Texas, Texas

It is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, with an area of , and with a growing population of 24.6 million residents.

France held a short lived colony in Texas. Mexico owned the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation helped set off a chain of events that caused the MexicanAmerican War in 1846. Texas seceded from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America on March 2, 1861.

Authorities in Mexican Texas had neither manpower nor funds to protect settlers from near-constant Comanche raids. In the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the Indian raids, the government liberalized its immigration policies for the region, and for the first time settlers from the United States were permitted to immigrate to Mexico. Manchaca (2001), p. 164.

Texas grew rapidly, from a population of approximately 3,500 (primarily of Mexican descent) in 1825 Edmondson (2000), p. 75.

During this time of Texas political turmoil, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna personally led an army to end the revolt. Hardin (1994), p. 102.

Mexico launched two small expeditions into Texas in 1842. The town of San Antonio was captured twice and Texans were defeated in battle in the Dawson Massacre. Despite these defeats, Mexico did not keep an occupying force in Texas, and the Republic survived.

Polk declared this incident an act of war. The first battles of the war were fought in Texas: the Siege of Fort Texas, Battle of Palo Alto and Battle of Resaca de la Palma. After these decisive victories, the United States invaded Mexican territory ending the fighting in Texas.

Abraham Lincoln's election triggered South Carolina's declaration of secession from the Union. A State Convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28, 1861. On February 1, by a vote of 166-8, the Convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession from the United States. Texas voters ratified the Ordinance on February 23, 1861. Texas joined the Confederate States of America, ratifying the permanent C.S. Constitution on March 23, 1861.

Not wanting to aggravate the situation further in Texas, Houston refused two offers from President Lincoln for Union troops to keep him in office. However, he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy and was deposed as governor.

Union troops briefly occupied the state's primary port, Galveston. Texas' border with Mexico was known as the "backdoor of the Confederacy" because trade occurred at the border, bypassing the Union blockade.

The final battle of the Civil War was fought near Brownsville Texas at Palmito Ranch.

Other fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, West Texas, and under the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting "Oil Boom" permanently transformed the economy of Texas.

It is in the south-central part of the United States of America. The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River form natural state borders, Oklahoma on the north, Louisiana and Arkansas on the east, & the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Len, and Tamaulipas to the south. The state's Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100 W, a northern border with Oklahoma at 3630' N and a western border with New Mexico at 103 W. El Paso lies on the state's western tip at 32 N and the Rio Grande.

While Texas has only one natural lake, Caddo Lake, Texans have built over 100 artificial ones Alphabetical List of Texas Lakes.

The continental crust forms a stable Mesoproterozoic craton which changes across a broad continental margin and transitional crust into true oceanic crust of the Gulf of Mexico. The oldest rocks in Texas date from the Mesoproterozoic and are about 1,600 million years old. These Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks underlie most of the state, and are exposed in three places: Llano uplift, Van Horn, and the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso. Sedimentary rocks overlay most of these ancient rocks. The oldest sediments were deposited on the flanks of a rifted continental margin, or passive margin that developed during Cambrian time. This margin existed until Laurasia and Gondwana collided in the Pennsylvanian era to form Pangea. This is the buried crest of the Appalachian Mountains–Ouachita Mountains zone of Pennsylvanian continental collision. This orogenic crest is today buried beneath the Dallas–Waco—Austin–San Antonio trend.

At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely to form thick evaporite deposits of Jurassic age. These salt deposits formed salt dome diapirs, and are found in East Texas, along the Gulf coast. Muzzafar, Asif.

Texas from 2000–2006 had the fastest growing illegal immigration rate in the nation.

Like many states, it explicitly provides for a separation of powers. The state's Bill of Rights is much larger than its federal counterpart, and has a number of provisions unique to Texas.

Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, for civil cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except for some municipal benches, partisan elections select judges at all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies by appointment.

Over the years, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted as riot police and as detectives, protected the Texas governor, tracked down fugitives, and functioned as a paramilitary force at the service of both the Republic (1836–45) and the state. The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by Stephen F. Austin in 1823 and formally constituted in 1835. The Rangers were part of several important events of Texas history and some of the best-known criminal cases in the history of the Old West. . Accessed January 14, 2009.

Senators. In the 111th United States Congress, of the 32 congressional districts in Texas, 20 are held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats. Texas' Senators are Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. Since 1994, Texans have not elected a Democrat to a statewide office. The state's Democratic presence comes primarily from minority groups and urban voters, particularly in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.

The state does not have townships— areas within a county are either incorporated or unincorporated. Incorporated areas are part of a municipality. The county provides limited services to unincorporated areas. Municipalities are classified either "general law" cities or "home rule". McDonald, John V., "An Analysis of Texas' Municipal Home Rule Charters Since 1994" (2000). Applied Research Projects. Paper 124. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/124/ A municipality may elect home rule status once it exceeds 5,000 population with voter approval. Municipal elections are nonpartisan as are elections for school boards.

Texas's large population, abundance of natural resources, and diverse population and geography have led to a large and diverse economy. Since oil was discovered, the state's economy has reflected the state of the petroleum industry . In recent times, urban centers of the state have increased in size, containing two-thirds of the population in 2005. The state's economic growth has led to excessive urban sprawl and its associated symptoms.

Despite the California electricity crisis, Texas still has a deregulated electric service.

Texas has the headquarters of many high technology companies, such as Dell, Inc., Texas Instruments, Perot Systems, AT&T, Hewlett Packard, and Electronic Data Systems (EDS).

Texas paid instructors $38,130, below the national average. The state provided 89.22% of the funding for education, the federal government 10.8%.

Both were established by the Texas Constitution and hold stakes in the Permanent University Fund.

Texas Tech University, the University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Dallas are generally considered in the upper echelon from which the next tier one research flagship university will emerge.

Source: Wikipedia > Texas