General Information about Texas
Americans may know the so-called Lone Star State better as the State of Texas, and Austin is the state capital. The biggest city though is Houston. Texas happens to be the second-biggest state in the entire country based on population and area, whose population currently stands at 23.9 million. The monicker Lone Star State is derived from the single star that can be seen on the modern Texas flag.
There is a stereotypical saying that “All Things Happen To be Bigger in Texas” due to the wide open prairie lands where you can see the horizon without any buildings to get in the way. Many peoplemay also think of Texas as being the home of the cowboy, because the state is the hub of the cattle industry.
Texas seems to defy ordinary classification as a US state because of its mixed heritage and convoluted history. It was once a Spanish Empire territory, and later under the jurisdiction of the Mexican government, and is now a US state. Some experts may call Texas a Southwestern state but others might call it a US Southern state. Despite the fact that residents know of such relationships that the state holds with its past, modern Texan residents like to believe they have an “independent” identity.
Oil was first discovered when the Spindletop oil well started producing on January 10, 1901. Oil production peaked in 1972, with a daily average of three million barrels. There was a slowdown in the oil industry due to the double whammy brought about by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. This was around the time that African American started leaving Texas for greener pastures in the North, or other places were racial segregation was not felt so much.
Higher education became very important between 1950 to the 1960s to the extent that the federal government awarded federal research funds under the Kennedy administration and the Johnson administration.
Sadly, Texas produces the highest levels of greenhouse gases among all the US states. Majority of these emissions are generated by refining and manufacturing plants within the state itself. At the same time, Texas contributes majority of petroleum-based products (like car fuel) to the US supply stream via these industries.
Sixty-nine point eight percent of the population are made up of White Americans (including 21% White Hispanics.) African Americans make up eleven point six percent of the population while Asian Americans compose 3.3% of the numbers of Texas residents. American Indians are a minority at 0.6% while other racial groups account for 13% of the state population. But 35.7% are actually Hispanics or Latinos from various races.
Major ancestry groups in the state are divided into 25.3% being of Mexican lineage; 10.9% being of German descent; 10.5% having descended from African Americans; 7.2% being of the English race; plus the last 7.2% being able to trace their ancestry to Scots-Irish forebears. It is not exactly certain though how many of each ancestry group actually do exist within Texas.
