Top Universities in Texas

For those interested in studying in Texas, we have a very useful list. We selected the best Texas institutions for prospective students. Please know that rankings are based on academic research, alumni reviews, graduation rates, as well as assessment from peer colleges. On the page, you will find major admissions stats such as acceptance rate, tuition fees, average SAT scores for each ranked college or university.

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State of Texas after Independence

Almost immediately after the proclamation of independent Texas, a group of supporters of unification with the United States was formed in its government, led by one of the leaders of the Texas revolution, Sam Houston. In August 1837, the Texas ambassador asked US President Martin Van Buren to accept the republic into the Union, but due to a possible aggravation of relations with Mexico, this proposal was rejected. In 1838, the nationalist leader Mirabeau Lamar became President of Texas, who considered it necessary to preserve the sovereignty of Texas, and the issue of unification with the United States was temporarily removed from the agenda. Nevertheless, a few years later, by the mid-forties of the 19th century, it became clear that the young state could not ensure either its own financial independence,

In November 1844, James Polk was elected President of the United States, one of the points of the election program of which was support for the idea of ​​​​annexing (joining) Texas. Realizing that public opinion in the United States was in favor of the inclusion of the Republic of Texas in the United States, the then President John Tyler initiated the adoption of a resolution by the US Congress on this issue. On February 28, 1845, Congress passed a resolution to that effect.

The American proposals for annexation were submitted to the government of the Republic, and on July 4, 1845, Texas legislators approved them. On October 13, the new Texas Constitution was adopted, and on December 29, 1845, Texas officially became the twenty-eighth state of the United States, as well as the first (and the only one today, which, before joining the federation, was an independent state (they declared their sovereignty before joining the union also Vermont and California, but, unlike Texas, they have not been recognized by any country in the world).

Mexico, which continued to consider Texas its territory, was extremely outraged by its annexation. In the summer of 1845, US President James Polk sent troops to Texas, and in the fall of that year, the United States turned to Mexico with a proposal to sell the lands of the provinces of Nuevo Mexico (which included the territories of the modern states of New Mexico, western Texas, and also partially Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma) and Alta California (present-day California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, plus western Colorado and southwestern Wyoming). Under pressure from public opinion, the Mexican government was forced to abandon American proposals, President Jose de Herrera, who advocated a peaceful solution to the conflict, was removed, and the new leaders of the state officially confirmed their claims to Texas.

In the spring of 1846, units of the US Army under the leadership of General Zachary Taylor (the future President of the United States) built a temporary fortification on the north bank of the Rio Grande, called Fort Texas. The Mexicans, who considered these lands their own, and the actions of the United States army an invasion, on April 25, 1846, attacked a detachment of American dragoons. This episode, known as the “Thornton Affair” (after the commander of the American cavalry) served as a formal pretext for the outbreak of hostilities between the United States of America and Mexico. On May 13, 1846, the declaration of war was approved by the US Congress. The war lasted almost two years, most of its battles took place in Mexico. On February 2, 1848, a peace treaty was signed, one of the conditions of which was the renunciation of Mexico’s claims to Texas.

In September 1850, after the passage of a package of laws known as the “Compromise of 1850” by the US Congress and their ratification by state legislators, Texas received its modern borders. Territories in the north and west, which formally belonged to the Lone Star State, but were not actually controlled by it, were transferred to the US Government in exchange for ten million dollars.