• Check out the State of the States 2013. (Pew Center on the States, January 2013)
• Consider proposed state legislation related to employer access to social media usernames and passwords. (National Conference of State Legislatures, January 21, 2013)
• Explore tobacco control. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 24, 2013)
• Read about REAL ID phased-in compliance by the fall of 2013. (National Conference of State Legislatures, December 21, 2012)

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• See state-by-state employment changes over the past year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 22, 2013)
• Consider the current retirement age and how it came to be 65. (Origins, February 2013)
• Check out a chart of the 113th Congress. (Businessweek, January 10, 2013)
• Follow the latest developments in public health law. (CDC Public Health Law News, January 17, 2013)

This entry was posted on January 24, 2013 at 3:15 PM and has received 1139 views. Print this entry.

• "Top officials tout drug testing for welfare, unemployment applicants," Austin American-Statesman, November 13, 2012.
• "Texas plan to drug-test jobless seeking aid stirs debate," Houston Chronicle, November 23, 2012.

This entry was posted on January 23, 2013 at 2:18 PM and has received 3319 views. Print this entry.

• Explore the most recent economic outlook data for Texas. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, January 4, 2013)
• Examine education statistics and projections through 2021. (National Center for Education Statistics, January 2013)
• Read about balancing cost and quality in the health care system. (The Commonwealth Fund, January 10, 2013)
• See how many people rely on health information they find on the Internet. (Pew Research Center, January 15, 2013)
• Track transportation funding information in Texas. (Texas A&M Transportation Institute / Texas Department of Transportation, accessed January 2013)
• Examine gun violence in urban areas. (The Atlantic, Cities, January 10, 2013)

This entry was posted on January 17, 2013 at 3:15 PM and has received 1339 views. Print this entry.

Rep. William T. 'Lion of Lavaca' Bagby (Click photo to view the composite photo of the House of Representatives for 33rd Legislature)

Percent of land area in farms, 1910 (click photo to enlarge)

Population density, 1910 (click photo to enlarge)

Composite photo source:  Legislative Reference Library Maps Source: 1910 Census

One hundred years ago, Texas legislators convened in January 1913 for the 33rd Legislative Session. While Texas was in some ways a very different state than it is today, many of the issues the legislators faced have a familiar ring: school funding, veteran care, drought and water rights, the border with Mexico, women's rights, and hazing at universities. Over the next few months, we'll take a look at these issues and how legislators one hundred years ago addressed them.

For our first post, let's take a broad look at what was happening in the U.S.. and in Texas in 1913...

In the U.S.. and the World

• The Progressive Era was in full swing. Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1912; the party platform focused on states’ rights and individual freedom, and called for environmental conservation, banking and currency reform, and abolition of monopolies.
• The majority of Americans (54%) still lived in rural areas, but the percentage was quickly changing. In 1920, the percentage of urban dwellers would cross 50% for the first time.
• World War I would begin in Europe the following year, though the U.S. would not enter the war until 1917.
• Two new constitutional amendments went into effect in 1913: the establishment of a federal income tax (16th amendment) and the direct election of senators (17th amendment).
• Though Prohibition would not begin until 1919, various states had passed bans on liquor and the Texas legislature would take up the issue during the 33rd session.
• The Mexican Revolution had begun  in 1910. La Decena Tragica, the Ten Tragic Days, occurred in February of 1913, culminating with the murder of President Madero, who had led the revolution, and a coup d’etat by General Victoriano Huerta.

In Texas

• Texas had become a state 67 years prior. To the people of 1913, statehood was as far away as the end of World War II is for us today.
• Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt, inaugurated two years prior in 1911, would serve as governor until 1915. The Handbook of Texas notes that he "was one of the most effective stump speakers in the history of Texas."
• In 1909, Texas was the largest producer of cottonseed oil in the nation, with 21% of all production. The slaughterhouse industry was also on the rise; the 1910 census noted that "There were 242,174, or 84.9 per cent, more beeves slaughtered in 1909 than in 1904." (Beeves was a term for cow or steer - where the UT mascot name Bevo originates!)
• The oil boom was in its infancy; oil had been discovered at Spindletop just 12 years prior.
• The present state capitol building had been dedicated 25 years earlier, in 1888.
• In the spring of 1913, Sam Rayburn was sworn in as U.S. Congressman. He would go on to become the longest-serving Speaker of the House, serving 17 years under four presidents.

Texas Demographics:

 

	1910	2010
Total population	3.9 million	25.1 million
Pop. density	14.8 per sq. mile	96.3 per sq. mile
% of pop. under 25	49%	38%
% of pop. in urban areas	24%	86%

 

Learn more about the era with books and reports from our collection:

• Session laws from the 33rd Regular Session and the 33rd First Called Session
• Vetoes by Governor Colquitt for the 33rd Regular Session and the 33rd First Called Session
• Search legislative reports and committee charges by subject, keyword, committee name, legislative session, and chamber.
• Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1910: Abstract of the Census. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913. Call number: 317.3 UN3 1910
• Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1910: Abstract of the Census with supplement for Texas. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913. Call number: 317.3 UN3 1910T
• Humphrey, R. B. Texas liquor laws. Austin: Southern Law Book Publishers, 1915. Call number: 351.761 H88T
• Potts, C.S. “Some Practical Problems of Prison Reform,” in Bulletin of the University of Texas, No. 162, Humanistic Series No. 10. Austin: University of Texas Press, December 8, 1910. Call number: Z UA200.7 B874I 1882-1942
• Tarde, Gabriel de, and Repelje Howell, trans. Penal Philosophy. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1912. Call number: 343.2 T172
• Whisenhunt, Donald W. “Texas in the Progressive Era, 1900-1930,” in Texas: A Sesquicentennial Celebration. Austin: Eakin Press, 1984. Call number: 976.4 W578T
• White, E.V. and E.E. Davis. “A study of rural schools in Texas,” in Bulletin of the University of Texas, No. 364, Extension Series No. 62. Austin: University of Texas Press, October 10, 1914. Call number: Z UA200.7 B874 364
• Yoakum, Clarence Stone. “Care of the Feeble-Minded and Insane in Texas,” in Bulletin of the University of Texas, No. 369, Humanistic Series No. 16. Austin: University of Texas Press, November 5, 1914. Call number: Z UA200.7 B874 369

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• Follow a step-by-step guide of health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act. (Journal of the American Medical Association, December 26, 2012)
• Read about surface transportation funding. (Congressional Research Service, December 26, 2012)
• Examine a state-by-state map and a chart of laws addressing mental health professionals' duty to protect or warn. (National Conference of State Legislatures, December 2012)
• Consider statistics related to cancer death rates and cancer incidence rates. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, January 7, 2013)

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• Read about how Medicaid is a major state budget concern for many of the states. (Stateline, December 14, 2012)
• Examine the credit reporting industry. (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, December 2012)
• See a list of party leaders in Congress from 1789 to 2012. (Congressional Research Service, December 18, 2012)
• Explore a history of the Morrill Land Grant Act and how land grants changed higher education in America. (Origins, January 2013)

This entry was posted on January 3, 2013 at 3:15 PM and has received 975 views. Print this entry.