GEOG #8

Joy Prior
Geography 120
Sec 001
Otterstrom, Samuel M
#8: INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS
Independence movements are occurring all over the world. Choose one news article dealing
with an independence movement taking place in the world and discuss it in terms of the
geographic factors (particularly location, population, ethnicity) that have contributed to the
movement. (Use your atlas.) What factors discourage the country in which the area lies
from allowing it independence? What do you think will be the outcome of this movement?
Ingram, Sommer. Texas Nationalist Group Rallies for Secession.Associated Press. Chron Huston &
Texas News. March 6, 2011. Web March 2011.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7458701.html

North America: Texas
This article summarized a small but enthusiastic group of Texans who want to succeed from the United States Government. A group of citizens gathered at the foot of the Capitol. Some demanded to debate Governor Rick Perry directly. Many were members of the Constitution Party of Texas. Someone was a host to a political show. The group was all convinced of one idea though, and that is that in order to avoid national debt, taxation, and embracement the state of Texas should abandoned the United States Government and start an independent nation. It is a cry for Irredentism; conservative Texans do not want to be associated with the rest of the United States.
I looked at how large Texas is as a state and studied the physical geography. It is on the east edge of the Rocky Mountains, and the west side of Mississippi. This puzzled me, because I could not see how with all of the national travel and even international communication that the physical geography would influence a state to desire independence. Then I began to think about how historically the physical geography influenced the place aspect of Texas. The Rocky Mountains were a large barrier to cross, and so unlike other states such as California Texas was able to trade quickly with eastern states. It is also along the Gulf of Mexico and relatively near the Great Mississippi River which would allow for all types of international trade.
This convenient geographical location helped Texas to develop into an influential location. Unlike other Midwestern states Texas has many large cities, and a lot of political influence in the federal government already. Also the geographical aspect of human environmental interaction influenced Texas wanting to succeed from the United States because it is unique. Texas used much of the continental oil to obtain economic power, and unlike other states (Utah for example) in the United States that have restricted oil drilling Texas has even encouraged off oil drilling in the Gulf Coast. This makes it unique.
On that note, while I was looking at a map of Texas I realized that the state it’s self has great diversity. There are huge cities and great spaces of agricultural land. It is right along the border of Mexico and on the same block live immigrants, and boarder control. Some of the state is along the Gulf Coast, but other parts of the state are near the Rocky Mountains. Possibly this article represents the Balkanization of America into smaller more specific groups that agree about what should be politically such as the: conservative Texans.