The
Republic of Texas is a country in south-central and southwest North America. It is one of the greater powers in the Americas and the world, with around 38 million people living in its borders, and the seventh largest economy in the world, only passed by countries such as the Republic of California, the Republic of China, and the United States. It stretches from the Sabine River, all the way to the Greater Colorado River. While stereotyped as a land of cowboys and oilmen ("roughnecks"), it has a diverse economy, made up of, of course, ranching and oil and energy production, but also manufacturing, mining, especially in the western portions of the Republic, tech, mainly in Houston (OTL Dallas), steel, tourism (gotta play off that legendary reputation of freedom fighters and cowboys somehow), and aeronautics, thanks to NASA's headquarters in Crockett (OTL Houston). The current President of Texas is
Kay Bailey Hutchison (C-TR).
History:
Texas was formed on March 2nd, 1836, when delegates to the San Antonio Convention, then the territorial government of Mexican Tejas, unanimously approved and signed the Texan Declaration of Independence. Texas was already in rebellion, thanks to Santa Anna centralizing the government, something that was unpopular with both the Tejanos who had lived in Texas before it was opened up to American immigration, and the American immigrants, many of whom came to Texas only a few years prior. This only confirmed the intentions of Texas, and enraged Santa Anna, who was determined to bring Texas under Mexico's heel. After the DoI was signed, Texas would start a major mobilization of whatever manpower it could muster, also accepting many volunteers, the majority of whom coming from the Southern United States. It wasn't the best army in the world, and General Sam Houston, who was the commander-in-chief of Texan forces, knew this, but everyone was determined to make it through.
In around mid-march, Santa Anna's men crossed the Rio Grande, en route to San Antonio, the capital of Texas (a title San Antonio continues to have), so to nip Texas in the bud, with his subordinates, Generals Urrea and Filisola taking forces further east to the more populated regions of eastern Texas. When the Convention learned of Santa Anna's plan to conquer San Antonio, they nixed the Matamoros Campaign they were planning, which would send 800 men down to Matamoros, in an attempt to conquer the Rio Grande region. They pooled all they could into San Antonio, while leaving General Houston to skirmish with Urrea and Filisola. In around early April, Santa Anna reached San Antonio, where he began a siege of the Alamo, an old mission re-purposed into a makeshift fort. There were roughly a thousand Texan men at the Alamo, led by James Fannin, William B. Travis, and Davy Crockett, that faced down a Mexican army twice their size. Santa Anna, during a parley with the Texans, made it clear that if Texas chose to fight, they wouldn't be given mercy, and any survivors of the battle, should Mexico win, would be executed as pirates, per international law regarding pirates at the time. The defenders, despite the odds, chose to fight. Santa Anna continued his siege for about two weeks, before launching a final assault upon the Alamo, in hopes of using his army's superior numbers to overwhelm the Texans. The Texans fought the assaulting Mexicans with a tenacity and ferocity nigh-unmatched, and the Mexicans took heavy casualties before even reaching the Alamo's walls. When the Mexicans did reach the walls, they were nearly pushed back by the Texans' rough fighting styles. Later into the battle, the Mexicans were able to push back the Texan defenders, but Davy Crockett did the near-impossible: kill Santa Anna in the heat of the battle, by shooting him when Santa Anna didn't expect it. Santa Anna's death would produce shock waves throughout the Mexican force. Most would drop their weapons and flee the Alamo, while some would continue to stay and fight, to be killed by the Texans. The day had been won, and San Antonio was safe. Also helped that Santa Anna was dead.
Santa Anna's death would leave lasting marks on Texas, with Mexico falling into civil war afterwards, and Texas securing its independence after the Battle of San Jacinto, where Houston and his men ambushed and defeated Urrea's army, and signed the Treaty of Velasco, which granted Texas its independence, and all its land claims, something that wouldn't sit well with Mexico for years. Texas after the war would campaign hard for other nations to recognize it, gaining recognition by Britain, France, and the US early on, which helped it stay afloat, as loans from France, and to a lesser extent, Britain, stabilized the economy, allowing Texas to focus on other issues. America would offer Texas annexation, but Texas refused, having been able to become a stable and sovereign nation, and many in Texas losing interest in American annexation. After the Mexican Civil War ended, the Mexicans focused on trying to reconquer Texas. Fueled by money from Alta California's gold rush, something that would cause California to revolt, in the vein of Texas, they launched an invasion of Texas, starting the First Mexican-Texan War (the Revolution doesn't count, as Texas technically didn't exist). Texas would win, again, as Mexico was much more disorganized. California was also released as an independent nation, though they would sell land east of the Greater Colorado River to Texas in return for Texan support, as well as an independent Republic of the Rio Grande and Republic of Yucatan, though they both would collapse before the 20th century.
Modern Texas has gone through many highs and lows, another war with Mexico in the early 20th century, and a global war in the mid-20th century. Currently, they are fighting against criminal cartels running amok in Mexico, which have bled over into Texas, and to a lesser extent, California.
Parties in the Republic of Texas:
Constitution Party: The current party of the government, they're the youngest party in Texas, formed as a breakaway from the Democratic Party in the 1920's, when the Democrats started to go left-wing. As can be expected, they are generally center-right to right-wing party, generally supporting fiscal conservatism, paleoconservatism, deregulation, and minor protectionism, along with many other socially and economically conservative platforms, as well as support for the Cartel War. Most of their support comes from rural and working-class Texans (races aren't a solid voting bloc for any party in Texas), especially farmers, ranchers, miners, and roughnecks. Though they had a slow start, starting off as a minor party in Texas, they've been the party of the government many times, as Texas generally has a conservative bent, though they've been beaten out many times, especially with scandals against the party. Incumbent President Kay Hutchison is a part of this party.
Democratic Party: The opposition party, as of right now, they're one of the two original parties in Texas. They were originally a right-wing party, with roughly a same platform as the current Constitution Party, they started going left-wing around the 1920s, when a left-wing faction gained traction in the party. This caused the Constitution Party to form, and over time, it would draw away the conservative Democrats, completing the Democratic Party's change to the left. The current party supports social democracy, social and fiscal liberalism, free trade, and a multitude of other left-wing platforms. They've also expressed criticism of the Cartel War, and have made notions of scaling back Texas' involvement in it, should they gain power. The modern party is generally popular with those in Texas' urban areas, and in some of the suburbs of Texas, where it draws most of its power. The current leader of the party is Julian Castro of San Antonio, and the last Democratic president was Ann Richards, who left office in 2009.
Whig Party: The other original political party in Texas, they were originally the more left-wing party in Texas, but have now taken on a more centrist role, to avoid directly competing with the Democrats. They currently caucus with the Constitution Party, and have been for a few election cycles now, but have had a history of siding with the Democrats. They're the smallest party of Texas, as centrists and libertarians aren't all that common in Texas, but they currently draw most of their support from the Texas suburbs, who generally go for the more moderate politicians. They generally support centrism and libertarianism in most forms, fiscal conservatism, social liberalism, free trade, and usually sit on the fence on many issues, preferring popular sovereignty over all. They also are mildly supportive of the Cartel War, though have made questions over whether we should or shouldn't increase the number of troops in Mexico. They've hardly been the party of the government since the 19th century, but they made a shocking wave in the late '90s when businessman Ross Perot won the presidency, preceding Ann Richards.
WIP Texas House Makeup