As in every war after Texas entered the Union, young Texans flocked to military service when the United States entered World War II. More than 750,000 served, including 12,000 women in the auxiliary services. In December 1942, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox said Texas contributed the largest percentage of its male population to the armed forces of any state. Thirty Texans won Congressional Medals of Honor in the fighting. Audie Murphy, a young farm boy from Farmersville, became one of the most decorated soldiers of the war. Dallas-born Sam Dealey was the most-decorated Navy man.

Important contributions also were made at home. Texas was the site of 15 training posts, at which more than 1.25 million men were trained, and of several prisoner-of-war camps.

World War II irrevocably changed the face of Texas. During the decade of the 1940s, the state's population switched from predominantly rural to 60 percent urban...

In addition, “foreigners” in the state became suspect; nativism reasserted itself. German-Texans were associated with the enemy in the war, and Mexican- Texans were mostly Roman Catholics and likened to the troublemakers along the border. Texas was a fertile ground for the new Ku Klux Klan that entered the state in late 1920. The Klan's philosophy was a mixture of patriotism, law-and-order, nativism, white supremacy, and Victorian morals. Its influence spread quickly across the state, and reports of Klan violence and murder were rampant.

Prohibition had brought a widespread disrespect for law. Peace officers and other officials often ignored speakeasies and gambling. The Klan seemed to many Texans to be an appropriate instrument for restoring law and order and for maintaining morality in towns and cities. By 1922, many of the state's large communities were under direct Klan influence, and a Klanbacked candidate, Earle Mayfield, was elected to the U.S. Senate, giving Texas the reputation as the most powerful Klan bastion in the Union. Hiram Wesley Evans of Dallas also was elected imperial wizard of the national Klan in that year.

The Klan became more directly involved in politics and planned to elect the next governor in 1924...

The reform spirit in government was not dead after the departure of Jim Hogg. In 1901, the Legislature prohibited the issuing of railroad passes to public officials. More than 270,000 passes were issued to officials that year, and farmers claimed that the free rides increased their freight rates and influenced public policy as well.

In 1903, state Sen. A.W. Terrell got a major election-reform law approved, a measure that was further modified two years later. A primary system was established to replace a hodgepodge of practices for nominating candidates that had led to charges of irregularities after each election.

Also in the reform spirit, the Legislature in 1903 prohibited abuse of child labor and set minimum ages at which children could work in certain industries. The action preceded federal child-labor laws by 13 years.

However, the state, for the first time, imposed the poll tax as a requirement for voting...

Texas legislators grappled successfully, and at last, with two major issues that have hounded state government for years — school finance reform and property tax relief — in the 86th legislative session that ran from Jan. 8 to May 27, 2019.

Following a tight-fisted and rancorous session in 2017, lawmakers unanimously agreed during a more collaborative gathering to a historically high $250.7 billion two-year budget, enabled by revenue expectations from record oil production and economic growth.

The two big goals, to provide more money for schools and tamp down local tax escalation, were achieved with an $11.6 billion package that allocated $6.5 billion in new state money for public education, mandated a teacher pay raise, funded full day pre-kindergarten, and offered $5.1 billion to buy down local property taxes.

Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton is the first Texas statewide elected official in 106 years to face an impeachment trial and the first to beat the charges. On Sept. 16, 2023, after a historic 10-day trial, the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on 16 allegations of abuse of office, bribery and obstruction of justice. Another four articles were dismissed.

Paxton was returned to office after being suspended when the Texas House voted 121 to 23 to send impeachment charges to the Senate on May 29, 2023, with 60 of 85 Republicans voting to impeach. Unlike in the House, the Senate voted to acquit largely along party lines. Twenty-one senators had to approve at least one article to convict him. The closest votes -- on 12 articles -- were 14 to convict and 16 for acquittal. Only two Republicans voted with Democrats.

Republican Sens. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills and Robert Nichols of Jacksonville attributed their votes to testimony and evidence. Others, however, said the prosecution failed to prove its case based on whistleblower accusations. There was no “smoking gun.”

Political analysts suggested other reasons for the acquittal. They included Paxton’s ties to Republicans in the Senate where he once served and his wife served during the trial, fear of political retribution by hard-right allies of Paxton and former President Trump in the next GOP primary, and allegiance to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who announced his personal views after the trial.

The Texas Legislature rarely meets without generating some drama, and 2023 gatherings were no exception. Yet, despite intrigue aplenty in the 88th biennial session and subsequent special sessions, lawmakers were able to pass the largest two-year budget ever and, in a second special session, a record-breaking property tax cut.

The usual chaotic end to the 140-day regular session was complicated by the unexpected delivery of 20 articles of impeachment by a House investigative committee against Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton. Two days before adjournment sine die May 29, 2023, the Republican-dominated Texas House voted overwhelmingly (121 to 23) to impeach the embattled 3-term Republican state official, long mired in legal and ethical challenges. His fate would depend on a later Senate trial.

Before that, the House voted to expel State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, after an internal investigation determined he had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old aide after furnishing her with alcohol.

Both actions were historic. Only one statewide elected official had ever been impeached and removed from office, Gov. James Ferguson more than 100 years before. Slaton was the first House member ousted since 1927.

In short, the 87th session of the Texas Legislature was unlike any other, with the regular session addressing unparalleled challenges, and the aftermath casting Texas into the national spotlight.

Lawmakers convened for the biennial five-month session on January 12, 2021, under a unique set of circumstances: in the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic that created health and economic issues, and less than a week after protesters stormed the nation’s Capitol over a disputed presidential election, raising security and political concerns. Add to that, social and racial unrest across the nation.

Then a brutal winter snowstorm in February left more than 4.8 million Texans without electricity and water for days during a power blackout, resulting in an estimated at least 200 deaths, billions of dollars in damage to homes, farmers and businesses, and the exposure of a vulnerable electrical grid and regulatory system.

The World Birding Center comprises nine birding education centers and observation sites in the Lower Rio Grande Valley designed to protect wildlife habitat and offer visitors a view of more than 500 species of birds.

The center has partnered with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and nine communities to turn 10,000 acres back into natural areas for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. This area in Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr counties is a natural migratory path for millions of birds that move between the Americas.

The nine WBC sites are situated along the border with Mexico:

Bentsen – Rio Grande Valley State Park
This is the World Birding Center Headquarters and comprises the 760-acre Bentsen-RGV State Park and 1,700 acres of adjoining federal refuge land near Mission. The site offers: daily tram service; 4 nature trails ranging in length from 1/4 mile to 2 miles; 2-story high Hawk Observation Tower with a 210-foot-long handicapped access ramp; 2 observation decks; 2 accessible bird blinds; primitive camping sites (by reservation); rest areas; picnic sites with tables; exhibit hall; park store; coffee bar; meeting room (available for rental); catering kitchen; bike rentals (1 and 2 seat bikes). Access within the park is by foot, bike and tram only; (956) 585-1107. Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Edinburg Scenic Wetlands
This 40-acre wetlands in Edinburg is an oasis for water-loving birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The site is currently offering:walking trails, nature tours and classes; (956) 381-9922. Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Wednesday; 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Estero Llano Grande State Park
This 176-acre refuge in Weslaco attracts a wide array of South Texas wildlife with its varied landscape of shallow lake, woodlands and thorn forest; 956-565-3919. Hours: 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday through August.

Harlingen Arroyo Colorado
This site in Harlingen is connected by an arroyo waterway, as well as hike-and-bike trails meandering through the city, Hugh Ramsey Nature Park to the east and the Harlingen Thicket to the west; (956) 427-8873. Hours: Office, 8 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Nature trails are open seven days a week, sunrise to sunset.

Old Hidalgo Pumphouse
Visitors to this museum in Hidalgo on the Rio Grande can learn about the steam-driven irrigation pumps that transformed Hidalgo County into a year-round farming area. The museum’s grounds feature hummingbird gardens, walking trails and historic tours; (956) 843-8686. Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday through Friday; 1 p.m.–5 p.m., Sunday. Closed Saturday.

Quinta Mazatlan
This 1930s country estate in McAllen is a historic Spanish Revival adobe hacienda surrounded by lush tropical landscaping and native woodland. It is also an urban oasis, where quiet trails wind through more than 15 acres of birding habitat; (956) 688-3370. Hours: 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Open until sunset on Thursdays. Closed Mondays and holidays.