On this date in 1845, the Republic of Texas entered the United States of America as the 28th state.
When the United States bought the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, the U.S. attempted to include Texas in the Purchase. In 1819, after sixteen years of dispute, the boundary was set at the Sabine River, which is the current border of Louisiana and Texas.
From 1819 to 1836, Texas was part of Mexico. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico, becoming the Republic of Texas. As most declarations of independence do, this one resulted in a war between the Republic of Texas and Mexico, including the Battle of the Alamo, lost by the Texans, and the Battle of San Jacinto, which resulted in the Texans soundly defeating the Mexicans.
Texans elected Sam Houston as President of the Republic but also endorsed Texas entering the Union as a State. The likelihood of Texas joining as a slave state delayed formal action by the U.S. Congress for more than a decade. Congress agreed to annex the territory of Texas in 1844, and on December 29, 1845, Texas entered the United States as a slave state. A dispute involving the southern boundary of Texas resulted in the Mexican American War, which the United States won.
The Mexican American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which Mexico ceded the current lands currently comprising California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as parts of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The southern boundary of Texas was set as the Rio Grande river.
Other interesting facts about Texas:
-
Texas is pretty much a red state, which is one of the many reasons why I don’t live there anymore. I left on April 15, 1993, and arrived in San Diego 12 days later, taking a circuitous route to Fargo, North Dakota; over to Seattle, Washington; and down to San Diego.
-
Texas does not have a State income tax. Its money comes from property taxes and sales taxes.
-
Texas has a population of 26,059,203, making it the second most populous state (behind California).
-
Texas is the second largest state (behind Alaska), with 268,820 square miles.
-
Texas has three cities ranked in the Top 10 for population: Houston at #4, San Antonio at #7, and Dallas at #9. (California also has three cities in the Top 10: Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose.)
-
Texas has the most farms and the highest acreage in the United States.
-
Texas leads the nation in livestock production — cattle, sheep, and goats.
-
Texas leads the nation in cotton production.
-
My alma mater, Texas A&M University, is the state’s first public institution of higher education and has the state’s largest enrollment at 53,337 students (fourth largest in the nation). It is the nation’s only land grand, sea grant, and space grant university. Texas A&M also has the largest main campus of any university, with 5,500 acres.
-
Two presidential libraries are located in Texas: Lyndon B. Johnson in at the University of Texas at Austin and George Bush at Texas A&M University. A third one is in the workds, George W. Bush at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
-
Texas emits more greenhouse gases than any other state, with Port Arthur (a heavy oil refining locale) having some of the dirtiest air in the United States.
-
I survived many hurricanes and tropical storms while living in Texas, the most significant of which were Beulah (1967), Celia (1970), and Allen (1980).
-
The deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 people.
-
My childhood home in Kingsville, courtesy of Google Streetview:
I planted the two oak trees after Hurricane Celia in 1970. They were just a foot high.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Great post. I like that you planted those two trees and that they are still there.Good education in your post. Nice indeed.
LikeLike
Hi Russel,
Thanks for sharing these interesting facts. One quesion rem ains, though: when will Texas leave the Union again?! 😉
Take care, and have a great weekend,
Pit
LikeLike
I suspect when he!! freezes over………..lol
LikeLike
I hope so, too. But then, for Texas to become a blue state again, that might also only then.
LikeLike
Blue state again? Has it ever been a blue state? lol
Actually, all any state needs to become blue is lots of people. The more people there are, and the closer they have to live to each other (and learn about diversity and things like that), the bluer they become.
I haven’t looked at the 2012 election results in detail yet, but in 2008, every city except Salt Lake City was blue. The rural areas, sparsely populated and with lots of land between people, were red. I suspect it’s the same for 2012.
LikeLike
Wasn’t Texas a blue state at the time of LBJ? I don’t know for sure, though. Will look it up some time. And as to the differences between cities and rural areas in the election results, I think you may be right there.
Best regards from the “outpost of the blues” 😉
Pit
LikeLike
Good question. It’s been red since 1980.
LikeLike
I always appreciate your blog posts, they are informative, often entertaining and very interesting. I don’t know if you take part in accepting blog awards? Because I have nominated you for Blog Of The Year 2012 Award. Here is the link
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
You are welcome. You can display the logo on your blog if you want to.
LikeLike
The link – http://quirkybooks.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/quirkybooks-third-blog-of-the-year-2012-award
LikeLike
So much about Texas that I never knew. Great post. Have a great New Year.
LikeLike
Very interesting, thanks Russsel.
LikeLike
Great information. Sad on the health insurance. I love that the trees you planted are still there!
LikeLike
I always thought US stamps were very dull, but you make them incredibly interesting. Our country voters tend to be conservative (National) and the cities or urban areas are usually Labour (more socialist).
LikeLike
Great post, Russel! I loved the facts about Texas as well as the great stamps. I left Georgia many years ago for similar reasons to you. While there are wonderful individuals there, the culture of intolerance does not suit me. Colorado is a much better fit. (Oh and NOT Colorado Springs!)
LikeLike
Lots of good information Russel. I enjoyed reading this very much. I have family and friends in Texas. Your oak trees grew large and beautiful. Give Zoey some nose kisses for us! Hugs
LikeLike
Interesting research. You are man of many talents.
LikeLike
Feels just like home!
LikeLike