Texas Geography
What river forms the southern and southwestern border of Texas?
The Rio Grande
What was the name of the empresario who brought the first Anglo-American colonists to Texas?
Stephen F. Austin
What was the Alamo before it became a fort?
A Spanish Catholic mission (Mission San Antonio de Valero)
What document is the supreme law of the United States?
The U.S. Constitution
What document, signed in 1776, declared American independence from Britain?
The Declaration of Independence
Name the four major geographic regions of Texas.
Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and Basin and Range Province
Under what country's rule did Texas first receive large numbers of Anglo-American settlers?
Mexico
On what date did Texas declare independence from Mexico?
March 2, 1836
What are the three branches of the U.S. federal government?
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
What was the name of the conflict fought between 1861 and 1865 that divided the United States?
The Civil War (also called the War Between the States)
What body of water borders Texas to the southeast?
The Gulf of Mexico
What was the Law of April 6, 1830?
A Mexican law that banned further immigration from the United States into Texas
What battle ended the Texas Revolution with a Texan victory?
The Battle of San Jacinto
How many senators does each state send to the U.S. Senate?
Two senators
What was the main economic system of the Southern states that the Civil War put to an end?
Slavery / the plantation economy based on enslaved labor
What is the capital city of Texas?
Austin
Empresarios were given land grants in exchange for what responsibility?
Bringing a set number of settlers to colonize the land
Who was the first president of the Republic of Texas?
David G. Burnet (interim) / Sam Houston (elected)
What does the Bill of Rights protect?
Individual rights and freedoms of American citizens from government overreach
What was the Missouri Compromise?
An 1820 agreement that balanced the number of free and slave states and drew a line limiting slavery's expansion
The Llano Estacado is part of which geographic region of Texas?
The Great Plains (also called the High Plains)
What were two goals the Spanish mission system was meant to achieve in Texas?
To convert Native Americans to Christianity and to establish Spanish control over the land
What was the significance of the 'Come and Take It' flag at Gonzales in 1835?
It symbolized Texan defiance when Mexican troops demanded the colonists return a cannon
What is the term of office for a U.S. President?
Four years
Who issued the Emancipation Proclamation and in what year?
President Abraham Lincoln in 1863