I.

Introduction

Texas, one of the southern states of the United States, bordered on the north by Oklahoma; on the north-east by Arkansas; on the east by Louisiana; on the south-east by the Gulf of Mexico; on the south-west by Mexico; and on the west by New Mexico. The Red River forms part of the northern boundary, the Sabine River forms part of the eastern boundary, and the Rio Grande forms the border with Mexico.

Texas entered the Union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state. Two 20th-century US presidents—Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson—were born in Texas. In the 19th century the Texas economy was based on cattle breeding, cotton growing, and other agricultural activities. After 1900 oil and natural gas production became very important, and the state also developed a diversified manufacturing sector. In the early 1990s Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio were the state’s largest cities and among its numerous important commercial and industrial centres. The state’s name is derived from tejas, the mid-16th-century Spanish rendering of a Caddo Native American term meaning “friends”; it was adopted and spelled as Texas when the area was organized as the Republic of Texas in 1836, the year it became independent of Mexico. Texas is known as the “Lone Star State” (after the single star on its flag).