Becoming an Informed Voter
Becoming an Informed Voter GOVT 220
GOVT 220-D03
04/21/2014
Becoming an Informed Voter – Researching My Congressional Delegation
What is the Political History of your district and State?
Harris County in the state of Texas was formed in the winter of 1836, and was first called Harrisburg County after an early settler named John Richard Harris. The name changed from Harrisburg County to Harris County in 1839. In the United States House of Representatives, Ted Poe, a Republican, currently represents my district (Northwest Harris County). John Whitmire was elected in 1983 as a Democrat, and he represents Northwest Harris County in the Texas Senate. There are seven major districts that are represented in the Texas Legislature. “Over the period since initial statehood in 1845, the constituencies and ideologies of the two major parties we know today have experienced profound transformations. The Republican Party didn't even exist in the United States until just before the Civil War, and barely existed in Texas and the rest of the former Confederacy for several decades after Reconstruction. The Democratic Party evolved from a party closely identified with white racial supremacy to a coalition of groups that included African Americans and ethnic minorities, while the Republican Party slowly gained majority status as a home for social conservatives. Both parties today remain economically conservative, resisting tax increases and regulations on business, while promoting government support of business initiatives.” (The University of Texas at Austin, 2009.) The Populist Party existed from the 1880’s to the 1910’s, and was very significant on both the state and national levels. The Populist Party was formed to represent the interests of laborers and farmers in the 1890s, and was known for advocating the unlimited coinage of silver. Ross Perot, a Dallas billionaire, created the Reform Party in the late 1990s.
GOVT 220-D03
04/21/2014
Becoming an Informed Voter – Researching My Congressional Delegation
What is the Political History of your district and State?
Harris County in the state of Texas was formed in the winter of 1836, and was first called Harrisburg County after an early settler named John Richard Harris. The name changed from Harrisburg County to Harris County in 1839. In the United States House of Representatives, Ted Poe, a Republican, currently represents my district (Northwest Harris County). John Whitmire was elected in 1983 as a Democrat, and he represents Northwest Harris County in the Texas Senate. There are seven major districts that are represented in the Texas Legislature. “Over the period since initial statehood in 1845, the constituencies and ideologies of the two major parties we know today have experienced profound transformations. The Republican Party didn't even exist in the United States until just before the Civil War, and barely existed in Texas and the rest of the former Confederacy for several decades after Reconstruction. The Democratic Party evolved from a party closely identified with white racial supremacy to a coalition of groups that included African Americans and ethnic minorities, while the Republican Party slowly gained majority status as a home for social conservatives. Both parties today remain economically conservative, resisting tax increases and regulations on business, while promoting government support of business initiatives.” (The University of Texas at Austin, 2009.) The Populist Party existed from the 1880’s to the 1910’s, and was very significant on both the state and national levels. The Populist Party was formed to represent the interests of laborers and farmers in the 1890s, and was known for advocating the unlimited coinage of silver. Ross Perot, a Dallas billionaire, created the Reform Party in the late 1990s.
References: Stephen Witham. Becoming an Informed Voter. Liberty University, 2014. Texas Politics Barone, Michael. The Almanac of American Politics 2014. University of Chicago Press, 2013 Wilson Q. James. American Government, Brief Version. 11th ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2009, 2012, 2014. Gu, Paul. Harris County History. TX Political Almanac, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.txpoliticalalmanac.com/index.php?title=Harris_County http://www.votesmart.org About John. Texans for Senator John Cornyn, Inc. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.johncornyn.com/about-john/ Poe, Ted Harris County, Houston County Website. Harris County History. CountyWebsite.com, Inc. 2014. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Populist+Party https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/TX Governors of Texas, 1846-present Elissa Haney. Reform School: A primer on the political party founded by Ross Perot and boosted by the governorship of Jesse Venture. Pearson Education, 2000-2014. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/reformparty1.html