Texas Civil War

 

Both the nation and our states political decisions rely heavily on the influence from partisanship among its citizens. These parties (specifically Democrats and Republicans) are in a constant fight to get the upper hand on one and other seeking dominance in government. When one of the parties is dominant in state politics for an extended period of time it creates more significant internal divisions. Today's party dominance and ideology all strive from a specific set of political issues and events that took place throughout the state and national politics.

After reconstruction, the democratic party began to regain dominance due to a series of political issues and events. This is primarily due to some very significant issues during this time period starting with organized labor and tenant farmers. Other very prominent events were minority rights like the jim crow laws and railroad reforms. Some of these issues were adopted from other third party like the Populist (People) party to their own platforms.

Democrats dominated Texas politics since reconstruction post civil war up until the 1980’s when a transition to Republicans began to take shape. The political issues and events that eventually led to a shift of Republican dominance happened gradually over time. The first of which was most likely the election of John Tower who was elected to the US Senate. Tower and his many conservative positions served a total of three continuous elections. The next big step towards a Republican dominance was Bill Clements defeat of John Hill over the office of Governorship in the year 1978. This helped hold the governor's office as Republican for years to come up until the present day. The final thing that led to dominance was Republicans statewide victory led by George W. Bush. Under his direction, many offices were filled with his similar ideology locking in these seats for the future has Republican.

There are three very different ideologies currently apart of the Texas parties today. One of these ideologies is conservative which is split as either economic or social conservatives. Social conservatives tend to emphasize the traditional values and believe in the government's role in preservation of good moral values found in society. Economic conservatives believe in a free market not interfered with by the government and minimal regulation of the economy. Another important ideology is liberal that believes in the government's necessity for the promoting of social equality and regulation of the economy. Liberals tend to want to protect the civil rights and liberties while greatly against those who try to limit or reject any constitutional rights.

Libertarianism is another one of these ideologies that are seen in Texas political parties less frequently. Libertarians have similarities to both the conservative and liberal ideologies and their many varying aspects. When it comes to the economy they reject government involvement and follow most of the other conservative economic traits. However, when it comes to more social issues they prefer the exclusion of government when it comes to their personal life choices.

In conclusion, Texas political parties have varied throughout history in both dominance and different ideologies at different points in time. Starting after the pre-party era republican and democratic parties have been in a constant feud over party who is in control at all level of government. Through this they have helped shape Texans different ideology and partisanships going up onto the present day.

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