and individual success
Partisanship ran very high, and patronage viewed as part of the game.
Links to modern politics: patronage and political machines have been quite strong in PA, IL, and NY.

6. Texas Political Culture
Traditionalistic political culture
Rooted in plantation values of social hierarchy
Focused on tradition and maintaining existing social order (keep standing arrangements)
Politics engaged in by established wealthy families
Examples: TX, AZ, FL, MS, AL
Voting and office holding was not intended for everyone because more participation was a threat to the existing social order.
Links to modern politics: disenfranchisement policies were most prevalent in traditionalistic states.

7. Texas Political Culture
Texas traditionalistic–moralistic mix
Low taxes and social service provision
Business interests dominate policy
Texas harder to generalize
Historical origins/development within state differ
Example: large cities (Houston, Dallas), border cities (El Paso, Laredo, Rio Grande Valley), rural regions sharply different histories, people, and industries
Consider asking whether students can identify specific policies or trends in the state that comport with this classification.
Are there places in Texas where they are aware of sharp political culture differences within the state?
What is the difference between people and laws from different parts of the state outlined above?
Example: some parts of Texas do not have a strong southern identity at all; in other places, it is strongly evident.

8. Texas Political Culture
One-party state
Democratic Party dominated Texas for over a century.
Held all statewide offices, won presidential elections
100 percent of state legislature
Today, GOP dominates Texas politics.
Democrats have not won statewide office since 1994.
Texas legislature majority since 2002
Democrats remain popular in Texas cities, though.
See congressional, state legislature, and county offices
Texas was Democratic when the party was the conservative party, prior to the realignment that distinguishes our parties today.
Texas was not Republican when the GOP was “the Party of Lincoln”; it was the Confederacy after all.
Democrats in Texas have opportunities to be competitive again, but it is unclear whether the organization can execute a plan to make that happen.
See: Houston Chronicle, “Texas Democrats donate outside of Texas,” (accessed 9/26/12).
See: Houston Chronicle, “Democrats and minority base strain,” (accessed 9/26/12).

9. Texas Political Culture
Business dominance
Unions are mostly absent
Consumer and environmental concerns not especially influential
Provincialism (narrow view of the world)
Associated with Jeffersonian notions of limited government and rural values
Low spending on social services and education
Intolerant of social hierarchy challenges, diversity
The point about provincialism reflects business and government orientations.
There is no evidence that Native Americans, African Americans, or Mexican Americans were provincial in their attitudes about diversity or challenges to the social order. Nonwhites are a significant part of Texas history and contemporary society in terms of numbers and cultural fabric.

10. Texas politics shaped by state geography
The Land
Texas politics shaped by state geography
Size, location, natural resources
2nd largest state, 267,00 sq. miles
800 miles north to south (about 11 hrs. by car)
773 miles east to west (about 10.5 hrs. by car)
Largest border with foreign country
Gulf coast and rivers, fertile and desert land, plains and mountains, oil and natural gas
Texas is different not merely because it is a large mass of land (or because Texans say it is so) but rather because of the physical differences within that huge land mass.
Texas history, modernization, business, and politics are sharply influenced by the resources and experiences facilitated by the land and location.

11. The Physical Regions of Texas
FIGURE 1.1 The Physical Regions of Texas
SOURCE: Dallas Morning News, Texas Almanac 2000–2001 (Dallas: Dallas Morning News, 1999), 55.
There are no slides for the four regions, mostly because it’s easier to keep the map up.

12. Economic Change in Texas
Texas economic development tied to resources and technology of the time
Three phases of technological change:
Cotton and cattle
Oil
Technology innovations
Facilitated state strengths in high-tech industry, medical research, energy industry, and banking
1. Note the economic dependence on land, as alluded to earlier.
2. The final phase that involves technology can be associated with state political culture that is inviting due to low taxes.
3. The current technological advances blend natural resources, educational investment (which had traditionally been strong at the state’s research universities), and immigration from highly skilled workers from out of state and other nations.

13. Economic Change in Texas
Cotton cultivation
began in the 1820s.
By 1880s, Texas was the largest producer.
Connected to national markets by railroads
During the late-nineteenth century, Texas produced more cotton than any other state. But although one-quarter of the cotton produced in the United States still comes from Texas, the state’s cotton industry has been in decline since the 1920s.
This photo shows land and machinery once used to farm cotton.

14. Economic Change in Texas
Cotton
Labor-intensive cultivation led to tenant farming and sharecropping.
A system of social and economic dependency that trapped many Texans in rural areas
Crop-lien system could easily place households in debt from which they could not escape
Radical political discontent in rural areas led to support for Grange and Populist movements
This section links the natural resources and economics to a political situation that affected the daily life for millions of Texans.

15. Economic Change in Texas
Cattle ranching
Texas has dominated cattle ranching industry for over a century.
Vast space, land suited for grazing and growing specialized feed
Increasingly operated by large agribusinesses
Many located in Texas, or agreements with cattle ranchers in the state
Currently, only about 2 percent of Texas population is located on farms

16. Economic Change in Texas
Oil
Took off in 1901 with Spindletop
By 1930s, oil replaced agriculture as the main contributor to its economy
Allowed America to move from coal to oil as primary energy source
Facilitates creation of the national highway system
Energy industry develops in Texas
Oil, natural gas, production, exploration and research

17. Oil Production in Texas
TABLE 1.1 Oil Production in Texas
SOURCE: SOURCE: Texas Railroad Commission and “Historical Crude Oil Prices,” Infl ationData.com.

18. Economic Change in Texas
Oil led to a rise in industrialism along the coast and boomtowns near oil fields.
Texas Railroad Commission brought stability to the markets.
State agency regulating oil and gas industries
Allowed common pipeline carriers that served many different companies (efficient)
Regulated oil production to smooth pricing
This is an opportunity to show how government both influences the economy and is shaped by it.
Residence patterns followed the industry trend.
The Railroad Commission allowed business to flourish by creating common carriers (railroads and pipelines) that would have been inefficient if provided only by the private sector.

19. Economic Change in Texas
NAFTA—North American Free Trade Agreement (1992)
Created free trade zone U.S., Canada, and Mexico
Texas increased exports to Mexico and Canada by $10b between 1992 and 1997.
24 out of 32 industries that export to Mexico saw double-digit gains
Tremendous economic boost to Texas economy, despite initial fears it would have negative impact.

20. The Changing Face of Texas, 1850–2010
TABLE 1.2 The Changing Face of Texas, 1850–2010
NA=not available
SOURCES: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1994 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1994); Dallas Morning News, Texas Almanac 2004–2005 (Dallas: Dallas Morning News, 2004), p. 10; 2010 U.S. Census.

21. The People: Texas Demography
Three sources of population growth
Natural increase (births)
International immigration (outside the U.S.)
Domestic immigration (one U.S. state to another)
Texas has 2nd largest population
25.5 million as of 2011
California is 1st with 37.2 million
Between 2000 and 2010, grew by 4.5 million, 20 percent

22. The People: Texas Demography
Six flags over Texas: over five centuries, Texas was part of six different sovereign entities.
1. Spain: 1519–1685 and 1690–1821
2. France: 1685–1690
3. Mexico: 1821–1836
4. Republic of Texas: 1836–1845
5. Confederacy: 1861–1865
6. United States: 1845–1861; and since 1865
1. The discussion about “who Texans are” that follows is best understood in light of who Texas has been over the last 500 years.
2. Spaniards, Mexicans, Europeans, and U.S. southerners have shaped Texas political culture in ways that are truly unique.
3. No other state had parallel experiences with settlement, re-settlement, conquest, revolution, colonization, and re-colonization as Texas did.
4. This eventful history, warts and all, is the subject of extensive research and historical record.

23. The People: Texas Demography
Anglos
Whites of European descent (except Spain)
Largest group during nineteenth and twentieth centuries
First wave arrived before Texas Revolution (1835)
Both Spain and Mexico gave Anglos land grants to bring people to Texas.
Most notably, Moses Austin and son, Stephen F. Austin

24. The People: Texas Demography
Anglos
Population surge after Revolution (1835–6)
Mostly immigration from southern states
Southern settlers brought slaves with them.
Most Texas farmers never owned slaves.
Yet, overwhelmingly supported secession/Civil War

25. Anglo Population in Texas Counties, 2010
FIGURE 1.3 Anglo Population in Texas Counties, 2010
SOURCE: Data are drawn from the 2010 census. Texas State Data Center, www .texastribune.org/library/data/census-2010/ (accessed 5/2/12).

26. The People: Texas Demography
Hispanics/Latinos
Origins to any of 20 Spanish-speaking nations (Latin America and Spain)
Texas Latinos mostly Mexican origin
Historical overlap and proximity
88 percent of Latino Texans are Mexican origin (2010)
Established presence in Texas
Sizeable Mexican origin population has always been the case
1. See the Pew Hispanic Research Center for more information about Texas Latinos and related topics:
2. In short, Latinos are not a new demographic or political phenomenon in the state.
3. Texas traces its origins to Spain and Mexico; nothing new about Latinos in Texas.

27. The People: Texas Demography
Long-standing large Latino population regions
El Paso, San Antonio, all of South Texas
Pockets with less presence
Distance from large metro area and border
Historical and contemporary trend
Texas is 38 percent Latino (2010)
Increasingly urban, true for entire state population
Opportunities in cities draw people
For more on Texas demography, see the US Census Texas Quickfacts page at:

28. Hispanic Population in Texas Counties, 2010
FIGURE 1.4 Hispanic Population in Texas Counties, 2010
SOURCE: Data are drawn from the 2010 census. Texas State Data Center, www .texastribune.org/library/data/census-2010/ (accessed 5/2/12).

29. The People: Texas Demography
History of anti-Hispanic political discrimination
Despite large populations, systematic barriers
Segregated public facilities
Targeted by poll taxes and white primaries
Voting Rights Act (1965) demise of Jim Crow
Fewer participation/representation barriers
20 percent of Texas legislature is Latino (37 of 181)
By 2010, approximately 2,500 Latinos held elected office in various state and local positions.
The large number of Latino elected officials reflects two things:
The huge number of local offices up for election in Texas: 254 Counties and 1,265 school districts means there are many offices!
Latinos live in Texas in large numbers; this makes it easier for them to get elected where there are naturally occurring majority-minority districts.

30. The People: Texas Demography
African Americans
Black population origins in Texas reflects the state’s history with slavery
Growth in slave population
Mexican government antislavery policies kept black population relatively low until the Texas Revolution (<5,000 in 1830s)
Post-Texas Revolution, southern settlers brought large number of slaves to the state

31. The People: Texas Demography
1860 (Civil War), over 182,000 slaves in Texas
Tripled in size in only 10 yrs. (1850=58,000)
Constituted one-third of the state’s population
Concentrated in East Texas
Wharton and Brazoria counties highest numbers
Emancipation and Reconstruction
Texas slaves freed three years after Emancipation Proclamation (Juneteenth)
100,000+ African American men registered voters
1. Excellent interactive at the New York Times; map graphs the concentration by county in the South:
2. See NYT map, the number of slaves tripled from 1850 (58,000) to 1860 (182,000).

32. African American Population in Texas Counties, 2010
FIGURE 1.5 African American Population in Texas Counties, 2010
SOURCE: Data are drawn from the 2010 census. Texas State Data Center, www .texastribune.org/library/data/census-2010/ (accessed 5/2/12).

33. The People: Texas Demography
By 1903, Jim Crow laws and violence toward blacks keep nearly all blacks from the polls.
Only 5,000 black registered voters
Civil rights and population changes
Numerous black elected officials, especially in the Houston and Dallas areas
63 percent of Texas black population resides in Houston and Dallas areas (2010 Census)
Texas population is 12 percent African American
More on these topics is covered in the voting and elections chapters.

34. Per Capita Income in Texas and the United States, 1990–2010 (in Nominal Nonadjusted Dollars)
TABLE 1.3 Per Capita Income in TX and the U.S., 1990–2010 (in Nominal Nonadjusted Dollars)
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

35. The People: Texas Demography
Early urbanization
Towns were founded under Mexican rule as a means of colonizing the territory
Evidenced by the courthouse in the town center
Vast majority of state was rural, and small towns
88 percent now reside in urban and suburban areas:
Austin  Corpus Christi  Dallas  El Paso  Fort Worth
Houston  Laredo  Rio Grande Valley  San Antonio
1. This excellent map shows the changes from rural to urban population over the last century. Students usually follow the concept very well after observing the pattern shifts shown here:

36. Urbanization in Texas, 1850–2010
TABLE 1.4 Urbanization in Texas, 1850–2010
SOURCES: Statistical Abstracts of the United States: 1994 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1994); Dallas Morning News, Texas Almanac 2001–2002 (Dallas: Dallas Morning News, 2001); U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
*Estimated

37. Urban Political Economy
Houston
1800s, economy based on commerce and cotton
Houston Ship Channel transformed the city to become a major metropolitan area.
Oil and natural gas expanded industry base
Largest manufacturer of petroleum equipment
Technological advances spurred economic growth.
NASA (Johnson Space Center), The Texas Medical Center (world’s largest), nanotechology

38. Urban Political Economy
Dallas
Sat at intersection of two major railroads
Transformed into a major commerce center
Developed into financial center for the oil industry
Additional economic bases: transportation, tech, retail
Fort Worth
Located at a resting spot for cattle herders
Railroads were built to serve the cattle industry.
Major military installation
Helped develop the aviation industry

39. Urban Political Economy
San Antonio
Initially large city because it was the capitol of Spanish Texas
Economic and bases today
Military infrastructure
Bases, civilian industry and support
Tourism
Most visited in the state, Alamo major attraction
Medical

40. Populations of the Largest Cities in Texas, 2010
TABLE 1.5 Populations of the Largest Cities in Texas, 2010
SOURCE: 2010 Census.

41. Race and Ethnic Breakdown of Texas and Its Largest Counties, 2010
TABLE 1.6 Race and Ethnic Breakdown of Texas and Its Largest Counties, 2010
*Hispanic in this classification can be any race. Numbers are rounded.
SOURCE: 2010 U.S. Census.