Introduction to History of Texas
Texas was inhabited by prehistoric peoples, who were nomadic hunters, as early as 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. When Europeans first came to the region, in the 16th century, there were 30,000 to 40,000 Indians in Texas. Of the many tribes in the area, the Caddoans were the most numerous then, but during the next 300 years Comanches became predominant.
Important dates in Texas1519 Alonso Alvarez de Pineda of Spain mapped the Texas coast.1528 Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and three other survivors of a shipwrecked Spanish expedition landed on the Texas coast and later explored parts of the region.1541 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traveled across part of west Texas.1542 Hernando de Soto's expedition explored part of northeast Texas.1682 Spanish missionaries built the first two missions in Texas, near present-day El Paso.1685 Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, founded Fort Saint Louis, a French settlement, on the Texas coast.1690 A Franciscan friar established the first mission in east Texas.1718 The Spaniards established a mission and a fort on the site of present-day San Antonio.1821 Texas became part of the new Empire of Mexico. The first colony of Americans settled in Texas under the sponsorship of Stephen F. Austin.1835 The Texas Revolution began.1836 Texas declared its independence from Mexico. The Alamo fell to Mexican forces. Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans in the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas became the independent Republic of Texas.1845 Texas became the 28th state on December 29.1861 Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America.1870 Congress readmitted Texas to the Union.1900 A hurricane struck Galveston resulting in about 6,000 deaths.1901 Oilmen discovered the great Spindletop field.1925 Texas became the second state to have a woman governor--Miriam A. Ferguson.1947 A ship explosion in Texas City harbor killed about 500 persons and injured about 3,000.1953 Congress restored Texas tidelands to the state.1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas was sworn in as the 36th president at Dallas Love Field Airport.1964 The Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) at Houston became the permanent headquarters of the U.S. astronauts.1994 The Census Bureau reported that Texas had risen from third to second in state population, passing New York.2000 Texas Governor George W. Bush was elected the 43rd president of the United States.The Spanish Era
In 1519 Alonso Alvarez de Pineda led a sea expedition from the West Indies along the Texas coast and claimed the region for Spain. Among the Spaniards who crossed Texas later in the 16th century were Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Fernando Vásquez de Coronado. However, no permanent development resulted from these explorations. In the late 17th century, the Spanish established missions near the Rio Grande in western Texas, at Ysleta (now part of El Paso) and Socorro.
Spain largely ignored eastern Texas until it was claimed for France in 1685 by the Sieur de La Salle, who landed at Matagorda Bay. After the area had been explored, some of the party went eastward by land. Those who remained were wiped out by disease and Indians. The Spanish, not knowing that the French colony had failed, sent an expedition in 1689 to destroy it and to establish missions in eastern Texas.
The first of these missions was built near the Neches River in what is now east-central Texas, and was named San Francisco de los Tejas. (The Spaniards thought “Tejas” was the name of the local Indians. Actually, the Hasinai, who were Caddoan Indians, referred to each other as Tayshas, which meant “allies” or “friends.”) A second mission was established nearby, but both were abandoned in a few years, when fears of French intrusion had subsided.
The appearance on the Rio Grande of a French trader in 1714 spurred new Spanish efforts to occupy eastern Texas. Four missions were founded in 1716; the present town of Nacogdoches occupies the site of one of them. In 1718 a mission and presidio (military post) were placed at a halfway point between the eastern and western settlements, at the site of present San Antonio. From then on an effort was made to colonize Texas. However, when the Mexicans gained their independence in 1821, there were probably not more than 7,000 non-Indian inhabitants in the area.
American-Mexican Conflict
In 1803, by the Louisiana Purchase, the United States acquired land west of the Mississippi. To the southwest it adjoined Texas, which American adventurers were inclined to treat as unclaimed territory. There were several clashes between Spanish authorities and intruders. However, in 1821 the Spanish granted permission to Moses Austin to settle a group of American families in Texas.
The American colony was established late in 1821 by Austin's son, Stephen F. Austin, who had his father's grant confirmed by newly independent Mexico. The original quota of 300 families was settled in the region west of present Houston. Austin obtained additional grants, and other American colonizers were permitted to bring in groups of no less than 200 families each. Soon the Americans far outnumbered the Mexicans. In 1832 the settlers petitioned Mexico to divide the state of Coahuila-Texas into two separate states and to give Texas privileges such as use of English in official business and its own militia.
When Mexico proved hostile to the settlers' desires and even jailed Austin briefly as a revolutionary, the Texans decided to fight for self-government. They attacked and defeated a Mexican force, sent to maintain authority, at Gonzales in October, 1835, and the next month formed a provisional government. San Antonio, the Mexican administrative center, was captured by the Texans in December. On March 2, 1836, Texas was declared an independent republic.
Meanwhile, the Mexican general Santa Anna had marched northward to put down the revolt. He arrived at San Antonio on February 23, 1836, and laid siege to the Alamo, the town fortress, which was defended by fewer than 200 Texans. After a heroic resistance to the last man, it fell on March 6. Two weeks later a force of Texans was compelled to surrender near Goliad; upon orders of Santa Anna the prisoners were slain.
General Sam Houston, leading the Texas Army, on April 21 attacked the Mexican forces at the San Jacinto River east of present Houston. With “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” as their rallying cry, the Texans won a quick victory. The capture of Santa Anna ended the conflict.
The Republic and Statehood
The Republic of Texas had adopted a constitution in March, and in October Sam Houston became its first elected president. The Texans also voted to have their country annexed by the United States, but a proposal to this effect was defeated in the U.S. Congress by members who feared conflict with Mexico and opposed admission of another proslavery state. The capital of the republic, established first at Columbia, was moved to Houston and in 1840 to Austin.
The republic encouraged immigration, and population grew from an estimated 30,000 American settlers in 1836 to 100,000 (not including slaves) in 1846. Cherokee Indians living in the northeast corner of the republic were driven out by force in 1839. In the west, however, Comanche raids restricted white settlement. In 1842 Mexico, which had never acknowledged the independence of Texas, invaded it twice.
Annexation of Texas by the United States was actively sought by President Tyler (1841–45) and was advocated by James K. Polk during the 1844 Presidential campaign. After Polk was elected but while Tyler was still in office, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing annexation. On December 29, 1845, Texas became the 28th state to enter the Union. Unlike most new states, which first became territories, Texas was admitted directly. A provision that Texas could be divided into as many as five separate states was never acted on.
The Mexican and Civil Wars
Mexico declared the annexation an act of war. Fighting was triggered in May, 1846, by disagreement over the boundary, Texas claiming territory south to the Rio Grande and Mexico claiming all territory north to the Nueces River. The first battles between Mexican and United States troops were fought in the disputed area. Fighting then moved into Mexico; it ended with the fall of Mexico City late in 1847. In the peace treaty the Rio Grande was set as the southern boundary of Texas.
Early in 1861, over the opposition of Governor Sam Houston, Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States. Although little fighting took place within state boundaries, Texas served the Confederacy by handling trade with Mexico. After the Union victory in 1865, Texas was permitted to form a new state government. In 1867, however, Reconstruction leaders in Congress had the state placed under military rule, which lasted until 1870.
Development of Resources
Before the Civil War the population of Texas was concentrated in the eastern area, where there were rivers and wooded areas and sufficient rainfall for crops, especially cotton. Settlements in the western plains consisted largely of military posts forming a line of defense against the Comanches. The posts were reactivated after the war, and in 1874–75 the majority of the Indians were subdued and confined to reservations. Then the buffalo herds were slaughtered for the animals' hides.
Meanwhile, cattle raising had become an important industry in East Texas, and great herds were being driven up the trails annually to the railheads in Kansas. With the Indians and buffalo gone, the herds were moved onto the plains. There was a constantly growing demand for beef in the North and in Europe, and great cattle ranches developed in West Texas. The cattlemen were followed by sheepmen, the sheepmen by farmers. By the end of the century the plains were largely occupied.
Although oil had been discovered in Texas as early as 1866, it was not until the rich Spindletop field near Beaumont was opened in 1901 that an oil boom began. One discovery followed another; the greatest was the East Texas field, in 1930–31. Agricultural developments of the 20th century included introduction of citrus groves in the lower Rio Grande valley and of cotton in the western plains.
Modern Developments
In World War II a number of aviation plants were established in Texas and a petrochemical industry developed. Industrialization of the state increased rapidly in the postwar period. Extensive water-conservation projects provided irrigation on a vast scale and for greater urban populations and the demands of industry. In 1962 the federal government's manned space center was established in Houston. In November, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while in Dallas, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded to the Presidency. Johnson was the first Texan to become President.
During the 1970's, the state underwent rapid population growth and urbanization. Expansion of the oil and gas industries spurred economic development. In the 1980's drought, falling oil prices, and widespread failures of savings and loan institutions precipitated an economic downturn. This was the first interruption of economic growth in Texas since the Great Depression a half century earlier.
The economy improved greatly in the 1990's due in part to a reduced reliance on the oil industry. Thousands of jobs were created in the high technology sector. George W. Bush, son of the former president, was elected governor in 1994 and 1998. Bush resigned his position as governor to accept the post of U.S. president in 2000, and lieutenant governor Rick Perry replaced him.