Introduction to Texas

1. Introduction to Texas By Loren Miller

2. Political Culture: A people’s shared framework of values, beliefs, and habits of behavior related to government and politics. It refers to how we view the: -- relationship between the government and the people -- rights and responsibilities of the people -- obligations of government -- limits on government authority

3. Political Culture: American political culture is a mix of three distinct subcultures: -- moralistic -- individualistic -- traditionalistic The political culture of a state can change over time and a state as large and diverse as Texas may contain different cultures in different areas of the state. How do Texans feel about government and politics?

4. Moralistic Political Subculture: Rooted in Puritan New England. Concerned with “right and wrong” in politics. Politics revolves around issues and politicians run for office to advance issues. Belief that government can be a positive force; one that values the individual but functions for the benefit of the general public.

5. Moralistic Political Subculture: Citizen participation is encouraged and politicians should not profit from their public service. -- corruption is not tolerated because government service is seen as public service. Bureaucracy is viewed favorably as a way to achieve public good. Does this sound like Texas?

6. Individualistic Political Subculture: Rooted in the Middle Atlantic states and in the southern part of the Midwest. The primary objective of government should be to further private enterprise, while intervention into people’s lives should be limited (rugged self-reliance). Does this sound like Texas? “What’s good for the business community is good for Texas.”

7. Individualistic Political Subculture: Government’s role is to ensure stability so that individuals can pursue their own interests. Business and politics are appropriate avenues by which an individual can advance their interests. -- conflicts of interest are commonplace. -- a degree of political corruption is viewed as inevitable. -- bureaucracy is viewed negatively as it hinders patronage.

8. Individualistic Political Subculture: Politicians’ motives for running for office are based on material self-interests and to advance themselves professionally. Elections are oriented toward gaining office and do not deal with issues. Politics is a matter for professionals rather than for everyone. -- Government should not get in the way

9. Traditionalistic Political Subculture: Predominant in the southern states and rooted in their plantation culture and the patron system of northern Mexico. Government has an active role, but it primarily serves to maintain dominant social and religious values (maintain the status quo). Government is also expected to support traditional class distinctions and to encourage the beliefs of the dominant religion.

10. Traditionalistic Political Subculture: Politics is the special preserve of the social and economic elite. Participation in politics is a privilege: -- social pressure and restrictive election laws that limit participation are legitimate. -- Texas was one of the last states to eliminate the poll tax and the white primary and recently enacted a restrictive voter ID law.

11. Traditionalistic Political Subculture: This subculture supports personal rather than public solutions to problems and makes it easy to ignore human needs. -- Texas ranks at or near the top in dubious social policy areas such as high school dropout rates, incidence of teen pregnancy, and number of children living in poverty. -- These data mirror the reluctance of Texans to accept change of almost any kind. -- One of the last states to introduce legalized gambling and abolish the “blue laws.”

12. Political Culture

13. Texas Political Culture: No single unified Texas political culture has emerged. Texas has a mix of traditionalistic and individualistic subcultures. -- traditionalistic overrides the individualistic in East Texas which was initially settled from the upper South and from the Mexican border area. -- individualistic overrides the traditionalistic in the rest of the state

14. Texas Political Culture: The traditionalistic aspect of state politics are exemplified by: -- the long history of one-party dominance in state politics -- the low level of voter turnout -- social and economic conservatism The individualistic aspect of state politics are exemplified by: -- support for private business -- opposition to big government -- faith in individual initiative

15. Texas Political Culture: • Factors accounting for the diversity of cultures include: • Migration Patterns – Texas has always been a diverse society and many groups have not been assimilated • -- German Hill Country • -- Rio Grande Valley

16. Texas Political Culture: 2) Legacy of Political Independence – an independent nation; confident of own abilities; pride in the state -- Conservative: self-reliant; opposed to outside help 3) Influence of the Old South – particularly in East Texas -- Southern fundamentalism: conservative; Bible Belt; race as an issue; friendliness and hospitality

17. Texas Political Culture: 4) Influence of the Frontier – isolation; economic distress; physical hardship -- self-reliance: don’t rely on government; Judge Roy Bean -- attachment to boots, guns, horses and beer (horse stealing v. wife killing) 5) Religious Fundamentalism -- moral legislation: blue laws and prohibition -- belief in hard work and self-help and opposition to labor unions

19. Political Socialization Political socialization reflect some of the values of a political culture. The people and institutions that are responsible for teaching us the dominant values of the society in which we are raised are agents of socialization.

20. Political Socialization Home Life: We begin to pick up social and political attitudes at an early age. Children tend to pick up their parents’ views with relatively little questioning. “Those crooks in Congress” “The liberal media” As we mature we expand our circle of influencers.

21. Political Socialization Grade School: Public schools are conservative in that their job is to conserve and reproduce the dominant values in society. Good citizenship Patriotism Permissible forms of political participation

22. Political Socialization Higher Education: We begin to be exposed to conflicting and controversial views.

23. Political Socialization Religion: How does religion impact socialization? Registered Voters

24. Political Ideology A political ideology is a consistent set of values and beliefs about the proper purpose and scope of government Are people consistent in their political ideology? -- no; people can be liberal in some areas and conservative in others -- e.g., liberal in domestic affairs and conservative in international politics

25. Liberalism Principles of Liberalism: -- a broad political principle centered on the rights of the individual -- belief in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all -- it is the duty of the government to alleviate social ills and protect civil liberties and human rights -- the role of the government is to see that no person is in need -- tend to be optimistic in that they believe that society is progressively getting better

26. Liberalism ”If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” John F. Kennedy

27. Liberalism in the United States The darker the blue, the more liberal the state 2011

28. Conservatism Principles of Conservatism: -- a broad political principle centered on learning from past solutions for answers that we need today -- want to return to traditional religious and ethical absolutes; distrust of reform or change -- defend the status quo -- emphasis on personal responsibility (self-reliance) -- belief that the role of government should be to provide the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals

29. Conservatism ”Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Ronald Reagan

30. Conservatism in the United States The darker the red, the more conservative the state Liberal/Conservative 2011

31. American Political Spectrum

32. American Political Spectrum

33. Texas Political Culture: Voter ID laws and voter turnout Social welfare spending (Texas is a low tax, low service state) Prayer in school Gay marriage Sex education Abortion rights Subsidies for businesses Union membership

34. A Shift ?? Percentage of Texas Registered Voters Who Support Extending Domestic Partnership Benefits to Government/Public University Employees 2010 62.3% 2013 65.7% Texas Voters Who Support Recognizing Same Sex Marriage if Wed in Another State 2010 48.4% 2013 52.0%

35. A Shift ?? Texas Voters Who Support Allowing Civil Unions for Gays and Lesbians 2010 63.1% 2013 64.7% Texas Voters Who Support allowing Gays and Lesbians to Marry in Texas 2010 42.7% 2013 47.9%

36. The Economy of Texas: The economy of the state has been and still is in transition: -- cattle -- cotton -- timber -- oil -- high tech

37. Cattle: The earliest explorers brought cattle into Texas: -- Coronado (1530s) -- cattle from Mexico interbred with cattle brought by Anglo settlers to produce “Texas longhorns” (hearty cattle that could thrive on the open range) Plentiful land and minimal government interference encouraged huge cattle empires. -- King Ranch (1,300 square miles) Texas leads the nation in cattle production (2010).

38. Cattle Ranching

39. Cotton: Before the Spanish brought cattle into Texas, cotton was already growing wild in the region. The soil was fertile and rich and led to easy cultivation. Before the Civil War cotton production spread and during the war the sale of cotton to European markets aided the Confederacy. It is estimated that 50% of U.S. cotton and 10% of the world’s cotton comes from Texas (2012).

40. Timber: The Piney Woods of East Texas and the Big Thicket was largely uninhabited until the 1800s. Following Texas’ independence waves of immigrants built new communities and a construction industry was created in which timber was needed. The laying of track for new railroads also brought increased demand for timber. As the population of Texas grew so did the impact of timber on the Texas economy.

41. Timber: The impact of timber on the Texas economy declined by the 1920s. -- clear cutting had depleted the availability of timber in many parts of East Texas The discovery of oil in the region required the elimination of more timber. By 2000, Texas was the nation’s 10th largest timber producer. Draught and fires in 2011 and 2012 resulted in the loss of many acres of trees.

42. Oil: Long before Europeans arrived, Native Americans used oil seeping from the Texas soil for medicinal purposes. By the late 19th century many barrels of oil had been produced from crudely dug wells in different area of the state. In 1901, Spindletop ushered in the industry that dominated the state’s economy for the next century.

43. Oil

44. Oil: During the next 50 years Texas evolved from a primarily agricultural culture into an industrial society. Oil brought industrial employment on a large scale to rural Texas and offered rural Texans an alternative to life down on the farm or ranch. -- oil spawned huge processing industries including pipelines and refineries

45. Oil: Texas oil production is on the rise. New production is coming from shale formations: -- Eagle Ford shale formation running from South Texas near Laredo to East Texas. Production is also rising in the Permian Basin fields of West Texas: -- impact of hydraulic fracturing techniques

46. Texas Oil Production (Millions of Barrels) Oil production has risen 60% since 2007 (2013)

47. The Economy of Texas: Having an economy built on agriculture and oil had a major impact on the state’s development. In the 19th century, Texas’s economic health depended on the prices of cotton and cattle. For much of the 20th century, the state’s economy rose and fell in line with oil prices. Because commodity prices tend to fluctuate, Texas’s economic history was one of booms and busts.

48. The Economy of Texas: The nature of the state’s economy has contributed to a relatively lopsided distribution of income. -- even though Texas has been a rich state, most Texans have not been wealthy -- agricultural workers and oil roughnecks were poorly organized and poorly paid

49. 1940s: World War II is the point of departure for change in Texas -- change from rural to urban Why do people come to Texas? -- Jobs Why would industries move to Texas? -- cheap labor (weak labor unions) -- energy resources -- favorable tax rate -- local encouragements -- cheap land -- favorable regulatory climate (weak pollution laws, etc.)

50. 1980s: The 1980s were an economic disaster for Texas. -- the oil industry collapsed -- oil went as low as $10/barrel -- there were severe cuts in defense spending -- the Cold War ended