Texas
About Texas
History of Taxes
Texas can claim that “Six Flags” have flown over its soil: the Fleur-de-lis of France, and the national flags of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.
Native American tribes who once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, and Wichita. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.
On November 6, 1528 shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European to set foot on Texas. A member of the Narváez expedition, he was later enslaved by a Native American tribe of the upper Gulf coast, and explored what are now the U.S. states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona on foot from coastal Louisiana to Sinaloa, Mexico, over a period of roughly six years. He returned to Europe in 1537, where he wrote about his experiences in a work called La relación (“The Tale”).
Prior to 1821, Texas was part of the Spanish colony of New Spain. After Mexican independence in 1821, Texas became part of Mexico and in 1824 became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas. On 3 January 1823, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 300 American families along the Brazos River in present-day Fort Bend County and Brazoria County, centered primarily in the area of what is now Sugar Land. This group became known as the “Old Three Hundred.” The “Conventions” of 1832 and 1833 responded to rising unrest at the policies of the ruling Mexican government.
In 1835, Santa Anna, President of Mexico, proclaimed a unified constitution for all Mexican territories, including Texas. North American settlers in Texas announced they intended to secede from Mexico rather than give up their “right” to slavery, which Mexico had abolished. Other policies that irritated the Texians included the forcible disarmament of Texian settlers, and the expulsion of illegal immigrants from the United States of America. The example of the Centralista forces’ suppression of dissidents in Zacatecas also inspired fear of the Mexican government.
On March 2, 1836, the “Convention of 1836″ signed the Texas “Declaration of Independence,” declaring Texas an independent nation. On April 21, 1836 the Texans won their independence when they defeated the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. A factor in the defeat of Santa Anna’s army at San Jacinto was the time the Texas Army got to gather itself, thanks to a small group of brave men at The Alamo. Santa Anna himself passed into captivity, and on May 14, Republic of Texas officials and General Santa Anna signed the treaty of Velasco.
Later in 1836, the Texians adopted a constitution that formally legalized slavery in Texas. The Republic of Texas included all the area now included in the state of Texas, although its self-proclaimed western and northwestern borders extended as far west as Santa Fe and as far northwest as present-day Wyoming, respectively.
In 1845, Texas was admitted to the United States as a constituent state of the Union. Annexation was mutually beneficial to Texas and the United States. Texas was in a very susceptible position following independence, with a weak government, little industry, and minimal infrastructure. The U.S. could not allow such a tenuous nation to sit right on its border. Texas also lay partially in the way of the U.S. expansion to the Pacific, and its “Manifest Destiny”. The major stumbling block of annexation, besides the potential for war with Mexico, was the fact that Texas was a slave state and potentially would tip the balance between free and slave states due to its huge size. Some southerners were pushing for the ability to divide Texas into multiple states, thereby increasing the number of slave states even more. A compromise was reached in that if Texas were divided, any states north of the Missouri Compromise would be free states.
Some confusion has arisen over the annexation of Texas. Texas was admited to the Union via a ‘Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States’ on March 1, 1845. Prior to the resolution there were several efforts to arrive at a formal annexation treaty. These efforts failed due to the ongoing struggle between ’slave’, and ‘free’ states. Due to the requirement of the US Constitution (Article II, Section 2) that all treaties be approved by 2/3rds of the Senate, a formal treaty was thus blocked. President John Tyler suggested that annexation be accomplished by the ‘Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States’ as it required only a simple majority of members from each chamber of the US Congress for passage.
During the Civil War, Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. In 1870, the United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union.
Texans pride themselves in a history of tradition, yet there are still new social and technological developments. Austin is the headquarters of Dell and known as “Silicon Hills”, Dallas is a famously cosmopolitan metropolis, Houston is a leader in the oil industry, and cultures of San Antonio and El Paso retain their Mexican heritage. The state tourism slogan is “Texas: It’s like a whole other country.”
Texas
Abilene Addison Alamo Alice Allen Alpine Alvin Amarillo Angleton Anthony Aransas Pass Arlington Athens Austin Bacliff Balch Springs Bastrop Bay City Baytown Beaumont Bedford Beeville Belton Big Spring Bishop Boerne Bonham Borger Bowie Brady Brenham Brownfield Brownsville Brownwood Bryan Buda Buffalo Burleson Burnet Canton Canyon Carrollton Carthage Cedar Hill Cedar Park Center Centerville Channelview Childress Cisco Clear Lake Area Cleburne Cleveland Clute Coleman College Station Colony Colorado City Columbus Conroe Copperas Cove Corpus Christi Corsicana Dalhart Dallas Decatur Deer Park Del Rio Del Valle Denison Denton DeSoto DFW Airport Diboll Donna Dumas Duncanville Eagle Pass Eastland Edinburg El Campo El Paso Ennis Euless Fairfield Falfurrias Farmers Branch Floresville Forest Hill Fort Bliss Fort Stockton Fort Worth Fredericksburg Freeport Frisco Fulton Gainesville Galveston Garland Gatesville George West Georgetown Giddings Gilmer Glen Rose Graham Granbury Grand Prairie Grapevine Greenville Gun Barrel City Haltom City Harlingen Hearne Hemphill Hempstead Henderson Hereford Hillsboro Horseshoe Bay Houston Humble Hunt Huntsville Hurst Ingleside Ingram Irving Jacksonville Jasper Jefferson Junction Katy Kaufman Kemah Kendalia Kenedy Kerrville Kileen Kilgore Killeen Kingsville Kingwood La Grange La Marque La Porte Lacy Lakeview Lago Vista Lake Jackson Lake Worth Lancaster Laredo Lewisville Lindale Livingston Llano Lockhart Longview Lubbock Lufkin Lytle Mansfield Marble Falls Marshall McAllen McKinney Merkel Mesquite Midland Midlothian Milford Mineral Wells Mission Monahans Montgomery Mount Pleasant Mount Vernon Nacogdoches Navasota Nederland New Boston New Braunfels North Richland Hills Odem Odessa Orange Ozona Palestine Pampa Paris Pasadena Pearland Pecos Pharr Plainview Plano Pleasanton Port Aransas Port Arthur Port Lavaca Portland Rancho Viejo Ranger Raymondville Red Oak Richardson Rio Grande City Roanoke Robstown Rockdale Rockport Rockwall Rosenberg Round Rock Rowlett Salado San Angelo San Antonio San Benito San Juan San Marcos Seabrook Seagoville Sealy Seguin Shamrock Shenandoah Sherman Sinton Smithville Snyder Somerville Sonora South Padre Island Spring Stafford Stephenville Sugar Land Sulphur Springs Sweetwater Temple Terrell Texarkana Texas City The Colony The Woodlands Three Rivers Tomball Tyler Universal City Uvalde Van Horn Vega Vernon Victoria Waco Waxahachie Weatherford Webster Weimar Weslaco West Columbia Westlake Wharton White Settlement Wichita Falls Willis Willow Park Willowbrook Wimberley Winnie Winnsboro Woodlands Woodway Zapata
