1.
Texas
–
Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
2.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Texas's 25th congressional district
–
Texas District 25 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that stretches from Fort Worth to Austin. The current Representative from District 25 is Roger Williams, for the 2004 elections, it had an elongated shape stretching from deep south Texas at the U. S. -Mexico border to Austin as a result of mid-decade 2003 gerrymandering of Texas congressional districts. The district was again for the 2006 elections as the result of a lawsuit. The redistricting split Travis County into five districts, four of which were heavily Republican, as a result, the only realistic place for Representative Lloyd Doggett to run was the new 35th district. There is a currently pending consolidated lawsuit against the proposed redistricting, in March 2017, a panel of federal judges ruled that the new 35th district and two others were illegally drawn with discriminatory intent. On June 28,2006, the U. S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislatures 2003 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23. Since the 25th was not compact enough to be an acceptable replacement, the size of the 23rd required the redrawing of nearly every district from El Paso to San Antonio. As a result, on August 4,2006, a three-judge panel announced replacement district boundaries for 2006 election for the 23rd district, as well as for the 15th, 21st, 25th and 28th districts. On election day in November, these five districts held open primaries, if any candidate received over 50%, otherwise, a runoff election in December decided the seat. Incumbent congressman Doggett faced Republican Grant Rostig, independent candidate Brian Parrett, and Libertarian Party Barbara Cunningham, in the 2008 election Doggett faced Republican George Morovich, a structural engineer from La Grange and Libertarian Jim Stutsman, a retired Army veteran. Doggett won with 65. 8% of the vote to Morovichs 30. 5%, Doggett won 73. 8% of the vote in his Austin-based stronghold of Travis County. Dogget faced Republican and Tea Party favorite Donna Campbell, and again held his seat, the new district boundaries were more favorable to Republicans, as had been foreseen. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
4.
Republican Party (United States)
–
The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, the dominant value during the American Revolution and it was founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854. The Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932, there have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one party. The Republican Partys current ideology is American conservatism, which contrasts with the Democrats more progressive platform, further, its platform involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense, deregulation, and restrictions on labor unions. In addition to advocating for economic policies, the Republican Party is socially conservative. As of 2017, the GOP is documented as being at its strongest position politically since 1928, in addition to holding the Presidency, the Republicans control the 115th United States Congress, having majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures, the main cause was opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise by which slavery was kept out of Kansas. The Northern Republicans saw the expansion of slavery as a great evil, the first public meeting of the general anti-Nebraska movement where the name Republican was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20,1854, in a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. The name was chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jeffersons Republican Party. The first official party convention was held on July 6,1854, in Jackson and it oversaw the preserving of the union, the end of slavery, and the provision of equal rights to all men in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877. The Republicans initial base was in the Northeast and the upper Midwest, with the realignment of parties and voters in the Third Party System, the strong run of John C. Fremont in the 1856 United States presidential election demonstrated it dominated most northern states, early Republican ideology was reflected in the 1856 slogan free labor, free land, free men, which had been coined by Salmon P. Chase, a Senator from Ohio. Free labor referred to the Republican opposition to labor and belief in independent artisans. Free land referred to Republican opposition to the system whereby slaveowners could buy up all the good farm land. The Party strove to contain the expansion of slavery, which would cause the collapse of the slave power, Lincoln, representing the fast-growing western states, won the Republican nomination in 1860 and subsequently won the presidency. The party took on the mission of preserving the Union, and destroying slavery during the American Civil War, in the election of 1864, it united with War Democrats to nominate Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket. The partys success created factionalism within the party in the 1870s and those who felt that Reconstruction had been accomplished and was continued mostly to promote the large-scale corruption tolerated by President Ulysses S. Grant ran Horace Greeley for the presidency. The Stalwarts defended Grant and the system, the Half-Breeds led by Chester A. Arthur pushed for reform of the civil service in 1883
5.
Somervell County, Texas
–
Somervell County is a county on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 8,490 and its county seat is Glen Rose. The county is named for Alexander Somervell, Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas, Somervell County is included in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Granbury Micropolitan Area. The county contains the Comanche Peak Nuclear Generating Station, one of two power plants in Texas. Caddo tribe Anadarko villages were scattered along Trinity and Brazos Rivers, the Caddo tribe of Wichita also inhabited the area. The Anadarko became entangled with the French battles with the Spanish and later the Anglos and suffered the consequences, by 1860, these tribes moved to Oklahoma. The Tonkawa were hunter-gatherers of the area, and often traded with their allies the Caddo, like the Wichita, Karankawa and Jumano, the Tonkawa tattooed their bodies and faces. Friendly with the settlers, Tonkawa were employed as scouts for the Texas Rangers. The county was formed and organized in 1875 from Hood County, the town of Glen Rose became the county seat. Torrey Trading Houses opened as a part of the Sam Houston peace policy to develop relationships with native tribes. They bought from, and sold to, the Indians on a banking and credit system, enabling them to recover stolen horses. The Torreys sold their business to George Barnard in 1848, who with his brother Charles moved the Tehuacana store in Limestone County to near Comanche Peak, Juana Josefina Cavazos had been captured by Comanches as a teenager. She was daughter of Maria Josefa Cavazos, and granddaughter of Don José Narciso Cavazos Gonzalez-Hildago who in 1792 received the largest land grant in Texas, George ransomed Juana from the tribe, but it was brother Charles who married her in 1848. Somervell County got its first courthouse in Glen Rose in 1882, the second and current courthouse was built in 1894 by architect John McCormick. The roof and clock tower were damaged in the 1902 Glen Rose tornado, County funds at the time limited the repair, which eliminated the clock tower. In 1986, work was done to restore the structure to its original design, Glen Rose Collegiate Institute, AKA Glen Rose College, operated as a private faith-based educational facility from 1889 to 1910. Educational competition from the school system caused enrollment to taper off until the institution was shut down. Under the New Deal Works Progress Administration, Glen Rose built a new water and sewage system in the 1930s, as well as buildings, a canning plant
6.
Hamilton County, Texas
–
Hamilton County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 8,517, the county was created in 1858. It is named for James Hamilton Jr. a former governor of South Carolina who gave aid to the Republic of Texas. Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the area, later Indian tribes settled in the area, including Tawakoni, Tonkawa, Waco and Comanche. In 1821, shortly after Mexico claimed its independence from Spain, Anglo settlers from the North came to Texas, following Texass independence from Mexico and its annexation by the United States, Robert Carter and family became the first permanent white settlers in the county in 1854. The next year, settlers James Rice, Henry Standefer, Frederic Bookerman, William Beauchamp, Asa Langford began Langfords Cove, which later grows into present-day Evant. In 1858 the Sixth Texas Legislature formed Hamilton County, named after James Hamilton Jr. from parts of Comanche, Bosque, in 1858, Hamilton was named the county seat. Despite growing white settlements in Texas, Indian tribal presences remained, in 1867, Comanche raiders attacked a school where Ann Whitney was the teacher. She helped students escape before succumbing to 18 Comanche arrows. In 1882, the Hico community initiated the annual Hico Old Settlers Reunion, by 1900, cotton cultivation had spread to almost 47,500 acres of county land. By 1907, the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway had connected Hamilton with Stephenville, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas connected Hamilton with Gatesville and Comanche in 1911. In 1934, the Civil Works Administrations payroll included 747 Hamilton County men, in 1950, Ollie P. Roberts, a resident of Hico during the late 1940s, claimed to have been the outlaw Billy The Kid. The assertion is based on a legend that Patrick F. Garrett helped Billy fake his own death, Hico Chamber of Commerce responded by opening a Billy The Kid Museum. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 836 square miles. The population density was 10 people per square mile, there were 4,455 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 93. 81% White,0. 15% Black or African American,0. 44% Native American,0. 15% Asian,0. 05% Pacific Islander,4. 36% from other races, and 1. 05% from two or more races. 7. 41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,28. 40% of all households were made up of individuals and 17. 40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the family size was 2.89
Bosque County, Texas
