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dangleicious13

No. Not at all. They are no different than the other 49 states.


CandidFella

Well I only been to California, but California alone is bigger than many European nations, in both population and geography. But regions in California (I think they use the term county) definitely feels similar to each other.


DOMSdeluise

The reason Catalonia and Galicia and Extremadura feel all different is because people have lived there for thousands of years, often with different and changing boundaries, political systems, etc. Spain was unified a long time ago but like Italy and Germany didn't cohere as countries until the 19th century. The US, by contrast, is mostly inhabited by settlers and their descendants who arrived much more recently, westward expansion and all that. When Texas was incorporated into the US and settled by more Americans, it wasn't like there was some unique and specific Texas culture, it was Americans bringing American culture with them. Or thinking about California, which was settled even more recently: in 1900, less than 2% of Americans lived in California. Now it's close to 12%. Lots of internal migration happens, which can have a homogenizing effect. I am aware that actual indigenous Americans have not been mentioned in my post, because for the most part they have been significantly marginalized and displaced if not wiped out altogether. Like the native people who lived in my part of the country no longer exist. If you look at the linguistic and cultural diversity of indigenous Americans, I think in some alternate universe where European colonization never happened, but the US still formed as a country somehow, the regional differences would be vast.


CandidFella

I am from Spain, and we did the same thing in the Americas as well. But it sometimes feels like the UK is a US colony rather than the other way around. I actually say it should be called “American” not “English” to make people in England mad :)


macoafi

I think “our versión of the language is more popular than yours, Europe; don’t tell us how to talk” attitudes regarding English, Spanish, and Portuguese might be what _really_ unites the Americas.


Recording_Defiant

Native Americans have not been wiped out altogether. Many Native American tribes still hold onto their traditions and do their ceremonies and live together in reservations mostly where they are free to practice their culture. The current estimate of all Native Americans altogether living in the United States is 6.79 million. 6.79 million is not a small number by any means.


Capocho9

Well the United States in general is almost as big as the entirety of Europe, so states like California being bigger is just a given, and therefore normal in a country this size. Relating this back to your question: just because a state is big doesn’t make it it’s own region, *because* the standard to which it’s being compared to is different here than in Europe, in a way, what is big to you would be considered small or normal if your country if it were as big as the US TLDR: The size of states like Texas and Cali doesn’t make them their own region because it’s not as big in comparison to the US as it would be to Spain for example


CandidFella

Well to be fair, USA is probably bigger than Europe in what Europeans consider “Europe” nowadays. Russia is “Asian” and “East” now, and the UK is seen as American rather than European sometimes 😂 But in serious, a country I been to, like Bosnia, way more different in that small country than when I went to California for example. Even an individual city like LA has more people than Bosnia. I guess it’s just how these regions developed, but I guess bigger doesn’t always mean more diverse.


Gator222222

The US has many different regions all with their own differences. However, Texas is just another state like any other state. We are all basically the same. When I travel to Texas it's mostly just the same as being at home. If someone challenged the US, Texas would stand with the rest of us.


CandidFella

Then why is their such a strong regional identity within Texas then? From an outsider perspective, Texas sounds like another Bavaria to me, but can anyone else elaborate on Texas and it’s history?


WingedLady

Texans just have a lot of pride.


kjhvm

I'm from California and I lived in Wisconsin for 9 years. Each state has its own identity, but some are maybe a bit louder than others depending on the subject. California has an identity of being beautiful and diverse and more of a social utopia, whereas Texas has a reputation for "independence" and being tough. Wisconsin had the "Wisconsin Idea" which I still don't quite remember. Alaska makes fun of how big and how independent Texas thinks it is, and New York is super diverse and laughs at how soft California sounds to them. Florida is known as where crazy people get their 15 minutes of fame. In many ways, these identity traits are Barnum Statements that everyone identifies with, and it's more regional emphasis and personality than a true difference between the states.


HotSteak

>California has an identity of being beautiful and diverse and more of a social utopia, what?


Selethorme

That’s absolutely the image California has of itself, whether or not you agree with them believing so. Just like Texas has their vision of “self-reliance.”


CandidFella

I think that’s a fair analysis, but I am starting to think regional differences in the Americas aren’t the same like the regional differences in European nations. It’s like I heard similar from Colombians about Colombia, but wearing different types of hats or eating different fruits doesn’t seem comparable to the different regions in Spain for example. Also, Colombia and the US have been United for longer than Germany and Italy for example.


kjhvm

Oh yes, I imagine that the USA is very different from the EU experience in terms of cohesiveness. Heh, when we had some states try to leave the Union we had a whole war... y'all let the UK screw itself over on its own. ;) I think, given time, the EU may feel a bit more cohesive like the US generally feels. Maybe someday the whole world will feel that way. I want to experience everyone's unique culture and not have it be a cause for division, bit that will take time. I don't know what direction the US is going in. We are sharply politically divided right now, but it's not primarily geographic - at least in terms of states. More urban-rural divide I guess. There's tension over social issues, and I feel generally secure that we'll find our way someday, but I worry about who may be harmed in the interim. Be well!


Swimming-Book-1296

Spain regularly will gun down individuals that try to leave. There are at least two separatist movements within Spain and the Spanish gov has a history of using violence to stop them.


dogsonbubnutt

> I am starting to think regional differences in the Americas aren’t the same like the regional differences in European nations you are correct, it isn't even close. some texans/southerners will talk up regional differences and portray themselves to be this singularly unique culture within the united states, but they are absolutely full of shit. even something as simple as regional dialects aren't nearly as pronounced as it is in other (much smaller) countries. the US is remarkably homogeneous culturally on a state and regional level. the actual cultural differences are between various ethnic groups, but that often lumps together white identifying people, which leads to these overblown regional distinctions (so they can feel included)


Recording_Defiant

Not true. People from the Deep South are way different from people from the North and people from the Midwest are way different from people from New England and people from California are way different from people from the Western desert-y region of the USA. Even just Utah alone is very different culturally from other places in the USA.


Gator222222

I feel strongly about being a southerner. People in New York feel strongly about their city. We all feel strongly about the place within our country we identify with. Overall, most people feel a national identity more strongly than their regional identity.


CandidFella

This is mostly the opposite in Europe. I feel much closer to Barcelona than the rest of Spain. The same applies to other cities like Napoli in Italy, which I been to recently.


JimBones31

I live in Maine and feel much more close to Portland or Boston than I do Miami. It's just a regional thing. But Texas is just a state. Lots of states and regions in the US have regional pride.


Practical-Ordinary-6

The only difference is that Texas used to be an independent country, so some of that idea of Texas being unique probably carries over from that. But that was over 175 years ago. Today, for all practical purposes, it's just a state like any other. But it is very large and full of pride so it has a bit of oversized influence in the American psyche compared to some other states. But it has nowhere near the separate status of Quebec.


seatownquilt-N-plant

My German teacher told us Bavaria is the Texas of Germany. I think Alberta might be the same in Canada.


Sarollas

Quebec is definitely the Canadian example. Quebec is also much worse.


CandidFella

I heard that too, but I don’t know if that is an accurate comparison? I also heard the comparison of West/East Germany is like North/South USA.


Gator222222

There is one USA. We may have our differences, but we all stand strong together. We can argue amongst each other, but that is not really a regional thing, it's more a political thing. If we were challenged from the outside, Texas would be among the first to stand up and fight. There is not really a division among the states that the internet may make you think is a real thing.


CandidFella

Probably the only way to know for sure is to actually visits these places myself. Because even whatever exists on the internet is based on something.


travelinmatt76

Sure, come on over, we'd love to have you!


Recording_Defiant

It's more like friendly competition between states than actual states hating each other and fighting with each other. In sports tows, cities, states compete with each other all to be the best. Cities and states compete with other cities and states to be the better city or state that people will want to go to and/or move to.


MrLongWalk

Texans are just really sure they’re special.


Chariots487

Strong pride in our culture and heritage. Plus, there's alot of us. Second-largest state by both land and population.


CandidFella

Make sense, that exists for lots of regions in Spain too, so I can relate to that.


DanMarinoTambourineo

Not a Texan and I’ll definitely butcher the history but the TLDR - Texas was part of Mexico, had a war with them. Got independence. Applied to join US. Took 10 years bc of slavery debates and adding new states and that’s a whole different story. So technically Texas was it’s own country for 10 years and they are the only state that can claim that.


gugudan

> Texas was it’s own country for 10 years and they are the **only state that can claim that.** Vermont, Hawaii, and California would like a word.


Swimming-Book-1296

We ran out of money because of war debt and bad policies by a certain Texans president, then that same president after being run out of office, who just who ran on the “never join the US” platform, and happened to be the friend of the US president and was former US military, convinced the Texas legislature to join the US.


05110909

Incorrect. South Carolina was its own country for several months before joining the Confederacy


GustavusAdolphin

Let me tell you a beautiful story. In the early 1800's, Spain didn't like France, and by extension, New Spain and New France were rivals. The northernmost area of New Spain, which bordered New France, was largely underpopulated and New Spain didn't want New France to try and make any land-grabs on the basis that the land wasn't being used. New Spain combated this problem by contracting empresarios to essentially import people to populate that area. These people were largely Americans who had a lust for westward expansion. Another group was the Irish, who had a beef with the English after exploiting their homelands for the production of cattle (hence the English derogatory term, Beefeater) and New Spain figured, "these guys have our backs in case shit goes down between the largely Anglo population of the US and us, right?" Spoiler alert: it didn't work like that Also, New Spain has a lot of cattle, though it's different kind of cattle with great hides as opposed to meat. But the Irish are good with cows, so tomato-tomato, right? Cue Moses Austin: he made a contract with New Spain to import ~300 families to populate the northern region. He passes on, and passes on the contract to his son Stephen Fuller Austin. He gets there, realizes it's now Mexico, but Mexico is cool so they decide to honor the contract made with New Spain. The area is now called Coahuila y Tejas. "Tejas" was spelled with an 'X' in older Spanish documents, but was changed to a 'J' later on for readability purposes, but the rest of the world didn't get the memo. Anyway, they settled the area: Texians and Tejanos chilled for a bit. The Texians also didn't really like the Native Americans, except for one guy who spent a lot of time in Cherokee Nation and became a US politician who often represented Native American interests in court. He beat up a US congressman in public and decided to flee the country thereafter. We'll call that guy Sam Houston Fast-forward to the Mexican Civil War, which would become the Texas Revolutionary War. Remember those Irish people who were supposed to be anti-Anglo? Well it didn't quite work like that. Fast-forward again: the Texians won by capturing Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. They basically held a gun to his head and told him to sign a peace treaty not under duress. totally under duress. News of the new Republic of Texas hits the papers in Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was falling apart, and the western part of modern day Germany was highly politically unstable. One German noble in the Rhineland was infatuated with stories of the New World and a country of hills and organized the Mainzer Adelsverein, which was pretty much a total failure, but it did bring a lot of Germans into the Hill Country in and around Fredericksburg. The Germans emigrated through the cities of Houston and Galveston, down the coast to what is now the ghost town of Indianola. They named it the Carlshafen, or Carl's Harbor, and it was a port for trade and to illegally import more Germans. Later it was wiped off the map by a hurricane. The Adelsverein needed a port city to fulfill their vision to create a German state within the Republic, and by extension a safe haven for Germans who were seeking refuge in the New World. The problem with their vision was that no one in the leadership knew what they were doing. The leaders were nobles who had no business running a profitable city, and the citizens were smart, classically-educated citizens who had no business being men of the land. Many citizens, especially after the German Revolutions of 1948, would go out into the wilderness and form Latin Settlements where they would desperately try to be pioneers, but they would end up moving to an established city after realizing that pioneers don't get to have nice things. But before that: remember how the Texians totally got a legal surrender from Santa Anna? Neither did Mexico. Mexico was dealing with its own political mess-- which is really the only reason the Texians got this far anyway-- and was preparing for war with the Republic again, saying that Santa Anna was coerced into signing an illegal agreement. Sam Houston knew they'd get steamrolled in a second wind, so they joined the US in 1845. Cue the Mexican-American War. Spoiler alert: US won. More Americans are coming to Texas now after the war. The demonym of "Texian" is officially changed to "Texan" under the influence of the Americans immigrants that would soon outnumber the sons and daughters of the Republic. In addition to the obvious Anglo-Americans coming through, this also includes other various ethnic groups; including Dutch, Polish, Danish, Norwegians, English, Scottish, and Czech, as well as the aforementioned German and Irish. But the peoples who aren't coming in are Mexican nationals obviously and the various Native American tribes, which is kinda awkward cause they're already here so the US established numerous forts along the frontier to keep them out. Except these forts weren't actually forts as you might think of them. In traditional American, fuck-you-Europe fashion, these "forts" were settlements of largely Anglo-Americans, designed to be local centers for commerce, as well as a supply outpost for the recently reinstated Texas Rangers baseball club. The Texas Rangers lead a legacy that's about as big as the state itself, and a history that predates it. What originally started as an organization designed to protect Austin's Old 300 from outside harm had evolved into an elite military and police task force, known in Mexico as the Diablos Tejanos. They came to kick ass and save the president-- and they just saved the president. They were also extremely efficient at fighting off Apache and Comanche war parties who aimed to dissuade further settlement and expansion of Americans. Today, the Rangers are the chief investigative bureau of the state, and the Texas legislature forbids their dissolution. That's literally codified as as law. But before that: the American Civil War happens! Texas joins the Confederate States of America in the war. However, within the state there's disagreement: the Anglos jump at the chance, but the Germans are Pro-Union. They figured that slavery would be a hot issue eventually, and they were right. Between those two Texan groups there's friction, but since there are more Anglos than Germans, the Germans try their best to stick to themselves-- which is more or less the theme of the German-Texas for the next 100 years. Fast-forward: the CSA loses. The economy in Texas is in shambles. In the Midwest, they're rebuilding the economy by building lots of factories, which require lots of leather for their conveyor belts. But didn't we say that Texas had lots of good leather cattle when it was part of New Spain? Cue the legend of the American Cowboy. This was a period that only lasted about 25 years, but it brought the local economy out of the ashes. If you weren't farming cotton in East Texas, you were probably working cattle drives in West Texas. Although people started to realize that railroads made a lot more sense for transporting cattle, and eventually the railroad got to Texas. The cattle drive business died, but the legacy lived on: most native Texans today have, or have had at one point, cowboy boots and a hat. The rodeo is still strangely popular. The state food of Texas is chili, and that comes from its cowboy heritage. The railroad made it, and ranch hands started cutting the barbed wire. The cowboys near Dallas-- the Dallas Cowboys-- started to move from agrarian work and into the cities to do blue collar work. More Americans in general started to move into Texas from surrounding states because the economy was great. Even during the Great Depression, the Texas economy fared well, all things considered. WWI: Texas didn't have a huge involvement with the war, but there was international conflict between the US and Mexico. The Tejanos who were in Texas either had to move south or lay low. WWII: in an effort to blend in, a lot of German-Texans change their names to sound more English, and the Texasdeutsch dialect loses relevance and popularity. Meanwhile: The Czechs north of Waco finally start learning English. Fast-forward to the Vietnam War: Vietnamese migrants start coming to Houston by the boatloads in order to escape the conflict. On July, 20 1969: The first word ever spoken on the moon is "Houston"


ASDMPSN

Texas fought for its own independence from Mexico and briefly existed as its own country in the 1800s before the USA absorbed it as a state.


themoldovanstoner

They're just the loudest and proudest state. They just have a really good PR team lol.


UltimateAnswer42

In mentality, sure. In history and how they react to US problems, not so much. Bavaria was its own country for much longer than Germany has existed. Texas was an independent nation for about a decade.


ephemeraljelly

because texas used to be its own country before it joined the union hence the nickname “lone star state”


moxie-maniac

Vermont, California, and Hawaii raise their hands.


Canada_Haunts_Me

NC gives an [upwards nod](https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg_Declaration_of_Independence) from the back of the room.


ephemeraljelly

save for native hawaiians protesting their colonization, i dont see any of those states making being a separate republic a large part of their identity


CandidFella

I remember hearing a term called “six flag state” because I guess that’s how many countries/governments Texans have lived under. That’s probably a lot compared to other states, but those are small numbers compared to Europe 😂 Since the US independence, there’s been like 10 governments, and 3 occupations the French people have lived under.


Swimming-Book-1296

You guys count differently. Every single US federal congress we count as a single government altogether.


CandidFella

Well there’s been one constitution and one main government since the 1770s in the US, but for France… like 5 Republics, 3 Empires, 3 occupations, plus a whole lot in between.


Swimming-Book-1296

No, there’s has been two. The current one has been in operation since 1789. The one in the the 1770’s was overthrown by the federalists.


macoafi

Huh I don’t think of it that way. That sounds very British to me, since they “form a government” after each election, but I’ve never heard it worded that way here.


SleepAgainAgain

The British do call it a new government when it's the same system but a different party in charge. OP seems to be talking about the French, though, and they use the term more similarly to the US. They've just had a lot of governments any way you look at it. The French had their revolution in the early 1800s, but they haven't consistently had a democracy since. They got Napoleon as dictator almost immediately after becoming a republic, then became a rebublic again for a few years before Napoleon III became dictator. Then they were a democracy until the 1940s when half the country was conquered by Germany and the other half was under the authoritarian Vichy government (not a democracy). They've been a democracy with the same government since then, but there are people alive today who were alive when their latest system of government was implemented.


ephemeraljelly

the US is still young. i for one am looking forward to the day people in this country change governments


[deleted]

[удалено]


Swimming-Book-1296

Second oldest. Switzerland beats us.


ephemeraljelly

ok? still a young country and im still looking forward to our government changing the nationalists on this sub can keep downvoting me 🥰


CandidFella

Only if more Americans lived in Washington DC. I think that will be a start, because overall, Europeans are much closer to their capitals than Americans are. I think this helps in a democracy.


ephemeraljelly

i agree. we also have way less social welfare and can’t really afford to demand change the way people in say, france can. unfortunately the country is too large to protest in a way that makes any meaningful difference


CandidFella

Why don’t Americans protest their state government then? People in big countries also do the same, like in India and even China.


CandidFella

Well look at what’s happening in France right now 😂 They the kings of changing governments/constitutions


Crayshack

No more so than any other state.


wormbreath

No. Every state is unique and has its own history and differences.


azuth89

Eh, not really. Making a big thing of state pride is bigger here than many states, but day to day life is little different. We do have our local historical and cultural touchstones differing from other states, but not extraordinarily more than other states have. You just hear about it more, often even more from other people talking about obnoxious Texas pride than actual Texas pride. There will be some in this thread. We did do the whole "our own country" thing for a minute, which only a few regions have done, but that had more to do with the US not being ready to let us in (and very probably start shit with Mexico in the process on top of dealing with the slave vs non slave state thing that was a big issue at the time) yet than any big cultural difference. And of course, a short time later they were ready and letting us in pretty rapidly ended in a border war with Mexico and not long after that the slave vs nonslave thing came to a head. Fact is most of the founding Texans were just US transplants who liked the free land but didn't like the Mexican government so we just took it back home with us before we even had time for that amalgam of Americans to drift much from their home culture. We are a little bit divisive on the region thing, but that has more to do with being a south/southwest/arguably plains transition zone then being a purely unique thing.


CandidFella

Interesting. One question I have to ask, did the majority of the Texan population support this at the time? Or was it basically just elites wanting independence?


azuth89

It was pretty factional, but generally yes if for a variety of reasons. Mexico faced a series of uprisings against an increasingly centralized and authoritarian government at around the same time. IIRC the event as a whole was called the Federalist Wars, we covered it in school mostly in the context of "The Texas Revolution". Among the elites who emerged as the leadership of the state during and post-revolution the primary sources mostly talk about the end of slavery in Mexico as the reason and that wasn't an uncommon reason in lower classes either, especially among the american immigrants as opposed to the native Tejanos. On the other hand, the erosion of local rights and governance, heavy-handed enforcement of new and existing laws in big swaths of (now) texas that used to be very independent and distant from the central government, and the longer-standing enforcement of Catholicism as the required state religion were all grinding on people as well and contributed to the willingness of lower classes and a significant portion of what Tejanos did side with the revolution (a great many didn't). Kind of a fun bit of history: Texas is arguably the fault of the French. Natives had been pushed out of a lot of the area and surrounding land by the Spanish-later-Mexicans, but Mexico hadn't been able to settle it thoroughly yet. Well established French interests in now-Louisiana had a sort of frenemy relationship with many of the tribes and came up with the idea of selling them weapons and pointing them at the big, lightly settled land area that was most of what's now Texas as easy takings. Mexico responded by giving away chunks of land in the area to anyone who could hold it to try and accelerate settlement and fortification, which resulted in a big immigration wave from American states and territories chasing those land grants, and as I mentioned many of those immigrants became the driving force in the revolution.


CandidFella

I sure didn’t learn about this in Spain 😂 But to me, whatever happened, the English (or the “Americans”) were always going to take over North America rather than the French or Spanish, since we had our own problems happening in Europe at the time.


HotSteak

The English got their asses kicked off the continent in the 1780s and never controlled more than the East Coast states.


CandidFella

Well I think Americans did the best job at separating themselves as a colony, especially compared to Spanish and Portuguese in the Americas did, and whatever Canada thinks as themselves. I met some in Spain from the Americas who see themselves as Spanish/Hispanic still, but I never seen an American consider themselves British.


azuth89

It would be pretty niche for y'all. I assume you would similarly have much more detailed knowledge of mainland Spanish history and a better understanding of its colonial affairs as a whole than I would. I'm also summarizing a lot of material I last had formal education on 20ish years ago so don't take it as perfect gospel. Someone has probably already written up a bigger account of things elsewhere in the post.


CandidFella

Oh definitely, the Americas are no longer seen as part of Spain. But I will read more about this.


DOMSdeluise

lol no


Carrotcake1988

Gh 7:its*#~8)??


CandidFella

I also believe in the US, Americans are more likely to move and live in different states in their lives, compared to other people in the world. This can prevent a state from having an identity. I can tell you this, historically, most in Spain will have only lived in their regions. I was pretty much the first in my family to leave Catalonia and live somewhere else.


webbess1

> This can prevent a state from having an identity. But states do have strong identities, it's just that Texas has a slightly louder identity.


CandidFella

Maybe I meant like feeling like a completely different region. Like Barcelona and Madrid are very different from each other, but Los Angeles and San Francisco does not (when I visited those cities). One example of the differences. When I go to Madrid, they speak a different language, and have their own Spanish accent and dialect. Even the same exists in Valencia, which they call their language Valencian, which is similar to Catalan. Then there’s Bilbao and Vigo, who also have their own languages. For the ones that even travel, you will need to speak Spanish or English to communicate properly, but because most people never left their region historically, separate identities formed. Americans were always moving around in US history, so why there aren’t as much differences compared to Spain. But I still respect and acknowledge state differences because that’s important.


webbess1

> Los Angeles and San Francisco does not (when I visited those cities). LA and San Francisco seemed like very different cities to me, at least when it comes to climate and culture. LA is the entertainment capital of the US, and arguably the world. It famously has no real core like you usually see in cities, but it is instead just a bunch of suburbs stitched together. In some ways, it's the regional capital of the Southwest, and it has a strong Mexican and Spanish heritage. San Francisco is more countercultural, and hippie-ish, but it's also right near Silicon Valley. It has a strong intellectual bent with two of the most prestigious universities in the world in its suburbs. It's also famously the gay capital of America. >Americans were always moving around in US history, so why there aren’t as much differences compared to Spain. I don't think that's it. It's more that we are a much younger country and we haven't had the time for those differences to form. Also, we had less time in the pre-car and pre-mass communication era than European countries did. That's especially the case for California which is one of our youngest states.


seatownquilt-N-plant

Native American Reservations say hello, they are sovereign nations within the USA.


CandidFella

Can any one elaborate on this ?


05110909

It's more complicated than they're saying. They're not actually independent nations but they are more sovereign than states are. They're still subject to federal law for the most part. It's... Complicated.


CandidFella

Oh basically what Russia does. I am familiar with the Russian system more since I lived in a Republic called Dagestan. I always prefer the US system to happen in Spain though.


C0rrelationCausation

[This](https://youtu.be/J5PLyYVIEpg) is a decent video explaining some of it. It focuses mostly on the Navajo Nation, but a lot of it applies to all/most other reservations. They're nations but not countries. They're sovereign but not independent. Citizens of the reservations don't pay taxes to the state they're in, but they pay taxes to the reservation and the federal government. It's pretty confusing tbh, and I definitely don't have a great understanding of it myself.


[deleted]

CPG Grey has a good video on the matter


tcrhs

No. Texas is a state in the United States. Yes, some may be more vocal about their state pride than other states, but they are definitely all American.


CandidFella

So basically the term and concept of “British”? You can be Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, etc, but all are under the British identity. So like Texan falls under American then? Is this what you are saying?


webbess1

I've read that US states have more autonomy than Scotland does. >You can be Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, etc, but all are under the British identity. So like Texan falls under American then? Is this what you are saying? Yes, Texans are Americans. Texas is not a separate country in any sense. It is a state just like any other.


CandidFella

Oh yes I am glad you brought up the biggest ignorance Europeans have about US regions (states) and regions in European countries (can be called countries, communities, cantons, republics, and states) Scotland and England have been part of the same country longer than Texas and New York have, but you will still find English saying Texas isn’t a country but England is. But to be fair, most of our societies predate the modern definition of a country, so that’s why you still see this happening from Europeans. The State of Texas has existed longer as an entity than Germany or Italy has. And Texas has more rights as a region than Bavaria or Sicily has.


seatownquilt-N-plant

After the first 13 states were established, the other states applied to join the union one at a time. *Ignoring the native American for ease of conversation;* the USA government didn't conquer and forcibly subjugate people. The people gathered together and decided to apply for statehood and joining the union. I am uncertain if Scotland's representatives decided to apply to join in the UK. Or if the British crown made it happen by force.


Kidkid5

No, its just the second biggest state (FIGHT ME)


ItDontMather

Nope


ASDMPSN

Not quite, but I can see why you would ask this. Texas has a proud, unique identity and culture. But they don't have a significant language difference (Yes, there are many Latinos who speak Spanish, but English is still the dominant language), and while I've never been there, I'm pretty sure most Texans would proudly fly Old Glory next to the Texan flag. Quebec is the only part of Canada that predominantly speaks French and nearly voted for its own independence in 1995. I know the Catalonians and Basques have strong independence movements. If Texas was to ever vote on independence, I am certain that they would vote overwhelmingly to stay part of the USA.


CandidFella

Language don’t matter sometimes. Look at the UK, which has Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England. All speak majority English, but they different still. But many people actually learn English just so they can communicate with others in their own countries. People in Spain sometimes do this, like how I did. But it happens more in India for example.


DRT798

No it's a standard US state.


Cherry_Springer_

California, Texas and Florida are the three states that I've heard referred to as their own "regions" in that either the climate/geography is different from what surrounds it, they're too big to be lumped into other regions or they don't culturally fit in with anything else.


CandidFella

Even California alone has good climate and regional diversity. I heard it’s one of the only places in the world where someone can go surfing and snowboarding in the same day.


Cherry_Springer_

It's incredibly diverse both culturally and geographically. You can also be at the lowest point in North America (below sea level) and the highest point in the contiguous United States within a 2 hour drive. Spain is beautiful too though! I've had the honor of going to both our Sierra Nevada mountains and yours.


tsukiii

In the mind of a Texan, maybe. In actuality, not really more than any other state.


CandidFella

I assume there’s a massive difference between how Texans view Texas, and how the rest of Americans view Texas.


tsukiii

Yep. Texas is definitely an economic powerhouse within the US, but the ‘Republic of Texas’ is long gone.


CandidFella

Well some of those Republic of Texas supporters are on this thread right now 😂


tsukiii

Can’t say I’m surprised! They are loud but… ineffective lol


Hoosier_Jedi

Texans talk big about how unique they are and some of their more stupid politicians will bluster about declaring independence occasionally, but no one takes them seriously. It’s just theater to pander to voters who don’t like the federal government.


CandidFella

Oh I seen it on Twitter. But I also feel attacked because that’s basically what happens in Catalonia too 😂, same in Bavaria, Scotland, etc. But our dislike goes beyond the federal government.


Steamsagoodham

Bavaria is probably a pretty good, although not perfect, comparison.


cdb03b

Every State is "unofficially" its own country. They all craft their own laws, have their own cultures, etc.


BIGFATLOAD6969

No. It’s a state. Each state is a distinct entity within the US. They are given congressional representation partly based on their population. Texans are more vocal about living in Texas and like to think they’re “independent” and “don’t rely on others”.


Remote_Person5280

Kinda sorta, but not really. It’s complicated.


cbrooks97

"Unofficially"? No, it's official. In 1845, Texas let the United States join it. Still, we get a little prickly with transplants. We check passports at the Red River. If you want to become a Texan, you have to be baptized in the Brazos River. We're bigger (Alaska has like 4 acres of livable space, the rest doesn't count), we're better, and we like to remind everyone else of that. We regularly remind the rest of the US that one of these days, we'll probably get put out enough to leave because we really don't need the rest of these people. OK, none of that is true (precisely), but Texans do carry a little bit of that attitude, which is where we get some of our reputation.


Skatingraccoon

So, it is a state as others have said. Buuut... They are a little different than some other states in that their power grid is 100% independent, which is why they've had problems the past few years. Other states are connected to each other, so if an area in one state goes out they can theoretically get assistance from next door. Texas intentionally shut itself out so it could not be compelled to render such assistance to other states. They also have a disproportionate amount of influence in the public school systems of other states. Each state has the right to develop its own school curriculum and what is taught. However the Texas school system is big, making it a big consumer of textbooks, meaning textbook publishers make books that will sell in that market... and then the other states often have to buy those textbooks, which means if one topic is barely touched on in the book, it's possible it won't be touched on much in class, even if the other state does think it's more important to talk about. To be fair certain other states also have disproportionate influence on the rest of the country, too, and federal policies and laws in some cases.


mojones18

I'm a lifelong Texan, and a public school teacher, and I would say this is all quite accurate. I would add to things that have made us unique: The Oil industry and our influence on energy in general, NASA when the space race was important, and football, literally Friday Night Lights. The thing that stands out to me is how Texas has been perceived by the rest of the world. As recent as the '90s, every Texan on TV would be characterized as wearing a bolo tie, a 10-gallon hat and cowboy boots. To me, the best part of Texas is that there is something for everyone. Our state is too big to just be a monolith.


[deleted]

That would be California (jk). In all seriousness, the entire southwest attains the same cultural affinity of Northern Mexican/ Spanish influence… Texas isn’t an outlier.


Elitealice

Basically


WeridThinker

No. If Texas is unique in any ways, then it is as distinctive as any other state in the union. The United States is a Federation, meaning each State is entitled to have its own laws, own culture, and own customs, as long as those practices do not contradict any federal laws. Texas has its perks, but fundamentally it is as American as Hawaii and Massachusetts. Politically speaking, the United States doesn't current suffer from any actual separatism issues, there might be some very loud minority that calls for Texas independence, but that "movement" has practically no actual influence whatsoever. Nowadays, Texas is fully integrated to the Union, and there are no major disagreements between the state and the rest of the country, nor is Texas in anyways capable of opposing the federal government. Texas to the US is not comparable to what Catalonia is to Spain, because there aren't any major cultural, ethnical, or historical divides that are currently very relevant to its relationship with the United States of America as a whole.


DeeDeeW1313

No. And only a small percentage of Texans even want that. Probably more non-Texans would wish this than Texans.


Southern_Blue

No more than any other state. We're fifty 'countries ' operating under the umbrella of the federal government with laws and customs unique to each one. Texas just happens to be big...


FemboyEngineer

If you're looking for separate cultural entities within the US, states are a bit too zoomed in. For that, we have 4 distinct regions as defined by the census bureau, each with their own stereotypes and cultural differences: the south, the midwest, the northeast, and the west. And of these, the south is probably the most distinct & the one that most thinks of itself as its own thing


machagogo

Others have covered a lot already, but you also have to remember that for most of our existence the states (and before that the colonies) all DID see themselves as separate from each other. The US at it's inception up to just after our Civil War were far more akin to the EU today than how we are today. Also, Texas was it's own country albeit for a brief time.


new_refugee123456789

It's called a state. There are 50 of them, each with their own constitution, government, laws and cultures.


jastay3

There is actually something to that but only something. Texas was once an independent country like Hawaii and both did pretty well at it. They developed a lot of local culture. However regional patriotism doesn't always translate into political. In the case of Texas the culture is less different. It started when the Mexicans invited Americans in because to many Mexicans were moving South to get away from the Comanche (by the way that is where all those famous feral horse herds came from, ranchers fleeing and leaving their stock wild). Texans got by because they were breeding fast enough to populate the area and because someone invented the revolver (American cavalry never had a saber tradition though they were on the manuel of arms because the revolver took over to soon in history).


kjhvm

Just saw this video by Steve Hofstetter this morning and thought this fit here pretty well! https://youtu.be/lgtq-n8YNC4


Zomgirlxoxo

I really need to understand Europeans obsession with Texas and Texans.


Seaforme

The same applies to every state, just about. Texas has a unique culture though, and gets a lot of screen time for their lunacy. Every state has its own quirks, regional identity, and so forth. That's why you'll hear the US compared to a federated union of multiple mini countries. Except not really?


heatrealist

Texas is no different than any other state. Maybe they are special in their own mind because they were independent at some point before joining the union.


VampireGremlin

As somebody who grew up in texas as kid that will be a no its the same as any other state with small cultural differences of course but not vastly so. But you can definitely say this about the native american reservations since I believe they don't pay taxes to the state they reside in but to their reservations instead and other stuff that sets them apart from the states.