Historical facts of Texas - Essay Example

Historical facts of Texas Lyndon Johnson was born in the 1908, in Stonewall Texas, and went on to become the 36Th president of the United States of America at the age of 55 years. He was a Southern democrat who was seen, by his fellow democrats, as not being able to champion the civil rights bill once he got into congress. Johnson altered southern politics by encouraging the legislation of laws and bills that alleviated the plight of minorities in Texas. This was against the norms of southern politics and culture, which encouraged the segregation, and discrimination of African Americans and Hispanics. When Johnson was a senator, he altered his stance on the civil rights issue and movement, an act that was clearly outlined by his support for the BROWN decision, in 1954 (Bullock & Rozell 31). His reasons forwarded to other southern politicians were that he saw the need to support the American constitution and the Supreme Court’s place and authority in the country. In the real sense, he was working behind the scenes to get equal treatment for black farmers and schoolchildren. Johnson used his political influence to convince other southern politicians accept the change he was advocating for, in order for the southern regions to benefit through economic advances. Lyndon Johnson’s influence and participation in the fight for civil rights saw the southern politics arena become more polarized, and in the end, it saw the southern democrats break into factions (Bullock & Rozell 89). This was due to Johnson’s progressive alteration and representation of southern politics in ways that the southerners saw as misrepresentation. This is because, when Johnson became president after J, F. Kennedy’s assassination, his policies and principles took a national outlook. This according to the southerners did not adequately address their concerns thus their displeasure and subsequent dissatisfaction with Johnson. In the book, ‘A memoir of a Texas childhood’ by Horton Foote, the themes of poverty, fear, depression, racism, marital strife and injustice are clearly highlighted in the text. The book tells of the author’s early formative years as a child in rural Texas where he grew up in an extended family. In the book, the reader learns of the Foote’s experiences in life, and lessons learnt from his diverse familial relations. Horton was able to experience first hand the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering that slaves had to go through in their life. In the book, the reader is given an insight into his thoughts in the excerpt where he narrates about the slave girl who begged his sister to buy her mother’s freedom (Foote 120). According to Foote, this scenario got Horton thinking about what kind of man his grandfather was because he was a church minister and at the same time involved in the sale of other human beings. Horton is faced with many dilemmas, which are brought about by conflicting loyalties for his friends and family. The theme of racism and inherited wealth comes through when he faced with the making the choice of upholding his family or friends. This is because he had to uphold his family’s legacy as slavers in the perspective of the Ku Klux Klan or to remain friends with his black friends from his childhood (Foote 98). This burden came from the fact that he was part of the people that inherited their grandfather’s estate and assets; therefore, it was their duty to uphold his legacy. The great depression saw Horton strengthen his conviction that America needed to change the way it related to own citizens. This because the great depression, significantly affected their huge farm in Texas because did not want the help of the minorities a fact that was being fueled by racism and discrimination. Horton reasoned that the collective and equal participation of all American citizens in the economy was the only way to successful recover from the effects of the depression. Horton’s principles and philosophies made him the first person, in his extended family, to become a democrat, which saw him support the likes of Lyndon Johnson’s views and policies. The United States border with Mexico is an international border that runs from Texas to Imperial Beach, in California, and it is the most crossed border point in the world. Texas and Mexico were generally part of the Spanish colony, and the discovery of silver and other minerals prompted settlement. In the 19Th century, the US began buying these lands from the French in what was known as the Louisiana Purchase and which saw a steady expansion of the territory westward (Torres 128). According to Torres, the Texas border was created when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed that saw Mexico lose more than 900,000 square miles of territory to the US. Together with the treaty of 1884, both treaties were responsible for settlement and demarcation of the international border. The distinctive shape of the Texan-Mexican border is due to the constant exchange of tracts of territory between the US and Mexico that was caused by disputes between the two countries. The dispute that is widely known is the Chamizal dispute that saw 260 acres transferred from Mexican territory to that of the US (Torres 201). Works Cited Bullock, C. S. &Rozell, M. J.The New Politics of the Old South: An Introduction to Southern Politics. 4Th Edition.Rowman& Littlefield. 2010. Print. Foote, H. Beginnings: A Memoir. Illustrated Edition.Simon and Schuster. 2001. Print. Torres, J. M. The Making of the Mexican Border.Illustrated Edition.University of Texas Press. 2001. Print. Read More