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Ch1.TX.GOVT.NORTON-2.pptxCHAPTER 01
The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
Copyright © 2021 W. W. Norton & Company
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Why Texas’s Government Matters
The history of American government in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is one of the expansion of the prominence of the national government.
To many, state and local politics seemed like relics of a bygone past.
Yet, the new coronavirus pandemic has pushed state and local politics to the forefront.
The Trump administration left many responsibilities to the states.
States and local governments emerged at the center of the crisis.
The lives and livelihoods of every Texan were literally in the hands of local officials.
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Texas Political Culture
Political culture is broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government and society should function.
American political culture is traditionally viewed as emphasizing the values of liberty, equality, and democracy.
Texas is categorized as having a “traditionalistic individualistic” political culture.
States often exhibit a distinctive political culture that is the “product of their entire history.” Presumably the political culture of a state has an effect on how people participate in politics and how individuals and institutions interact.
It is also difficult to classify the political culture of a state as large and diverse as Texas in any one category. The liberal cultural norms of urban areas such as Houston, Dallas, and Austin often stand in sharp contrast to those found in the conservative suburban or rural areas.
“Traditionalistic individualistic” political culture is the political culture in which deference is shown to political elites by the masses and hard work and self-interest are valued as core virtues in economic life.
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Texas Political Culture: One-Party Dominance and Provincialism
The one-party state
For over 100 years, Texas was dominated by the Democratic Party, but this pattern no longer holds.
Substantial competition emerged between the parties in the 1990s, and the Republican Party secured control after redistricting in 2002.
Provincialism
Texas’s political culture was also once defined by provincialism, a narrow view associated with rural values and notions of limited government.
The result was often a self-interested view of the world and an intolerance of diversity.
Few observers doubt that Republicans and conservative values will continue to dominate state politics in the near future. But changes are in the wind.
Increasing urbanization; the growing influence of minorities, women, and LGBTQ people in politics; and the state’s rising importance in the global economy have undercut some of Texas’s traditional provincialism. But recent episodes of intolerance toward transsexuals; minority religious groups; and new immigrants from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America reflect a resurgence in some of the values associated with provincialism in Texas, at least in important parts of the population.
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Texas Political Culture: Business Dominance
Business dominance
Texas’s political culture has also been defined by the longtime dominance of business interests.
They are major players in terms of campaign contributions and lobbying.
Other groups that may offer an alternative, such as labor unions, are rare, poorly organized, and/or poorly funded.
The notable labor unions in Texas are oil-refinery worker unions.
Business influence is being challenged by a powerful social conservative wing in the Republican Party that is less concerned with business interests than with expanding gun owner rights and curtailing abortion, immigration, and LGBTQ rights.
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The Land
Texas politics is shaped by the state’s geography.
The most distinctive characteristic of Texas’s geography is its size.
Texas is the second-largest state, after Alaska.
The longest straight-line distance across the state from north to south is 801 miles; the longest east–west distance is 773 miles.
The east–west distance from New York City to Chicago is 821 miles.
Texas turned a large portion of its public lands over to private ownership.
This is known as privatization of public property.
Texas is different not merely because it is a large mass of land (or because Texans say it is so) but also because of the physical differences within that huge landmass.
Texas history, modernization, business, and politics are sharply influenced by the resources and experiences facilitated by the land and location.
Privatization of public property established the property rules and regulations under which economic development would take place in the state.
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The Land: The Gulf Coastal Plains
The Gulf Coastal Plains
Almost all of Texas’s timber production takes place in the eastern portion.
The area is also home to some of Texas’s most famous oilfields.
The region was the foundation of plantation life during the antebellum period, when slavery flourished in the state.
Urban areas have become Democratic, while the suburbs have become more Republican.
The Gulf Coastal Plains region extends from the Louisiana border and the Gulf of Mexico, along the Rio Grande up to Del Rio, and northward to the line of the Balcones Fault and Escarpment (see Figure 1.1).
Texas’s political life grew out of the Gulf Coastal Plains.
While the region has almost always been dominated by rural conservative values, urbanization and suburbanization in Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth have added more liberal dimensions to the region’s political culture.
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The Land: The Interior Lowlands, the Great Plains, and the Basin and Range Province
The Interior Lowlands
Agricultural economy and rural population
Many of the state’s largest ranches
Conservative political values
The Great Plains
Economy centered on agriculture, cotton production, ranching, and petroleum production
Conservative political values
The Basin and Range Province
Mountains, little rain, and few people
Large Latino population
Democratic Party bastion
See Figure 1.1.
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Economic Change in Texas
Over the last 150 years, three great waves of technological change helped define and redefine the state’s economy.
The first wave centered on the production of cotton and cattle.
The second wave grew out of the oil industry.
The third and most recent wave is tied to the development of the high-tech digital economy.
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Economic Change in Texas: Cotton
Cotton is one of the oldest crops grown in Texas.
Cotton production cycles go up and down.
The 1930 Census reported that 61 percent of all farmers in Texas were tenant farmers; one-third of those were sharecroppers.
The number of tenant farmers fell throughout the Great Depression.
By 1987, only 12 percent of all farmers were tenants.
In 2019, 98.6 percent of Texas farms and ranches were family farms, partnerships, or family-held corporations.
Tenants lived on farms owned by others, providing their own animals, tools, and seed.
The tenant and sharecropping systems condemned many rural Texans to social and economic dependency and helped fuel radical political discontent in rural areas.
The “crop lien” system led to many farmers being trapped in an inescapable cycle of debt.
Outline the Grange and Populist movements, which played a major role in defining the style of Texas politics.
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Economic Change in Texas: Cattle
The history of ranching and the cattle industry parallels that of cotton in many ways.
The industry took off following the Civil War and expanded throughout the state.
Ranching and cotton production remain important industries in the state, although they are increasingly dominated by big agribusiness companies.
Neither cotton nor ranching is as important now as it was in the past.
In the early twentieth century, new technological breakthroughs focused not on what grew on the land but on what lay beneath it.
The number of people making a living from agriculture has dropped significantly as agribusiness has pushed out the family farm and ranch. In 1940, 23 percent of the population lived on farms and ranches. Another 17 percent were suppliers to farms and ranches or helped assemble, process, or distribute agricultural products. Currently, less than 2 percent of the population lives on farms and ranches, with an additional 15 percent providing support, processing, or distribution services to agriculture.
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Economic Change in Texas: Oil and Gas, Part 1 of 2
Oil took off in 1901 with the discovery of the Spindletop oilfield.
Oil fever spread throughout Texas over the next decade.
One can trace the rise and decline and rise again of the oil and gas industry in Texas through production figures (see Figure 1.2).
A major discovery that brought new oil and gas to market could lead to a sudden collapse in prices.
A boom-and-bust mentality was introduced.
Discuss Texas and energy. In particular, consider the notion of Houston as the “energy capital of the world”—is this myth or reality?
See Figure 1.2.
Residence patterns followed the industry trend.
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Economic Change in Texas: Oil and Gas, Part 2 of 2
Oil and gas transformed the government and the economy.
The power of government was expanded through the Railroad Commission.
Higher education has benefited.
Oil and gas production is emerging again in the Texas economy, which will result in new demands for water supplies and new environmental concerns.
Two events in 2020 posed challenges to the oil and gas industries:
In late spring, there was a glut of oil on the world markets.
Due to shelter-in-place COVID-19 policies, demand for oil and gas dropped, exacerbating Texas’s budgetary shortfall.
This is an opportunity to show how government both influences the economy and is shaped by it.
Ask the students how they benefit from the Permanent University Fund (tuition, for example).
Ask students about water and the Texas economy: discuss shortages, conservation and regulations, and Texas law on water ownership.
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Economic Change in Texas: High-Tech Industry
World oil prices began to collapse in 1982.
By the last decade of the twentieth century, new industries and technologies were assuming significant roles in the state economy.
In the 1990s, Texas went from seventh in the nation in total manufacturing employment to second.
In 2018, 13 percent of the total output in the state came from manufacturing, and 7 percent of the workforce was employed in manufacturing.
Discuss the impact of oil prices on the economy. See www.oil-price.net.
Houston has become known worldwide for its medical center and expanding research facilities.
The Austin–San Marcos metropolitan area is the home of computer giant Dell.
The Dallas metropolitan area is the home of a number of important companies, including Texas Instruments.
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Economic Change in Texas: NAFTA, USMCA, and the International Economy, Part 1 of 2
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1992, created a free-trade zone among the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Texas exports increased.
Mexico is the top importer of Texas exports.
The signing of NAFTA in 1992 created a free-trade zone in North America. Although many Texas workers were adversely affected by the availability of cheaper labor in Mexico, NAFTA appears to have had a beneficial effect on the state’s economy as a whole. Here, President George H. W. Bush stands between President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada at the signing ceremony.
Ask students who won and who lost in the implementation of NAFTA.
The pressing national debate over terrorism and border security has added a new dimension to the debate in the twenty-first century.
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Economic Change in Texas: NAFTA, USMCA, and the International Economy, Part 2 of 2
The Trump administration’s concerns over undocumented workers in the United States and terrorism added a new dimension to the debate over NAFTA and global trade.
Most Texas political and business leaders continue to believe that expanding trade with Mexico and other countries is a good thing.
In 2018, NAFTA was replaced by a new trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada (USMCA).
Among the changes demanded by the Trump administration were provisions to protect American workers in the car industry from low wages, increased intellectual property protections, and an opening up of the Canadian milk market.
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Economic Change in Texas: The Military
Since annexation, the state’s economy has been closely tied to the establishment of military bases.
Military bases are economically vital to local communities.
An expanding military significantly stimulates economic growth and employment in Texas.
In 2019, 150,000 active-duty, reserve, and civilian personnel employed by the U.S. military were living in Texas.
See Figure 1.3.
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Who Are Texans?
Three factors account for population growth in Texas.
Natural increase (births)
International immigration (from outside the United States, particularly Mexico)
Domestic immigration (from one U.S. state to another)
Texas’s population in 2017 was estimated to be over 28 million.
By 2017 natural increase accounted for only a little over half the growth, while international immigration accounted for about 17 percent and domestic immigration for about 30 percent.
Texas, then, is being redefined more by new residents than by native-born Texans.
What factors may have played a role in the higher birth rate within the state?
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Who Are Texans? Whites
For most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the dominant ethnic group was non-Hispanic Whites.
The first wave was encouraged by empresarios such as Moses Austin and his son Stephen F. Austin.
As a percentage of the population, the White population peaked at 74 percent in 1950.
This percentage began to fall and will likely continue to fall.
41.5 percent in 2019
Note the importance to the growth of Texas of empresarios: individuals who promote, organize, or help finance particular endeavors.
Texas is a majority-minority state, which has tremendous implications for public policy.
Today, White Texans who were not born in Texas are likely to live in urban or suburban areas. Urbanites are likely to vote progressive, while suburbanites are more likely to vote Republican.
In what ways are demographics likely to change public policy in Texas?
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Who Are Texans? Latinos, Part 1 of 2
Most Latinos in Texas are of Mexican descent.
Until 1900, Latinos were concentrated in south Texas; by 2000, Latinos constituted majorities in San Antonio and El Paso and sizable minorities in other cities.
In 2019, there were approximately 11.5 million Latinos/as living in Texas, constituting over 19 percent of all Latinos in the United States.
The political status of Latinos in Texas has changed considerably over the past 100 years.
The number of Latinos elected to public office rose from 1,466 in 1986 to 2,521 in 2011.
See the Pew Hispanic Research Center for more information about Texas Latinos and related topics: www.pewhispanic.org/states/state/tx/.
In short, Latinos are not a new demographic or political phenomenon in the state.
Texas traces its origins to Spain and Mexico; there is nothing new about the presence of Latinos in Texas.
The use of the terms Hispanic and Latino can be confusing. This is a good opportunity to note the different meanings of these terms.
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Who Are Texans? Latinos, Part 2 of 2
The political status of Latinos in Texas has changed considerably over the past 100 years.
The White-only primary and the poll tax actively discouraged voting by Latinos.
In 1956, Henry B. Gonzalez became the first Mexican American to be elected to the Texas Senate in modern times.
The La Raza Unida Party emerged in the mid-1960s.
Poll tax: a tax that people were required to pay in order to vote.
The large number of Latino elected officials reflects two things:
There are a 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.
In 2016 the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials reported that 1 Latino served in the U.S. Senate from Texas, 5 Latinos represented Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives, 7 Latinos were in the Texas Senate, and 35 Latinos were elected to the state legislature. In addition, the association reported that 2,477 Latinos served as local officials in Texas.
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Who Are Texans? African Americans, Part 1 of 2
People of African descent were among the earliest explorers of Texas.
Most African Americans, however, entered the state as enslaved peoples.
Mexican authorities’ antislavery attitudes kept the enslaved population relatively low (5,000 in 1830) until the Texas Revolution and expansion of slavery.
Emancipation (June 19, 1865) did not bring anything approaching equality.
The number of slaves in Texas rose to 58,000 in 1850, and by the Civil War more than 182,000 slaves lived in Texas, approximately one-third of the state’s entire population.
Today, Black Americans and their allies celebrate Juneteenth on June 19 to commemorate the official end of slavery in the United States.
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Who Are Texans? African Americans, Part 2 of 2
Black Codes restricted the rights of formerly enslaved people.
The end of Reconstruction reversed much of the progress made by Black Texans.
Poll taxes, White primary laws, lynchings, segregation, and race riots have relegated the status of African Americans to that of second-class citizens.
Federal court cases in the 1940s and 1950s offered some hope of relief.
The Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights (1965) helped open the political system to African Americans.
In 1972, Barbara Jordan became the first African American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas.
End of reconstruction: In 1900 more than 100,000 African Americans voted in Texas elections. By 1903 the number had fallen to under 5,000. Between 1885 and 1942, 339 African Americans were lynched in Texas, with most lynchings taking place in the eastern portion of the state.
The Supreme Court decision in Smith v. Allwright (1944) outlawed the White primary.
The decision in Sweatt v. Painter (1950) guaranteed African Americans admission to Texas’s graduate and professional schools.
The landmark case Brown v. Board of Education (1954) outlawed the segregation of public schools.
Barbara Jordan
Born February 21, 1936, in Houston, Texas
Died January 17, 1996, in Austin, Texas
Previous office: Representative (TX 18th District), 1973–1979
Awards: Presidential Medal of Freedom, Spingarn Medal
Education: Boston University, Wheatley High School, Texas Southern University
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Who Are Texans? Asian Americans
Individuals come from across Asia, and in particular from:
India, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Korea, and Japan
In 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated over 1 million Asian Americans resided in Texas (5 percent of the state’s population).
Asian Americans tend to be concentrated in urban and suburban areas
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Who Are Texans? Age
The population of Texas is relatively young in comparison with the rest of the nation.
In 2019, 32.9 percent of the population was estimated to be under 18 years old, compared with 28.5 percent nationally.
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Who Are Texans? Poverty and Wealth
Despite rapid growth during the 1990s and the early twenty-first century, incomes in Texas have lagged behind those of the nation as a whole.
In part, this is a consequence of having a younger population.
Per capita income in Texas metropolitan areas is considerably higher than in rural areas.
The percentage of the population in Texas living below the federal poverty level has fluctuated but has remained higher than in the nation as a whole.
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Urbanization
Much of Texas’s history is linked to ongoing urbanization.
By the twenty-first century, the process of urbanization was largely complete.
Now, 85 percent of the population resides in urban areas (see Figure 1.8).
Urbanization and the accompanying suburbanization are the forces driving politics in modern Texas.
Urbanization: the process by which people move from rural areas to cities.
Suburbanization is the process by which people people move out of central city areas to surrounding suburban areas.
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Urban Political Life: Houston
Houston is the largest city in Texas, with a population of 2.3 million; it is the fourth-largest city in the United States.
Its metropolitan area includes eight counties, with around 6.1 million people.
It is the second- or third-busiest deep-water port in the United States (depending on whose ranking is used).
Oil fundamentally transformed the Houston area and made Houston one of the leading energy centers in the world.
Name other factors that have contributed to the prosperity of the Houston metropolitan area.
Are there any negatives about Houston’s growth (traffic, for example)?
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Urban Political Life: Dallas–Fort Worth
The Metroplex consists of Dallas, Fort Worth, and a number of other suburban cities.
With the discovery of oil in east Texas in 1930, Dallas became a major center for petroleum financing.
Dallas looks to the east and embodies a more corporate culture.
Fort Worth looks to the west and since the two world wars has emerged as the home of a large aviation industry.
The Metroplex is an economic region encompassing the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth as well as a number of their suburban cities, including Arlington (population 398,112 in 2018), Mesquite (142,816), Garland (242,507), Richardson (120,981), Irving (242,242), Plano (288,061), McKinney (191,645), Carrollton (136,879), Grand Prairie (194,614), Frisco (188,170), and Denton (138,541).
The railways had great significance for both Dallas and Fort Worth. In the early 1870s, Dallas became the first rail crossroads in Texas, forever transforming its place in the state’s economy. By 1900, Fort Worth was served by eight different railroad companies, many transporting cattle and cattle-related products.
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Urban Political Life: San Antonio
San Antonio grew out of the Spanish presidio San Antonio de Béxar.
It is Texas’s second-largest city.
San Antonio’s population has become increasingly Latino.
It lacks high-paying manufacturing jobs, and the average metropolitan income is lower than in Houston and Dallas.
The economy rests on national military bases, educational institutions, tourism, and a large medical research complex.
In San Antonio in 2018, approximately 64.2 percent of the people were Latino, 24.8 percent were White, and 6.9 percent were African American.
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Urban Political Life: Austin
As the state capital, Austin is the hub for government business.
It is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Texas.
Austin is the location of the University of Texas at Austin—the flagship institution of the University of Texas system.
Austin has a thriving high-tech industry.
Its per capita income and median household income are both greater than their corresponding state averages.
In 2012–13 it was estimated that the University of Texas, Austin generated $8.8 billion in Texas business activity.
Per capita income was $40,391—33 percent higher than the state average. Median household income was $67,462—13 percent higher than the state amount.
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Political Culture and the Future of Texas
The economy and the people of Texas have become diversified.
Texas has become a melting pot of cultures and concerns.
The future of Texas will likely not be defined by COVID-19 but by long-term economic and demographic changes.
Latinos will play an increasingly important role in the economic and political life of Texas.
President Trump’s call to reevaluate international trade agreements and to rethink our trade relationship with China may negatively affect Texas’s connection with the world economy.
Over the next 30 years, both political parties will have to adjust their expectations and ideologies to meet the demands of an electorate increasingly dominated by young Latino voters.
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