The Confederate Constitution of Texas (1861)
Drafted in a wartime climate, the 1861 constitution enshrined slavery as permanent and untouchable law.
editorMay 22, 2025
The 1869 Texas Constitution and Reconstruction Rule
History of the 1869 constitution and the fierce resistance that followed it.
Civil Rights Movement in Texas: A Timeline
Key milestones in both the Black and Chicano civil rights movements in Texas from the 1940s to the 1980s.
editorMay 29, 2025
Ghost Voting: The Tradition of Proxy Voting in the Texas House
Exploring a Texas House practice that’s long tolerated, rarely enforced, and often misunderstood.
editorMay 9, 2025
The 1974 Texas Constitutional Convention That Failed
Large-scale structural reform effort for 100-year anniversary of Texas' constitution.
editorMay 4, 2025
Segregation in Texas: Understanding the Jim Crow Era
Jim Crow segregation limited the freedom of Black Texans for generations. It was upheld through law, policing, mob violence, and rigid social hierarchies.
editorMay 30, 2025
The Civil War in Texas: Battles, Blockades, and Borderlands
Though not a primary theater, Texas played a crucial role in the Civil War—supplying troops, blockade running, and shaping the war’s westernmost frontier.
editorJune 7, 2025
Texas’ Little-Known Right to Split Itself into 5 States
Uniquely among U.S. states, Texas was admitted to the Union with a pre-approved 'entitlement' to further divide itself into up to five states.
editorNovember 21, 2022
Stephen F. Austin: The Father of Texas
Leader of the earliest American settlers in Texas, Austin guided his colony under Mexican rule until his imprisonment in Mexico City during the Texas Revolution.
editorJune 13, 2025
Map of Texas Under Mexican Rule in 1833
In the early 1830s, Texas was a northern frontier province of the Mexican Republic, governed as part of the larger state of Coahuila y Tejas.
editorMay 21, 2025
The Failed 1999 School Finance Constitutional Amendment
In 1999, Texas lawmakers proposed a sweeping constitutional amendment to fix the state’s deeply flawed school finance system.
editorMay 4, 2025
Slavery in the Texas Republic and Early Statehood
Understanding the social, legal, and economic history of slavery in Texas, and the impact it had on Texas' independence struggle and the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War.
editorJune 11, 2025
Key Figures in the Texas Revolution
Quick biographies of Sam Houston, William Travis, Davy Crockett, Juan Seguin, Jim Bowie, Susanna Dickinson, and Lorenzo de Zavala.
editorMay 24, 2025
1891 Railway Map of Texas
The late 19th century was a transformative period for Texas, as the state shifted from its frontier roots into an increasingly industrial and interconnected economy. Railroads played a central role in this transition, knitting together distant farming communities, cattle ranges, and emerging urban centers. By the 1880s, Texas had one…
editorJune 15, 2025
The Edgewood v. Kirby Case and School Finance Reform
How a 1989 Texas Supreme Court decision forced the state to confront deep funding disparities between wealthy and impoverished school districts.
editorMay 15, 2025
Bracket Bills: Circumventing the Texas Constitution?
How bracket bills work, why they exist, and whether they are constitutional.
editorJanuary 1, 2023
The Influence of Spanish Law in Texas
Texas’ legal system is based on Anglo-American foundations, but there are vestiges of Spanish law.
editorJune 21, 2024
The Origins of Texas’ System of Two High Courts
Dual high courts serve different functions, have different origins
editorNovember 18, 2022
History of Juneteenth
Holiday celebrating the freeing of slaves during the U.S. Civil War
editorNovember 19, 2022
The First Capital of Texas: Washington-on-the-Brazos
For a brief but pivotal period, Washington-on-the-Brazos served as the first capital of the Republic of Texas.
editorMay 30, 2025