Texas Politics
There are vast differences in the ideological beliefs of the political parties in Texas. Their stances on a number of issues ranging from education to immigration are vastly different. Furthermore, there relationship and views to the role of the Federal government are also substantially different. For example, the Texan Republic Party strongly emphasizes their sovereignty and states (Republican Party of Texas, 2014):

"e strongly urge the Texas Legislature ignore, oppose, refuse, and nullify any federal mandated legislation which infringes upon the states' 10th Amendment Right. All federal enforcement activities in Texas must be conducted under the auspices of the county sheriff with jurisdiction in that county."

By contrast the Democratic Party makes little mention of the relationship with the Federal Government

The Texas Republican party has a platform that represents a more extreme version of the Federal party's platform on the whole. They take a strong stand on things like socialism and…...

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Works Cited

Plait, P. (2015, January 22). GOP Senators Momentarily Pull Heads Out of Sand, Then Ram Them Back In. Retrieved from Slate:  http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/01/22/gop_senators_vote_climate_change_isn_t_human_caused.html 

Republican Party of Texas. (2014). Report of Permanent Committee on Platform and Resolutions. Retrieved from Texas GOP:  http://www.texasgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-Platform-Final.pdf 

Texas Democratic Party. (n.d.). Texas Democratic Party Platform. Retrieved from Texas Democratic Party:  http://www.txdemocrats.org/pdf/2014-platform.pdf

Research Proposal Part II: Counteracting Property Crime in San Antonio Background
With a diverse population of more than 1.3 million residents, San Antonio’s real median household income average of $55,083 compares favorably with the national median average of $55,775 (San Antonio household income, 2017). Moreover, San Antonio offers residents and visitors alike with a wide array of historical, cultural, recreational and entertainment venues, including the ever-popular Alamo (About San Antonio, 2017). In this large and relatively affluent city, the bad news is that it is not surprising that property crime remains a problem but the good news is that property crime levels are decreasing, albeit modestly, as discussed further below.
Literature Review
In 2011, San Antonio experienced a total of 80,871 property crimes (i.e., burglaries, larceny thefts, and vehicle thefts as shown in Table 1 below. By 2016, though, the city’s property crimes had declined to a total of 77,786 as shown in Table…...

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References

About San Antonio. (2017). Visit San Antonio. Retrieved from  

Property crime comparison. (2017). Location, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.neighborhood scout.com/tx/san-antonio/crime.

San Antonio household income. (2017). Department of Numbers. Retrieved from http://www. deptofnumbers.com/income/texas/san-antonio/.

Uniform crime reports. (2017). City of San Antonio. Retrieved from http://www.sanantonio. gov/SAPD/Uniform-Crime-Reports#30262666-2017.

Wachter, S. M. (2016). Shared prosperity in America\\'s communities. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Williams, E. L. (2016, September 26). What the FBI’s crime numbers mean in one city. The Atlantic. Retrieved from  https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/what-crime-really-means-in-one-city/501500/ .

 

http://visitsanantonio.com/ .

Pluralist theorists often dispute that political power in Texas is dispersed among an extensive range of rival groups and interests, and that this rivalry serves to limit the power of any single group on the institutions of government. Even though there are noticeable dissimilarities in the resources of groups, there is adequate opposition and dealings among the groups to attain the objectives of a democratic society. Public policy, in this outlook, reveals the cooperation of rival interests (the Power of Interest Groups, 2010).

Supporters of elitist theory contend that political power in Texas is concerted in the hands of a comparatively small amount of people who obtain their funds from influential institutional bases. These institutions are joined collectively with multifaceted interconnected associations, and access to their leadership places is limited. Known as the Texas Establishment, those who dominated authority in the past were mostly white males from the higher socioeconomic groups.…...

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Works Cited

"Lone Star Election Laws: A Comparative Study of Texas's Campaign Finance System." 2000,

viewed 29 March 2011, from

"Texas Politics - Voting, Campaigns and Elections." 2011, viewed 29 March 2011, from

"The Power of Interest Groups." 2010, viewed 29 March 2011, from

The Texas Constitution: An Examination and Discussion
On the most fundamental level, a constitution is a plan or contract between the government and the people governed. A constitution details the agreed-upon powers, responsibilities and limitations upon all involved parties, while asserting the proper procedure for action. The constitution is the foundation for all basic laws upon which the legal system rests. In the history of the existence of the state of Texas, seven separate constitutions have been drafted and approved, with the last one receiving approval on February 15, 1876. The preceding six constitutions were adopted during the following years: 1827, 1836, 1845, 1861, 1866 and 1869. At this time, the current constitution contains amendments that were approved by voters as recently as November of 2017.

An examination of the Texas constitution reflects certain insights about the state and its unique viewpoints about government, autonomy and self-protection. Any state constitution should assert…...

omen, for example, only gained their right of suffrage in 1920 and Article VI of the Constitution of 1876 only gives "male persons" over the age of 21 who have "resided in Texas for at least one year" the right to vote.
Compact Theory: The compact theory holds that the formation of the Union of the United States was through a "compact" of all the States individually and the creation of the national government was believed to be a creation of the states. Hence the states were the final judge of whether the national government had overstepped the boundaries of the "compact." One of the versions of the compact theory (the unilateral compact theory) was used by the Confederate secessionists to declare their secession from the Union, which signaled the start of the Civil ar (Lind, para 11). In the Texas Constitution of 1876, the compact theory is used to…...

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Works Cited

ARTICLE III- Legislative Department: Constitution of the State of Texas (1876)." The University of Texas at Austin. March 11, 2005. July 26, 2006. http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/IART03.html

Dye, Thomas R. Politics in America. Sixth Edition, 2004. Pearson Prentice-Hall: New York

General Characteristics of the Texas Constitution." Liberal Arts Instructional Services: University of Texas at Austin. 2006. July 26, 2006. http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/html/cons/0302.html

Lind, Michael. "Do the People Rule?" New American Foundation. February 1, 2002. July 26, 2006. http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=article&DocID=719

S. And Mexico as this political issue binds them on common ground, creating the synchronic relationship between them. Mexico must do more to create jobs and economic growth to keep her young people at home, because the implications of emigration on both countries are staggering. Hispanics are now the fastest growing minority in the country, and most of them have come from Mexico. These emigrants are taxing the social systems of the country, especially in order States like California and Texas, and Mexico is losing an entire generation of young men, which can only cripple the country in the long run. Mexico is a land of poor people, and the government must work to create better living conditions, better jobs, and a vibrant economy to turn the country and the people around.
ibliography

Author not Available. (2005). Zapatista Delegates. Retrieved from the Zapatistas.net Web site: http://zapatistas.net/comandantes/22 July 2005.

Mahler, Gregory S. (2003). Comparative…...

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Bibliography

Author not Available. (2005). Zapatista Delegates. Retrieved from the Zapatistas.net Web site:   July 2005.http://zapatistas.net/comandantes/22 

Mahler, Gregory S. (2003). Comparative Politics: An Institutional and Cross-National Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Texas Government: Political Culture, Parties, Elections and CampaignsIntroductionTexas politics is a reflection of its history and culture. Texas was not the first US state nor the lastbut it is by far much different from all the rest. Texas was annexed from Mexico by the US and incorporated into the Union in 1845. It has the longest border with Mexico and today its culture is a mixture of both Hispanic and American influences. This paper explores the state\\\'s political culture and its impact on politics, parties, elections, and campaigns.Texas Political CultureThe Spanish, Mexican, and American influences (and recently a large incorporation of West Coast influences) has created a diverse political culture in Texas. Due to its history there is a lot of love among Texans for personal freedom and independence, and in a lot of ways many generations of people who view themselves as Texans have had a substantial distrust for…...

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ReferencesJordan, T. G. (1978). Perceptual regions in Texas. Geographical Review, 293-307.Long, J. (2010). Weird city: Sense of place and creative resistance in Austin, Texas. University of Texas Press.Miller, K. P. (2020). Texas Vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America. Oxford University Press.Ramsey, R. (2021). Analysis: Population changes the recipe for Texas’ political soup. Retrieved from Analysis: In Texas redistricting, geography is political, too | The Texas TribuneTexans for Public Justice. (2023). Retrieved from Texans For Public Justice (tpj.org)Texas Almanac. (2022). Texas population: Still growing. Retrieved from Texas Population: Still Growing and Increasingly Diverse | TX Almanac (texasalmanac.com)Weigel, D. & Tierney, L. (2020). The seven political states of Texas. Retrieved from Texas’s political geography: Are Democrats’ swing-state dreams coming true? - Washington Post

This is mainly because of several key elements which portray Huston as a friendly and safe city over other locations which prove less appealing to homeowners and other residents.
In terms of the increase of the Latino population, this is a trend which has been occurring elsewhere in the nation for the past few generations. In 1990, the largest immigrant wave was recorded entering into U.S. soil. It was with this new and modern wave of immigrants that we see the new conception of the Latino immigrant within modern American culture. In fact, in the last decade of the twentieth century, the Latino population within the United States as a whole grew by almost 58%. That is a huge increase within the short span of only ten years. And so, it can be assumed that the large increase of Hispanic and Latino immigrants into the Huston are has also been…...

68).
Getting liberal legislation passed into law was LBJ's benchmark of effective leadership. He knew how to do it. The most successful at this of any president ever, he followed every detail of legislation and demanded that his aides not simply think they had the support of a representative in Congress but know they had it! "You've got to know you've got him, and there's only one way you know'...Johnson looked into his open hand and closed his fingers into a fist. 'And that's when you've got his pecker right here.' The president opened his desk drawer, acted as if he were dropping something, emphatically slammed the drawer shut, and smiled" (p. 88). Meanwhile, Congress complained it was "bullied, badgered, and brainwashed" (p. 91) by President Johnson's strong-arm Texan tactics.

Schulman (1995) argues that Johnson's liberalism changed national social policy "profoundly" and "permanently altered the nation's political landscape" (p. 121). The…...

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References

Schulman, B.J. (1995). Lyndon B. Johnson and American liberalism: A brief biography with documents. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press.

Texas have inspired discussion about the pay of public officials. State representative Terry Keel, claiming to be cutting expense corners, said that he would block a bill to increase the pay of Texas judges. In an as-yet-unresolved conflict of stories, Houston representative Rodney Ellis has ties to a scandal regarding this proposed legislation, in which the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court threatened political retribution if judges were not given a pay raise (see, for example, "Judge pay hits Houston pols in purse" by Rick Casey in the June 1, 2005 Houston Chronicle). Nationwide, different groups are becoming a more and more vocal opposition to large government salaries -- Citizens Against Government aste, at cagw.org, regularly cites examples of ineffectual and even corrupt elected and appointed officials getting pay raises.
Non-profit executives' pay is no less controversial; in an organization without shareholders or even, as in government, constituents who…...

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Work Cited

Turley, J. (2004, February 12). "Non-profits' executives avoid scrutiny, valid reforms." USA Today, p. 15A

German Influences on Texas Culture
If one has lived in Texas for any length of time, they will realize immediately that the Texas culture is influenced by German culture in a number of ways. Modern day Texas culture would not exist as it does today if it were not for German influence. Today Texas culture can be described as a blending of German and Texas traditions. Though German culture is not the only culture that has impacted the Texas of today, it is often considered one of the most significant influences historically.

Whether one examines the architectural landscape of the towns and cities, examines the art and music or simply talks with many of the German descendants living in Texas, one must immediately acknowledge the significant influence the German people have had on the development of Texas as known today. In early Texas history German influence was widespread, often comprising a majority…...

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References:

Alvarez, A. (2002). "Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg." Texana Food and Events. 19, November 2004:  http://texana.texascooking.com/news/oktoberfest_fred2002.htm 

Butt, H.E. (2004). "Oktoberfest in Texas." 20, November, 2004:  http://www.heb.com/mealtime/celeb-oktoberFestTx.jsp 

Galan. (2001). [Online]. "Accordion Dreams: cultures of music and dance." Available

from:  http://www.pbs.org/accordiondreams/cultures/index.html

Capital Punishment in Texas
Khalil, Samy. "Doing the impossible: Appellate reweighing of harm and mitigation in capital cases after Williams v. Taylor, with a special focus on Texas." Texas Law Review, 80(1): November 2001. Proquest Database.

In this article, Khalil examines how state and federal courts have overturned death sentences, from a period covering the reinstitution of the death penalty in 1976 to 2001. The author focuses on sentences that have been upset due to the failure of defense lawyers to both investigate and present mitigating evidence during trial. The author makes a strong argument by referring to Williams v. Taylor, which argues that appellate courts cannot be expected to reweigh harm and mitigation when attorneys present adequate defense representation. In the case of Texas, the author rightly observes that appellate courts would have difficulty reviewing all capital cases arising from Texas, since even fact-finders in Texas are not required by law…...

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Owens, Virginia Stem and Owens, David Clinton. Living Next Door to the Death House. New York: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003.

In this book, the authors present the effects of executions in the town of Huntsville, Texas, known as "the death penalty capital of the United States." While other accounts focus on the victims or the offenders, Owens and Owens conduct in-depth interviews with prison guards, wardens, chaplains and other people who are involved in executions, many of which are Huntsville residents. Particularly affecting are the interviews with the technicians who directly administer the lethal injections to the inmates who are executed.

These interviews show that many of the people whose lives are directly affected by the death penalty system have conflicted feelings regarding capital punishment. This honestly written book presents a balanced account regarding a community's views regarding the death penalty. The fact that the community in question is directly involved

Catholic Church in Mexico underscored both its conquest and its independence. Organizationally, the church prior to the liberation theology of the 20th century has always been more cogent than the Mexican government. The church has traditionally been amalgamated with conservative interests that include the military and wealthier landowners. The institution of tithing and the role of the church as a colonizer through its missions helped to make the church the most powerful pre-revolutionary institution in Mexico. Additionally, at a time before the existence of broad-based commercial lending, the church not only acted as the principal lender in the colony and early republic, but served as the nexus for all public activity in many smaller communities. However, the influence of the church was severely limited under liberalism. Although the iaz government returned to the Catholic church some of its former glory, the 1916 Constitution ultimately spelled an end to the…...

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Despite this relatively recent accommodation, the Church has not remained quiet on the issue of poverty. Historically, as the government failed to care for the people, the Church assumed greater responsibility and became more vocal in complaining about the government's shortcomings. Today the Church, which once strove mainly to preserve its own authority, has emerged as an outspoken opponent of the government. Yet aggressive Church actions were evident early in the century, both in opposition to the anti-clerical language of the 1917 constitution and in the violent Cristero rebellion of the 1920s. From 1926 to 1929 Mexico faced strong resistance by Catholics who opposed the anticlerical component of the Constitution of 1917 that regulated the affairs of the Catholic Church. After the emergence of liberation theology among Latin American Catholic priests in the 1970s, Mexican clerics became vocal in their condemnation of oppressive government policies. In 1991 clerical officials leveled a broad range of charges against the government including torture, abuse of prisoners, political persecution, corruption, and electoral fraud. These charges were repeated by Pope John Paul II in his 1999 visit when he called for an end to "violence, terrorism, and drug trafficking." The Church has been critical of the government by supporting the rebellion in the southern state of Chiapas. Tension between church and state emerged again as recently as 1994 when the government attempted to blame the Chiapas uprising on the language and actions of various clerics.

Traditionally regarded as a woman's issue, birth control has become a mainstream political issue since the 1970s. After all, through the combined effects of cultural expectations to raise large families and the Catholic Church's ban on birth control, the population grew dramatically. Women who chose not to have children resorted to crude abortions. In 1970, the year Luis Echeverr'a became the first Mexican president to call for a reduction in the nation's population, as many as 32,000 Mexican women died from abortion complications. Although discussions of population control have long been taboo by the Catholic Church, 1972 saw a reversal when Mexican clerics called for reduced family size. Thereafter government support enabled family planning clinics and educational programs to be developed. By 1988 the Mexican annual population growth rate was nearly halved, to 1.8%.

Women in Mexico have been pushing for significant changes within the political and social arenas, and they are slowly gaining access to previously male-dominated spheres. For example, they are now elected as state governors and as representatives in the Chamber of Deputies. Increasingly they are leaving bad marriages in spite of condemnation from the Church and hostility from their own families. Indeed, there is growing liberation from the traditional roles and expectations for women in Mexican society.

Immigration reform, once seeming close under President Bush after the introduction of the Comprehensive Immigration eform Act of 2007, has completely stalled since that point. That bill died in the Senate (Marre, 2007), and there has been little action on immigration reform since then, despite the support for the ideas of CIA by both Presidents Bush and Obama. There are few reasons why immigration reform has stalled. The first reason is that the economy went swirling down the porcelain. This shifted the priorities towards the end of the Bush Administration and for the first couple of years of the Obama Administration. Both presidents were forced to address economic issues, orchestrating bank bailouts and other measures to stabilize the economy. Immigration reform, while still viewed as important at the time, was simply viewed as less important. While Democrats had the clout to pass an immigration reform bill, they were concerned with…...

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References

Marre, K. (2007). 46-53 immigration bill goes down in the Senate. The Hill. Retrieved November 12, 2014 from  http://thehill.com/homenews/news/12430-46-53-immigration-bill-goes-down-in-defeat 

Smith, D. (2007). Senate kills Bush immigration reform bill. Reuters. Retrieved November 12, 2014 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/29/us-usa-immigration-idUSN2742643820070629 

Foley, E. (2014). Conservatives warn that GOP must act on immigration, not just attack Obama. Huffington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2014 from  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/10/republicans-immigration-reform_n_6128980.html

Texas in the Civil War
The American Civil War was a monumental conflict in American history. The conflict was brewing for a long time, as southern and northern states argued over the role of the federal government and the extent of state rights. The debate erupted into an outright war with the election of Abraham Lincoln. Seven southern states formed the Confederacy as before the inauguration of President Lincoln. The issue of states' rights originates with the debate of slavery. unaway slaves would escape the south and head to northern states where they would be deemed free, however, Southern states argued that they were still slaves and wanted a return of their property (Baum 1998). The main issue at hand is what rights extended beyond a state. Southern states naturally supported the stance that citizens of every state could take their property anywhere within the United States, in this case slaves,…...

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References:

Baum, D. (1998). The shattering of Texas unionism: Politics in the Lone Star state during the Civil War era. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

Bell F. Walter. (2005). Civil War Texas: A Review of the Historical Literature. Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 109(2), 204-232.

Buenger, W.L. (1984). Secession and the Union in Texas. Austin: University of Texas Press.