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The Texas Experiment
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The Texas Experiment
Politics, Power, and Social Transformation

First Edition
January 2023 | 408 pages | CQ Press
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Recipient of the 2024 Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Most Promising New Textbook Award
This award recognizes excellence in 1st edition textbooks and learning materials.

The Texas Experiment: Politics, Power, and Social Transformation provides students with an all-encompassing view of Texas government. The book brings together the historical and the contemporary, the political and the personal, to walk students through the state's past, present, and future. Through its rich historical narrative that tells the unvarnished story of how Texas came to be, to its depictions of the processes and structure of Texas government, and finally with its shifting demographics, we learn that the soul of Texas is multicultural, diverse, and thriving.

The Texas Experiment empowers students to develop their social and personal responsibility so that they can all be a force of positive change in Texas's vibrant culture.
 
Chapter 1 Texas Society and Politics: Past and Present
Texas Geography and Resources

 
King Cotton, Slavery, and Anglo-American Settlements in Texas

 
Causes and Consequences of the U.S.–Mexican War

 
Seceding From the Union

 
Reconstruction

 
Jim Crow Segregation

 
 
Chapter 2 Texas Constitution
What Is a Constitution?

 
The Historical Constitutions of Texas

 
Constitution of 1876: “Retrenchment and Reform”

 
The Texas Bill of Rights

 
Constitutional Change

 
 
Chapter 3 Federalism and Local Government
The Constitutional Basis for Federalism

 
Policy Tools of the Federal Government

 
Relationships Between State and Local Government

 
County Government

 
School Districts and Special Districts

 
 
Chapter 4 Political Culture & Civic Participation
Demographics and Political Ideology

 
Civic Participation and Political Participation

 
Turning Out to Vote

 
Civic Health

 
 
Chapter 5 Elections and Voting
The Role of Voting

 
Barriers To Voting

 
Enfranchisement in the Political Process

 
Electoral Districts

 
Texas Elections

 
Election 2020 and Beyond

 
 
Chapter 6 Political Parties in Texas
The Evolution of the Two-Party System in Texas

 
The Era of Democratic Party Rule

 
The Republican Era and One-Party Dominance

 
The Two Parties Today

 
Functions and Purposes of Political Parties

 
Party Structure and Organization

 
Third Parties in Texas

 
 
Chapter 7 The Texas Legislature
Structure of the Texas Legislature

 
The Amateur Legislature

 
Chamber Leadership

 
Legislative Process

 
Representation in the Texas Legislature

 
 
Chapter 8 The Governor and Executive Branch
Office of the Governor

 
Dispersal of Power in the Plural Executive Branch

 
The Lieutenant Governor

 
Officers of the Executive Branch

 
 
Chapter 9 The Texas Justice System
Courts and Their Jurisdictions

 
Organization and Structure of the Texas Court System

 
Judge Selection

 
Inequities in the System

 
Juvenile Interactions With the Criminal Justice System

 
 
Chapter 10 Interest Groups and Their Influence
What Are Social Movements and Interest Groups?

 
Types of Interest Groups

 
How Interest Groups and Social Movements Influence Policy

 
The Role of Interest Groups in Lobbying Government

 
Interest Groups and the Bureaucracy

 
 
Chapter 11 The Media, Social Media, and Social Movements
The Role of the Free Press and Media in Our Democracy

 
Media: Then and Now

 
Social Media and Political Participation

 
Polarization, Disinformation, and Weaponization

 
Media and the Rise of Social Movements in Texas

 
 
Chapter 12 Public Policy and Government Budgeting
The Process of Policymaking

 
Health Care Policy

 
Energy and Environmental Policies

 
Education Policy

 
Tax and Fiscal Policy

 
The Texas Budget

 
Local Government Funding

 
 
Chapter 13 Texas in the Future: Changing Demography and Changing Perspectives
The Changing Population of Texas and Its Implications for the Future

 
Education: Will Texas Close the Achievement Gap?

 
Texas Health Care: The Cost of Disparities

 
What Will the U.S. and Texas Economy Look Like in 2050?

 
Transportation in 2050

 
The Effects of Climate Change on Texas in 2050

 
The Electoral Front

 

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  • Lecture notes
  • All tables and figures from the textbook
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