Organizing History
100: What do historians use to place events in the order they happened?
Chronology
100: Which culture group hunted buffalo on the Great Plains?
→ Answer: Plains Indians
100: Who was the first European to map the Texas coast?
→ Answer: Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
100: When did Mexico gain independence from Spain?
→ Answer: 1821
100: The joining of Texas to the U.S. in 1845 is known as what?
→ Answer: Annexation
200: What is an era in history?
→ Answer: A period of time defined by major events or developments
200: Which Native group lived in adobe homes in the dry west Texas region?
→ Answer: Puebloan tribes
200: Which explorer survived a shipwreck and wrote about Native Texans?
→ Answer: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
200: Who was the most famous empresario who brought settlers to Texas?
→ Answer: Stephen F. Austin
200: What major discovery in 1901 transformed Texas’s economy?
→ Answer: Oil at Spindletop
300: Why do historians divide history into eras?
→ Answer: To make it easier to study connections and changes over time
300: How did geography influence how Native Texans lived?
→ Answer: It affected their food, shelter, and clothing based on available resources.
300: Who searched for the Seven Cities of Gold but found no riches?
→ Answer: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
300: What were two major causes of conflict between Texas settlers and the Mexican government?
→ Answer: Slavery and lack of political representation
300: What industry made Texas an agricultural powerhouse in the 1800s?
→ Answer: Cotton
400: Which came first: the Spanish Colonial Era or the Mexican National Era?
→ Answer: Spanish Colonial Era
400: Which group fished and gathered food along the Gulf Coast?
→ Answer: Gulf Coast tribes
400: What was the main purpose of Spanish missions in Texas?
→ Answer: To spread Christianity and establish Spanish control
400: What year did Texas declare independence from Mexico?
→ Answer: 1836
400: How did railroads change life in Texas?
→ Answer: They connected towns and expanded trade
500: Explain how chronology helps historians understand cause and effect in Texas history.
→ Answer: It shows how earlier events, like exploration, led to later developments, such as missions and settlements.
500: Compare how the Plains and Southeastern tribes differed in their lifestyles.
→ Answer: Plains tribes were nomadic buffalo hunters; Southeastern tribes farmed and built permanent homes.
500: Why did many Spanish missions fail?
→ Answer: Disease, Native resistance, and isolation
500: Explain how cultural differences between settlers and Mexico led to the Texas Revolution.
→ Answer: Settlers wanted local control and U.S.-style freedoms; Mexico enforced Catholicism and banned slavery.
500: Explain how cotton, cattle, railroads, and oil turned Texas into a modern state.
→ Answer: They boosted economic growth, created jobs, and expanded cities and infrastructure.