Multicultural Texas: The Six Flags

These six flags that fly over Texas have made up most of Texas's early history. Each of these flags tells a story of what we had to go through. Like having revolutions, fighting to be independent, and becoming a multicultural state. These six flags also made “Texas politically fall under the claims and rule of six distinct ways of life.” All this hard work and fighting that Texas had to do to make it so multicultural and unique. With Texas letting you make your own decisions and vote for who you want to represent Texas. All of these nations helping Texas become a multicultural state with Latinos, Europeans, and Texans all in one state. Texas was a state that nobody had ever seen before, back then. The uniqueness of seeing so many ethnicities in one area. Everyone comes together in the end all the different cultures celebrating each other's traditions. And Texas growing more and more every day. Making Texas evolve to what it is today.

The first flag was the Spanish flag they wanted to keep the French away, so they brought Tejanos to help establish the Rio Grande all the way to San Antonio. When Mexico declared independence from Spain in the eighteen-hundreds. Spain had left after a while but later came back to Texas. And in today’s Texas, there are many Spanish-speaking people. Latinos are accounted for more than sixty-five percent of Texas growth since 2000.” Also, Texas is very influenced by the Spanish/ Mexican culture. The food and music are very popular in places like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. We also got some of the best Spanish-speaking singers from Texas. My favorite was Selena Quintanilla I always wonder what music would have been like right now if she had never died. When that happened Texas even gave her a statue for how popular she was and for living in Texas. And that is where most of Latinos live today.

The second nation to claim territory in Texas was France but only for a moment. They claimed all the land within the Mississippi River. Sieur de La Salle had attempted a settlement in 1685. Instead of going to New Orleans, he landed in Texas. He was not a good leader to his people, so they ended up murdering him. And then the “Karankawa Indians came and captured the rest of La Salle’s people that were left” and took over the land. But since there attempt to expand from Louisiana to Texas, which did not last very long. Ended up not making a huge impact on today's Texas. The only thing we got from French Louisiana was some “dishes like creole and Cajun dishes.” But most Caucasians I believe have a percentage of European in them. There are not very many Europeans who live in Texas.

The third flag was the Mexican Flag. There was a revolt between Texas and Mexican forces over a cannon in Texas. The man in charge of the Mexican force, Santa Anna, went into the first battle which was at the Alamo. This battle led Texas to become independent from Mexico in 1836. In today's Texas, this flag has impacted the state the most. This flag and the Spanish flag have made Texas what it is today. The Latino population made Texas bigger. “Hispanic growth has become pervasive throughout Texas.” And it is also has impacted it culturally to some of the major cities in Texas. Most streets in Texas are Spanish words or names that have impacted Texas. And one of the main attractions today is in San Antonio called the Alamo which is a museum that displays things from the siege of the Alamo. It is a very neat place to go to and not too far from it is the river walk. This ethnicity I feel has the most problems in the United States because Latinos are the highest population in Texas. Like in today's time we are also versing deportation of illegal immigrants. And President Trump wants to build a wall to keep the crime rate down because supposedly Mexicans are the reason for the high crime rate in the United States. Many families have been split and it is sad to see on the news from both sides. So, we will just have to see how this is going to be later in the future.

Next is The Republic of Texas Flag and they did not have a very good army. So, when Santa Anna, the leader of the Mexican army came to try and get rid of Anglo-Americans in Texas. Texas ended up wanting to fight them because Santa Anna wanted to limit the Anglos' economic freedom and did not want Mexico to take over Texas. Anglo-Americans are people who have a European background and speak English. So, the “war of independence from Mexico made Texas a republic.” This impacted us today because if we had not fought for Anglos to have their freedom then Texas would be part of Mexico. Because Texas could have lost to them during this fight and there would have been no more Anglos. Not saying it is a bad thing, but everything would be so different right now. Also, if we had not become independent then Texas would have never become a republic. And now Texas is full of Mexicans who make up most of the population of this state.

The fifth flag to fly over Texas was the United States Flag. In 1845, “President Polk signed an act making Texas the Twenty-eighth state of the Union.” When Texas entered the Union five years later Texas had finally settled its boundary lines. But Texas had entered the Union at the wrong time though because it was becoming weak. And Texas ends up deciding to leave this flag for the Confederate States of America flag which is the final flag. “This was also the era of cattle drives and ranches and oil wells.” The chuckwagon was also a popular way of making food on the go. And Today there are still many ranchers, oil wells, and people who love food. And in Texas we have many chuck wagons or as they would be called today a food truck. Just like we say in Texas “everything is always bigger in Texas”, especially the food conventions. And Texas has also grown because places like Dallas building all of these huge corporations. Allowing more people to have jobs because Dallas is one of the most populated cities in Texas. Along with Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Every time my family and I visit any of these cities they are always building something new. Whether it is a new road or store, but there is always traffic.

The final flag to fly over Texas was the flag of the Confederate States of America. Also known as confederacy in the Civil War. The seven stars on the flag represent the states that left the United States deep south. More immigrants started settling from the south of the United States and Europe. But Texas left the Union in 1861 and joined the Confederacy because their economy was becoming like 'the southern states and their slave system”. This helped Texas from becoming like the southern states at that time. And it was smart for Texas to secede from the Union and showed that they did not want slavery or their economy to be like those of the southern. This flag also brought us some delicious food to Texas. The south brought us the food that people around the world come to Texas just to try, which is barbecue. Barbecue is one of the things that Texas is most known for today. Also, our sweet tea, they wanted to enjoy and experience the flavors of barbecue to see what all the talk is about.

Texas is independent and unique because of its history and because of all the diversity and cultures the state has gotten over the years. Texas has a lot of cultural diversity. In figure 1.5 the Texas State demographer shows how “Texas has gotten more diverse over thirty-five years.” Anglos have gone down they were the higher population in “nineteen-eighty going from sixty-six percent to forty-three percent in twenty fifteen. This graph shows that the ethnic group that Texas has gained more of are Latinos. As of “twenty-fifteen it had forty percent gaining twenty percent more since nineteen eighty. I do believe that Texas is independent in elections and public policy matters. Texas has gone through a lot to get to where it is today. We have gained many more ethnicities since then. We have gained more Asians I believe they are slowly making their way to be the second-highest ethnicity in Texas. 

Texans have always believed that the best kind of government is one that governs the least. Which makes Texas very independent in elections because the government allows us to make our own decision on who we want to represent us. Also, the way Texas deals with public policy matters now I am not saying we are the best at handling these kinds of problems, but we make some good choices. We have a good public education system, healthcare, and many other things. But many people want more from these policies. Of course, these policies could always be better, but I feel like they are running well. Like today in Texas, it is almost election year and I always get an AD about one of the people running for president. And they try to get you to vote for them by saying oh this person will give you better health care and they have their own company that found many people jobs. Or maybe they will say that they will get rid of abortion. I feel like public policies are always used when the presidential elections come around or any election. But I guess it makes sense because that is what people want to see improvement because these things run the world.

In conclusion, these six flags shaped Texas into the unique and independent state it has become. From the battles, we have fought to keep our land. From Spain finding Texas first to leaving the Union to joining the Confederacy and fighting not to become like the Southern states at the time. To the Multiple cultures, we have gained from the six different flags that have tried to take over Texas. Bringing us different styles of food, music, and clothing. Also, to the different traditions that Texas celebrates because of all the diversity, it has now. The future of Texas will hopefully still be a good place to live in and still be as multicultural as it is today.

Work Cited

1. BILES STEPHEN P. Encyclopedia of Early Texas History a Compendium of Texas Antiquity for the Inquisitive Mind. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsclc&AN=edsclc.MfOOkKMokpImlLkh&site=eds-live. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019.
2. “Flags of Texas.” Texas Almanac, Jan.2016, p. 20. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=tih&AN=112388990&site=eds-live.
3. Jones, Mark P., et al. Texas Politics Today. 18th ed., Cengage Learning, 2018.
4. Mora, Sherri, and William Ruger. The State of Texas: Government, Politics, and Policy. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.
5. Urbina, Martin G. Twenty-First Century Dynamics of Multiculturalism : Beyond Post-Racial America. CharlesCThomas,2014.EBSCOhost,search.escohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=nlebk&AN=853967&site=eds-live.