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Stretching 1,244 km (773 mi) from east to west and 1,289 km
(801 mi) from north to south, Texas, the Lone Star State, occupies
almost 7.5 percent of the total U.S. land area.
By 1994 Texas had grown to become the second most populous
U.S. state, moving ahead of New York and following California.
It derives its name from the Spanish and Indian words tejas
and techas, meaning "friends" or "allies."
Early European explorers in the area were the Spaniards Alon-
so Alvarez de Pineda, Alvar Nunez CABEZA DE VACA , and Francisco
CORONADO .
American Interest in Texas
The sale (1803) of Louisiana to the United States increased
interest in Texas from the east.
Augustus Magee, a U.S. army officer in Louisiana, befriended
the Mexican patriot Bernardo Gutierrez, who had been fighting for
his country's independence from Spain.
They led an expedition into Texas and captured Nacogdoches,
Goliad, and San Antonio before Magee died mysteriously in Goliad.
In 1819, Dr. James Long of Natchez, Miss., led another expe-
dition to Texas, hoping to make the region an independent state.
He captured Nacogdoches, but his forces were soon defeated.
A year later, Moses Austin visited San Antonio and sought
permission to settle Americans in Texas.
Upon returning to Missouri, his dying request was that his
son, Stephen AUSTIN, carry out his plans, which the Spanish had
approved.
A new law required that agents introduce at least 200 famili-
es of colonists, so Austin made an agreement with the Mexican go-
vernor to settle 300 American families.
Colonization was so successful, however, that by 1836 the po-
pulation of Texas was 50,000.
Revolution and Republic
In 1830 the Mexican congress enacted a law to limit immigra-
tion to Texas.
Most settlers found unacceptable the requirement that they
become Roman Catholics because most of them were Protestants.
War broke out between the American settlers and the Mexican
government in 1835
The Texans won the first battle at Gonzales on Oct. 2, 1835.
The same year the Texans captured San Antonio.
A provisional government was set up on Mar. 2, 1836.
Sam HOUSTON was named commander in chief of the Texas armies.
Stephen Austin having gone to Washington to solicit aid.
In February and March 1836 one of the most heroic battles in
history occurred at the Alamo.
The 187 defenders, commanded by Travis, James BOWIE, and Davy
CROCKETT, then held the Alamo for another five days before it fell.
Despite reverses, the Texans declared their independence.
On Mar. 2, 1836, David Burnet was named provisional presi-
dent.
Statehood and the Mexican War
The Texas republic, whose independence had been recognized by
the United States, Great Britain, France, Holland, and Belgium, was
soon struggling with Indian wars, raids by Mexican forces, and fi-
nancial problems.
In September 1836, Texans voted for annex ation by the United
States.
On Dec. 29, 1845, the U.S. Congress accepted the Texas state
constitution, and Texas became the 28th state, with legal slavery.
The MEXICAN WAR between the United States and Mexico followed
within a few months of Texas' entry into the union.
The U.S. victory in that war established the Rio Grande as
the border between Mexico and the United States.
MODERN.
The modern economic development of Texas started in January
1901 with the eruption of an oil well drilled at Spindletop, near
Beaumont.
The economy of Texas has become highly diversified, and its
population has more than quintupled during the 20th century.
Texas is divided into 14 land resource areas.
The soils vary greatly in depth from one region to another
and show different physical properties.
Texas has two sources of water: aquifers and streams with
their reservoirs.
Water from the former has traditionally been an essential so-
urce of municipal supplies.
Texas has relatively few natural lakes but hundreds of arti-
ficial ones.
Texas is the temporary home every year for many migratory
birds.
The state's indigenous animals include the mule and white-ta-
iled deer, black bear, mountain lion, antelope, and bighorn.
The American bison, or buffalo, is found only in zoos and on
a few ranches.
Among the smaller animals are the muskrat, raccoon, opossum,
jackrabbit, fox, mink, coyote, and armadillo.
Minerals represent a very significant part of the state's na-
tural wealth.
The Texas Panhandle is one of the world's great natural-gas
reservoirs.
The state's great variety of soils must also be considered as
a resource.
PEOPLE
Although surpassed in population only by California, Texas is
still considerably less crowded than the nation as a whole.
Texas is made up of whites, who constitute about 75 percent
of the population; blacks, about 12 percent; and other nonwhites,
about 13 percent.
Counties and Cities
Texas has 254 counties.
Major cities include the capital, AUSTIN; the state's largest
city, Houston,Dallas and other.
Culture.
Texas has several hundred public libraries--the largest being
those in Dallas and Houston.
There are more than 300 museums, and there are 3 major symp-
hony orchestras--in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
Communications
The first newspaper in Texas, the Gaceta de Texas (Texas Ga-
zette), was published in 1813 at Nacogdoches.
Among the oldest English newspapers are the Galveston Daily
News (1842) and the Dallas Morning News (1885).
Mining
Texas is among the nation's most important producers of mine-
rals.
It leads the nation in the production of natural gas and ura-
nium and is second, after Alaska, in crude petroleum production.
Texas in recent years has supplied about one-third of the
U.S. production of natural gas and about 25 percent of the U.S.
production of oil.
Iron is also mined.
Tourism
Texas attracts millions of out-of-state visitors annually.
Many visitors explore Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Fort
Worth, El Paso, Austin, and other cities.
Texas's two national parks, BIG BEND and Guadalupe Mountains,
are also popular.
Hunting and fishing are popular pastimes for visitors and
Texas alike, as are professional and college sports events.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The present Texas constitution was adopted on Feb. 15, 1876,
but has been amended many times.
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