Essay On Texas Political Culture

The History of Texas Political Culture. The history of Texas includes the periods of stability as well as the moments of tension, discordance and sharp changes. Most of the Texans have only the basic knowledge of the political history and governmental institutions. The key views of the citizens can be described as a political myth. A myth can be interpreted as a certain model of truth that can modify the moral and spiritual values of the particular society. In other words myth provides a certain world’s picture. Texas produced its own myth which continues to be a powerful statement about the political system. The nickname of the state the Lone Star State is a reminder of its unique history. The Texas’s mythology includes rangers and cowboys. Throughout the newspapers novels of the nineteenth century the cowboys were represented as honest and hardworking individuals. They symbolized a political culture in Texas that did not allow the government to solve the problem.

The political culture of Texas is a mix of the traditionalistic and individualistic types. The eastern part of Texas was always strongly traditionalistic. Historically, the state experienced a slave-holding period. Thus, at that time, the traditionalistic political culture was based on the plantation system and slave labor. Under this type of political culture the government had a minimal role as the whole power was divided between the hierarchical white elite. The tension increased during the civil rights movement period. Accordingly, the political climate reflected the pragmatism and tried to use various methods to discourage the political attempts to free the slaves. Currently, the traditionalistic political culture in the state is promoted by the churches and faith based groups. Some of them are quite large and influential (Maxwell, Ernest and Edwin