Why Texas can Divide Itself into Five New States...

Ever since Texas was admitted to the Union, it has had the unique privilege of being able to divide itself into as many as five new states without Congressional approval. Today on That Is Interesting, I explore the history behind this unique law, as well as one possible way a divided Texas could look.

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[ThatIsInterestingTII]

How would you break up Texas? What would you call each state? What should their capital cities and flags be?

[drakkonusfrostburn]

I'd suggest calling the states Texas, North Texas, West Texas, East Texas, and South Texas. That way all the people would still be Texans.

[elig]

As a North Texan, I'm not so sure I could get behind having my new state partially being named after Oklahoma...

[wayfaringman]

No self-respecting Texan wants that hallowed state's name combined with anything from Oklahoma.

[NRH_Wx]

As a Texan I really hate these Names. Names would be as simple as West Texas, North Texas, Central Texas, South Texas and South East Texas. If Texas would break up Why not 5 Texas names to rub it in....

[warsawpacked]

I remember hearing about this years ago and one commentator observed (correctly in my opinion) that the only way to divide Texas would be into five concentric Texi all in the shape of the original.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Texas: Everything’s bigger in Texas
This scenario (in Bill Wurtz): *Not anymore*

[ClipsThatTakeUpStorageOnMyXbox]

Texas, Mexas, Lexas, Rexas and Breakfast.

[rapdri]

I read the thumbnail as: “Five new taxes” and I was like: “Hell no”

[faithfulforever]

Texas may have the power to split up; but it would never happen. Texans are too proud of being Texans. None of them would ever want to surrender that affiliation, even if it was politically advantageous.

[feeberizer]

El Paso is already a separate part of Texas. The city is on it's own power grid isolated from the rest of the state that also feeds part of southern New Mexico where I live. During the deep freeze of Feb 2011, El Paso Electric's generators kept freezing up forcing rolling blackouts across the region for three weeks. Then when the big freeze hit in Feb 2021, El Paso Electric maintained power due to improvements made over the prior 10 years while the rest of Texas went black.

[_chpset]

I can already say that the way you described dividing up Texas in the end ignores some of the modern economic and cultural connections in the regions of Texas. San Antonio-New Braunfels-Austin is basically considered a single metropolitan area by the residents(officially it's 2 metro areas), dividing San Antonio from New Braunfels and Austin is a hard sell. San Antonio, while it is on the border of the hill country, DOES actually extend into the hill country, and is therefore still a part of the hill country. Also note, the Texas Triangle(DFW-San Antonio-Houston) is a major economic powerhouse in itself with extensive trade/business between the cities within that region. The entire Texas Triangle is a megalopolis that is home to between 70 and 80% of all Texans. Economically and culturally, it would make the most sense to keep this region in a single state. While your division makes sense from a historical and geographic perspective, I think economically and culturally, it does not work. Just my critique.

I don't really have a way I'd divide the state, but I can say that the Texas Triangle is not exactly culturally homogeneous. San Antonio and Austin share a lot culturally, whereas, San Antonio and Houston don't share nearly as much. But you go further south and San Antonio shares a lot with Corpus Christi. Any division is going to be imperfect, but I think it would make sense to at least factor in economy and culture, rather than just history and geography.

[imnotyourunicorn]

Don't split up Texas! I love our unique state. No shape is more handsome 🤠

[emptytissuebox]

Next you should do, What if Oklahoman joined Texas. ECONOMY, LIFE, LAND AREA.

[GeographyWorld]

That is interesting! Would be crazy to see 4 more stars added to the American flag.

[MikeV]

Great report, but San Antonio was not "the first settlement ever founded in the state, " as you say. Assuming that you mean the first European settlement, that was Nacogdoches, settled in 1716, two years before San Antonio.

[greggibbs]

Small detail. The "Alamo" fight and the independence of Texas was heavily based on the need for slavery. Mexico did not have slavery. Texas became a slave state outside and inside the U.S. until Juneteenth.

[TonyFMMA]

At 11:50 you said San Antonio was the first settlement but we were always taught that Nacogdoches was.

[danadcock]

The right of Texas to divide into five states was, as you said, retained when it was admitted to the USA by treaty between two sovereign nations in 1845. Since it seceded and subsequently was brought back into the USA (more or less kicking and screaming) after the South was defeated in the War of Southern Aggression, the rights Texas had under the treaty by which it was originally admitted were lost so that now it could divide only in the same way all other states could do so.

[BoldOne]

Texas : *Votes for a Democrat President*
Texan Government : Gentlemen, synchronise your death watches.