Chapter Thirteen Overview

Chapter Thirteen Overview

A New Texas? 1986–2001

When world oil prices plummeted in the 1980s the Texas economy shattered. However, the subsequent economic recovery contributed to a diversified economy. As population growth resumed, Texas surpassed New York to become the nation’s second-largest state, at the same time placing unprecedented burdens on the educational system and social services. Urban areas came to comprise a more affluent and well-educated population, while state agricultural sections, such as West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, comprised poorer ones.

The Texas Population in Transition

Most new Anglo Texans came from the Midwest during the Sunbelt migration years, disrupting traditional in-migrant patterns of white southerners into Texas. Meanwhile, as it always did, the availability of jobs brought increasing numbers of immigrants. Mexico still provides the majority of legal as well as undocumented immigrants into the state, but other Latin American countries increasingly contribute both legal and illegal residents.

The Oil Bust and its Aftermath

Oil was the heart of the Texas economy during the 1970s and early 1980s. The economic bust that followed contributed to rising energy costs, increases in non-OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil production, and the failure of OPEC nations to obey the cartel’s production quotas, followed by OPEC’s suspension of all production controls in 1986, making for prolonged bad economic times. Forced to diversify, by the drop in oil prices, the state’s economy emerged much healthier.

By the 1990s, the oil industry was partly supplanted by manufacturing, transportation, utilities, financial services, communications, and transportation. Texas led in the number of new jobs created and the state’s economy was growing the fastest of the nine largest states. When, in 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) removed most trade restrictions between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, growth of manufacturing, construction, and trade along the Mexican border expanded. High-tech firms also moved into Texas when the world’s two largest manufacturers of personal computers—Dell and Compaq—established headquarters. On the other hand, three-quarters of all non-agricultural jobs in the state were service-sector jobs, and military-related employment fell by nearly 30 percent. While per capita income improved, Texas continued to lag behind twenty-seven other states.

A core triangle defined by Dallas on the north, Houston on the south, and Austin/San Antonio on the west has seen prosperity. However, East Texas and far West Texas, still largely dependent on farming and oil production, experienced little recovery and remain dependent on federal government in the form of subsidies, crop insurance, and disaster relief. An attempt to wean farmers from subsidies in 1996 (paradoxically called the “Freedom to Farm Act”) failed. A severe drought during the 1990s resulted in the highest level of federal aid to Texas farmers in history. Today’s global marketplace places farmers and ranchers even more at risk.

Religion in Texas: A Force for Tradition

The single greatest change in the role of religion in Texas has been the increase in Roman Catholic membership, surpassing that of Southern Baptists (not including black Baptists). The increase is directly tied to the growth of the Hispanic population. Evangelical Protestantism has grown while Protestant mainline denominations have lost members to more conservative or fundamentalist sects. The same emotional and controversial issues—homosexuality, abortion, and feminism—continue to pull main-line denominations apart. While the Christian Coalition’s influence has been evident at all levels of politics, the growing number of Muslim mosques, Buddhist temples, and ethnic Christian (Protestant) congregations reflect transitions in Texas culture.

Texas Culture in the Late-Twentieth Century

Texas will always be associated with “country” music but the state is also home to the “Third Coast.” In classical music, the Dallas, Houston, and Fort Worth symphonies are nationally and internationally renowned.

Modern Texas music also displays an ethnic aspect. Freddie Fender and Johnny Rodriguez have made their mark singing in Spanish and English. The Tejana artist Selena had just wrapped up her first English-language album (the first Tejano album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts) when she was murdered in 1995.

Nationally known television news anchors and television and newspaper journalists from Texas include Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Jim Lehrer, Bill Moyers, and Sam Donaldson. Historians Alwyn Barr, Arnold De León, Lewis L. Gould, David Weber, and Donald L. Chipman achieved national recognition. Some of the earliest examples of the New Social History consist of histories of specific Texas communities in the Spanish era and beyond: Jesús F. de la Tejaon San Antonio, Gilberto Hinojosa on Laredo, and Randolph B. Campbell on Harrison County.

The Paradox of Texas Politics

A competitive two-party system operated in Texas as the two parties alternately presided over the governor’s office from 1978 to 1995.Nationally, Democrats were hampered by the nomination of Michael S. Dukakis for president and Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen for vice-president. The party in Texas hoped to reverse the low voter turnout in rural areas and among minority voters, factors in White’s defeat, but the Republican national ticket also included a Texan, former vice-president George Bush. As Republicans solidified their hold on statewide races, Clements vetoed a record fifty-five bills alienating the Democratically-controlled legislature and thwarting their legislative agenda.

Although Ann Richards was elected governor in 1990, in reality, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock, a fiscal conservative, ran the legislature while Richards did what she did best—promoting the advantages of the state’s economy across the nation. A natural political star, she defeated her Democratic challengers in the primary and Republican Clayton Williams in the fall. Republican Senator Phil Gramm was re-elected and future Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison became state treasurer, the same position Richards had used to gain the governor’s office. Economic growth provided a high approval rating, helping her gain national exposure. Richards diversified state government, appointing 4,000 persons to boards and commissions—48 percent of whom were women, 25 percent Hispanic, and 12 percent African American.

Twoyears later Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, running for president against President George Bush and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, tilted the results in Clinton’s favor, and indirectly helped to place Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Senate. Clinton appointed Senator Lloyd Bentsen as treasury secretary and Hutchison won the special election to fill the vacancy. The state now had two Republicans in the Senate. Furthermore, the voters elected George W. Bush to the governor’s office in 1994. His popular conservative agenda—endorsing school vouchers while supporting the death penalty and a wholesale restructuring of the state tax system—yielded high approval ratings. A booming economy ensured Bush’s re-election as governor in 1998as well as his2000 presidential bid. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush made the most of the endorsement of Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock, lauding his nonpartisan working relationship with Democrats. Vice-President Al Gore, on the other hand, had to separate himself from Bill Clinton’s personal scandals. Although Bush lost the popular vote to Gore, he was declared the winner of the electoral vote following a recount of ballots in Florida and a subsequent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that decided the election.George W. Bush brought Texans to Washington to serve in his administration. The House Majority Leader and Majority Whip were Texans as well.

Voter registration drives during the 1970s and 1980s increased Hispanic political power and the number of Hispanics elected to public office. Attorney General Dan Morales joined Henry B. González, long-time San Antonio Congressman, and Henry Cisneros, mayor of San Antonio and later Clinton appointee, as a high-profile Hispanic leader. Political activism among Hispanics in the 1980s and 1990s represented a return to the mainstream and a move away from the militancy of the 1960s. Indeed, Republicans like Bush made inroads into the Hispanic vote. Bush frequently addressed Hispanic audiences in Spanish.

African American voters remained more wedded than Hispanics to the Democratic party.Black political power significantly strengthened in Dallas and Houston as evidenced by the election of black mayors in the 1990s. However, Henry Cisneros was forced to resign from his position as housing secretary in the Clinton administration following a scandal, and state attorney general Dan Morales declined to run for a third term in 1998. In 2002 gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez, spending $63 million of his personal fortune in the race, garnered only 40 percent of the vote.

Texas remained true to its conservative political and fiscal heritage as the two parties competed for favor. Issues such as public education, higher education, criminal justice, water, the environment, and taxes served as political, ideological, and financial battlegrounds.

Chapter Thirteen Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of studying this chapter, you will be able to:

•appreciate how each of the last four decades of the twentieth century impacted the state,

•comprehend the economic and cultural impact of immigration on the state,

•cite the key political reason for Texas’ difficulties regarding challenging issues,

•anticipate the implications of immigration on Texas as a border state and future social, cultural, and economic difficulties.

Chapter Thirteen Key Words and Terms

• Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF)
• “Robin Hood” law
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• Governor Mark White
• Ross Perot
• Tom DeLay
• House Bill 72
• Ruiz v. Estelle
• Rick Perry
• Hopwood v. State of Texas

Chapter Thirteen Links

• National Institute of Corrections, “The Ruiz v. Estelle Class Action Suit: A Retrospective Policy Analysis of Efforts to Improve Health Care in Texas Prisons”
• In Ruiz v. Estelle the maintenance of confidential treatment records was one of the six minimum criteria established for adequate prison mental health
• Texas State Historical Association, “Permanent University Fund,” Handbook of Texas Online