Episode 5: The Flags of Texas History - Six Flags: Part 2

Texas history can feel like a roller coaster, but every drop and turn was engineered by choices. We track how a restless republic became a U.S. state that cut its own map to protect slavery, chased Santa Fe across decades, and doubled down on cotton while starving railroads, schools, and industry. The politics around the Missouri Compromise, Polk’s annexation push, and the “balance” of free and slave states weren’t background noise—they were the blueprint that shaped who counted, and who paid.

We pull apart the myths around Confederate symbols and get specific about what the flag stood for: the right to own people and turn their bodies into political power. Texas’s Civil War story isn’t just Appomattox from afar. It’s cavalry culture, German Unionists dodging conscription, Tejanos caught between armies, and the audacious New Mexico campaign that fizzled at Glorieta Pass when Union troops burned Confederate supplies and flanked their way to a strategic win. On home soil, Texas lost and retook Galveston, sent tens of thousands east, and then refused to accept the war’s end until the following year.

We land at Six Flags Over Texas, where themed lands once turned history into scenery. Confederate Land is gone now, but the question remains: what do flags above a gate conceal or reveal about the past beneath our feet? If you’re ready for a clear-eyed tour through annexation politics, slavery’s expansion, wartime audacity, and the innovations that followed, press play, then tell us which moment changed how you see Texas. Subscribe, share with a history-loving friend, and leave a review with the one fact you’ll be quoting all week.

Resources: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bM-WVdk7G23llqbQo6nE8rHHwoG6rEX1_aUaD-7fkvw/edit?usp=sharing

Transcript

Setting The Stage: Fractured Texas

SPEAKER_03 0:02

Hey my doodle dandies, this is Kelsey, and I'm Sarah. And we're that's so macaroni. Yeah. The west side of Texas and even San Antonio is being pretty consistently harassed, and there are no funds for an organized military, so it's just a bunch of individuals with a phone to pick. There's also internal issues. So not only is this coming from the outside, it's coming from the inside. For example, a fugitive from Louisiana, Charles Jackson, ran for Congress and lost. He blamed it on land sharks and counterfeits and threatened to run his opponent, Joseph Goodbread, out of the country. A fugitive ran. That's correct. Okay. That's correct.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

God, I love it.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Um, and in but instead of running him out of the country, he just shot him. There you go.

unknown 0:54

Texas.

Annexation Politics And The 36°30′ Line

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Texas. In the 1844 Texas presidential election, annexation to the United States was again on the table, and honestly, probably the best someone else takeover now. Yep. The US also thought more seriously about annexing now because Great Britain was trying to negotiate peace between Texas and Mexico, and the US was still bitter about the revolution and the War of 1812. They're not over it. Like you you burned our capital.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Um I'd be a little upset about that too.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

Yeah, I mean, it's really not that far, you know. Grandpa probably still tells stories. And even though the Brits were organizing peace with Mexico, the US was not going to be um strong armed by Texas. Okay. The new Texan president, Anson Jones, said, What? Diplomacy, let's threaten friendship with their previous overlords, the English. We have cotton they want, so they have to do it. But the US didn't have to do it, so they didn't. Fair. And they didn't annex them. However, then pretty quickly comes the newly elected president, James K. Polk, a Southern Democrat, and he wanted to expand slave states and he pushed for immediate annexation to the United States without Texas going through a territory, period. It could be admitted, but at the time it crossed the 3630 parallel, which violated the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which said no slave states above the 3630 parallel would be allowed. So nobody above that line would be able to own slaves. So Texas said, okay, fine. And then they just chopped off the top part of their state. So that little like nubby, the little panhandle of Oklahoma, yeah, used to be Texas, but that is where that line stops. And Texas wanted so badly to be a slave state that they just amputated the top of their state.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

I'm looking at Texas on a map now. Hold on.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

Continue. So they so they decided to amputate that.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

Um, as opposed to give up the disgusting practice of slavery. The Missouri Compromise also said that for every free or slave state, one of the opposite persuasion had to be added. So for every free state, a slave state had to be added, and vice versa.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Um, as Texas was added immediately in 1845, so should a free state. But the free state that offset it was California, and it wasn't admitted to the union until 1850. So there's a five-year imbalance towards slave states.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Just that little sliver.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

Yes. And they said, that's okay, we'll keep our slaves.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

It literally m lines up perfectly with Missouri. That's insane. Wow. Okay.

Demographics, Land Policy, And Slavery’s Growth

SPEAKER_03 3:32

Yeah, so so so that line that you see throughout the United States. Yeah. That's that compromise line where they said you can't have slaves above this line.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

Mm-hmm. All right, Texas, way to go. All right. Indeedy. So during the period of the Republic, the population of Texas increased about 7,000 per year, primarily from immigration, not from people birthing. Um by 1847, the white population, which interestingly at the time included Mexican immigrants, because they were considered they were considered white until they weren't. That sounds about right. Yes, because whitehood is an illusion.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

Um we need you to be white um for now. Yes. Yes. That's correct. Okay. Um so that population had risen to 102,961, and the number of enslaved people rose to 38,000. How many are there? Oh my god. Okay, sorry, I have to take a break. So it said harmful, it's difficult understanding you're back, and how many are there while I've been talking. Probably that he had harmful policies. It's difficult to run your own country. They're understanding what I'm saying. You're back. I don't Sam Houston's back. Sam Houston! And how many are there? The population increase. Interesting. Fucking crazy. That's funny. Butter butters. Okay. Sorry, we're listening. We're also looking at a ghost app.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Um you never know when my dad needs to chime in.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

I'll do my best to answer questions. I'm I'll pay more attention. Um so this growth was due largely to a liberal land policies and expanding opportunity because they were just like, take it, it's free, just do something. Okay. Um, and this is the official end of the Republic of Texas. Okay. There used to be what was called the Astrolift Gondola ride that had a station in Texas land, um, where the Texas Giants souvenir shop currently is. Texas Giants souvenir shop. So there's like a big roller coaster for the Texas Giant, and that's where like the souvenir shop is, and that's that building is where the Astrolift gondola used to come from.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:39

Um, what is still there today in Texland is the Esorrado, the logflume ride. Okay. Which was put in in uh 1962 and is one of the oldest rides in the park.

SPEAKER_02 5:51

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Um, logflume rides in general are like already terrifying, and the fact that it's like the oldest from the 60s makes me even more nervous. I love log flume rides.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

I love that shit.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Don't ever go to the one at the zoo that I used to work at. Okay. We will not name which zoo it is. Is it nasty? If you want botulism, please go right on in.

Confederacy 101: Flags, Myths, And Math

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Oh god. People are gonna be like, what zoo? Um okay. So I'm gonna jump around just so like it kind of keeps things together. So I'm going to jump to uh the Confederacy.

unknown 6:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

And then I will go back to when it was a state before because the Confederacy kind of cuts into the middle of its statehood.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Um, and just to because we're mostly talking about the flags and the rides, um, I figured we could just do it that way. Okay. And see how that goes.

unknown 6:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

So let's hope that this works. So um technically, Texas was a US state for 16 years before the Confederacy, before they split to keep states' rights to own other human beings as property. So we're going to go into the Confederacy and we will jump back to statehood. Okay. We had a little break. So the Confederate flag. Let's talk. The flag of the Confederacy was not that star-studded blue X on a red background that you see biggest flying today. The flag of the Confederacy was what was called the stars and bars. Taking up the top left corner of the flag was a blue box with a circle of 13 stars with a pattern of horizontal bars, red, white, red. Okay. So just the three. Um, it's interesting because there were not 13 Confederate states. So I'm not sure why there was 13 stars.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Yeah, I was just gonna ask.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

Um, no.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Is it still like representing like the 13 colonies, maybe?

SPEAKER_03 7:51

Potentially. I'm not really 100% because they want I I think kind of like the funny thing, and I don't know if I say this later on, but um, they were like, we want it to be different than the United States flags, and then this is what they came up with.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:03

And I'm like, that sounds really familiar.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:05

Um okay. So this is what they decided to do, uh, to really tell a difference. So the one that everyone conflates with the Confederacy today was the runner-up for the national flag and used only on the battlefield. However, its popularity did not diminish over time and became more and more a symbol of hate than it already was. So it was the battle flag, I think, out of Mississippi. Okay. Um, it was not their main flag. It was never a main flag. Is it just like the only one that survived? I think that it was um differentiating enough that from like the American flag. Yeah. That it made it made kind of like the I see the stamp. Okay. Um, also, it was the runner-up. Right. So, what I think is really funny is that it's a loser. Just like the Confederacy.

unknown 9:00

Suck it.

SPEAKER_03 9:01

So the Confederacy was fighting to maintain states' rights to own people and to count them towards landowners' votes, voting count and personage. Um, there is the three-fifths rule where every enslaved person could count as three-fifths of a person that could count towards the owner's vote. So I'm not gonna pretend like I know how to do math, but if I had a hundred people, I got however many three-fifths of that more in votes towards whoever I said.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Because they were counted, we re they were recognized as people enough to count them as part of the voting population. Yeah, but not enough to have any rights.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Sounds, yeah, that sounds nice to me.

SPEAKER_03 9:47

Yeah. Okay. So um, there is no reality where the Confederacy is an honorable, honorable institution and where the flag represents anything worth remembering fondly.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Yeah. So okay, sorry. I'm gonna go on like a side note. I just saw this uh video not too long ago where like these people were confronting a dude that was holding a Confederate flag, and they were like, Why are you have that? He's like, This is my heritage. My family fought to save their farm. And then the people were like, Who worked on the farm? And he's like, My family, you know how expensive slaves were? And then he was like, Oh, and he like slowly backed away once he realized what he said. And I was like, mmm, get him. You literally just like proved the point, good sir.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Oh my god. Yeah, oh my god. And when people say it's my heritage, bitch, it was a five-year stint where you failed miserably. That's not a heritage. No, you're a fucking loser. Like, I'm I know that I have family from the south. Yeah. And don't think I do. I know that I do only because they've like I've met them in Georgia.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Oh, okay.

The Human Cost Of Slavery

SPEAKER_03 10:57

Um, I don't know like how long they were there. I don't know if they have like a long history there, but if they did, they were a hundred percent Confederates.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Terrible people. Yeah. They're not my heritage. No, they were a genetic mistake. Yeah. Sorry. No, like I mean, I've the ones that I met, very kind people. I have no doubt that that was like some sort of brain worm that happened.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Like, yeah, fuck off.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Like, I'm just saying, like, I'm sure like our audience has figured out like who we pander to by now. Like, God, if we offend anybody, I am confused as to why you're here.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

If I have if I have offended you saying that slavery was an unethical and horrific institution, and those who defended it were bad people. You can leave now. Have a good day. Um, I the and it's not up for discussion. I will not argue with you in comments. Get out. Like, no. Um, so while the transatlantic slave trade was technically ceased in the United States in 1808, many African people were still being smuggled into the United States on whaling ships. Um, the Clotilda was a really famous one. There's a whole documentary on Disney Plus, it's fantastic. Um, but basically, some white plantation owners were drinking one night and they like made a bet that they could smuggle in Africans um and get away with it. And they did. What was the bet? I don't know, money. I don't know. Okay. Some pretentious fuck thing. So they did. They smuggled them in, and I'm so sorry. You should go watch the documentary, it's fantastic. But um, they smuggled them into some river delta somewhere in the south. Um, smuggled all these people in and then burned and sank the ship, but they found the remnants of the ship.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

And they have people in like the the manifest or whatever. So they're they have like um descendants of people who were on who were kidnapped from Africa.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:00

They have their descendants who like worked on this project.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Okay, so there wasn't anybody on the boat when it burnt.

SPEAKER_03 13:05

No.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Okay, gotcha.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

No, no, no, no, you have to get the quote cargo off before you burn the ship.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

Fucked. Anywho, so um, here's some slavery statistics from solely from the United States. Okay. Small plantations had anywhere from 30 to 50 enslaved people, ranging all the way up to the largest with 1,000 enslaved people.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Jesus fucking Christ.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

There was a high birth rate among the enslaved population in the United States, being that enslaved people could not be replaced by importation anymore. There were breeding programs. Gross. That's there were breeding programs.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Dude, when I worked at the zoo, we had breeding programs. Mm-hmm. That's fucking gross. Mm-hmm. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

Yes, it is. It's fucking horrific. All right. Um quote, by 1850, most US, sorry, most US enslaved persons were third, fourth, or fifth generation Americans. By 1850, they had been there for at least most had been there for at least three generations.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

At least. Yes. Americans.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 14:15

Just I mean, like, it's not that I didn't know any of this stuff. It just it enrages me every time. Um, pregnant enslaved women were not released from field work prior to or after birth.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Oh, that's nice.

SPEAKER_03 14:28

Infant and child mortality rates were twice as high among the enslaved population as among the southern white children due to chronic undernourishment.

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Yes, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Quote common symptoms among enslaved populations included blindness, abdominal swelling, bowed legs, skin lesions, and convulsions. Common conditions among enslaved populations include berry berry, caused by a deficiency of thymine, pillagra, caused by niacin deficiency, tetany, caused by deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D. Okay. Rickets, also caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, and quash quashor, caused by a severe protein deficiency. End quote.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Remember that time when you tried to get William to eat vegetables? And you told him he would get rickets.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

And you told him all the diseases that he could get by not eating his vegetables. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

It still didn't work. No.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

No, he's like, I'll fucking take it. No way. Alright. Jesus Christ. So the domestic enslaved population in the south.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Wait, hold on. I'm so sorry. I have a question. Yeah. So they had these quote-unquote breeding programs. Right. Was there a lot of inbreeding also? Um do you think? Because I feel like, like, yes, like a lot of these diseases and like malnutrition stuff, like happens just because of like their environment. But like, I mean, also there are some like genetic variables, like bowed legs and blindness.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

It is a potential, but also another thing that happened a lot, which I did not put in here because I couldn't find the a good statistic on it.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 16:19

Um, which trigger warning was a lot of rape.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Oh, okay. Yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

There was a lot of that coming into their quote unquote breeding programs as well.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 16:31

So, like I said, I couldn't find a good enough statistic on it um to really give me that information that I felt like I could back up well. Yeah. Um, but I know that rape happened quite frequently.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yeah. Which yeah, yes. All right, sorry, continue. I was just my my genetics brain started kicking in and I was like, wait.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

I I mean it would be that would be uh interesting to note, but I and I also think that they sold people around a lot. I don't know how I don't know what the longevity was of people at these places either.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

Um okay, so the domestic enslaved population in the South at the time of the Confederacy was approximately 3.9 million people.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

A lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 17:20

Keep in mind this number was concentrated between only 25% of the white population at the time.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

Um okay, so specifically Texas during the Confederacy years. I could talk all about the Civil War. Maybe I will if people want to hear about it, but we're gonna just talk about Texas. Hexis. Hexis, Texas was torn about joining the Confederacy. They worked so hard to join the Union, but they were concerned about losing slavery.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 17:47

Quote, although only one Texas family and four owned slaves, most Texans opposed any interference with the institution of slavery, which they believed necessary for the continued economic growth of the state, end quote. Uh-huh. So although only a quarter, it's like when people back up billionaires thinking that maybe someday they'll be a billionaire, even though they live in a trailer park in a rural country, um, rural state. It's interesting how capitalism can work. So, um, Abraham Lincoln wasn't even presented on the Texas ballot for presidency.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Interesting.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

They were like, no, not that guy.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Uh okay. I didn't know that was legal.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

I don't think it is. Um, Governor Sam Houston was being pressed to call a convention of the people to determine what Texas should do next, but he didn't want a single thing to do with that that might aid secession. His devotion was to Texas and to the union that he fought so hard to join.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:48

He was like, no, I I'm not even going to entertain your ideas of secession. Okay. However, after several other states called secession conventions in early January 1861, the decision was made for him and state legislatures approved the convention.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

In early March 1861, the convention reassembled and declared Texas out of the Union and began aligning itself with the new Confederate States of America. Governor Houston said, This is a bunch of horseshit. We aren't doing this. This convention has no authority and it will not pledge allegiance to this sham of a government. This wedding is horseshit! This wedding is horseshit, and they kicked him out of office. Lincoln offered troops to help Houston, but he declined so his state wouldn't be in civil conflict. Um but civil conflict was going to be there anyways because as more than 14,000 Texans, um, about a quarter of them were did not want to leave the Union. Um, they weren't happy with this secession idea. So if you remember, Texas wanted immigrants from the U.S., especially during its days as a republic, and it worked. Their land tax laws really drew people in, but some of them were German Unionists.

unknown 19:56

Well, mm-hmm.

War In The West: New Mexico Campaigns

SPEAKER_03 19:58

The new governor Lubbock declared martial law in German heavy areas of Texas in 1862 and established the Confederate Conscription Act that specifically targeted Germans. All this did was lead to a lot of desertions and draft dodging. When some of the these German Confederates were captured in Vicksburg, they're like, oh thank gods you're here. Yes, we swear loyalty to the Union. Um, and they left. Others tried to leave quietly. And a little over 2,000 whites and 47 um blacks from Texas left specifically to fight for the Union to defeat the Confederacy.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:34

So they tried to sneak out. By the end of 1861, 25,000 Texans were in the Confederate Army, and of those 25,000, two-thirds were in the cavalry, specifically. Okay. Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Fremantle, one of the British Coldstream Guards, said, quote, it was found very difficult to raise infantry in Texas, as no Texan walks a yard if he can help it. End quote.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

What does that mean?

SPEAKER_03 21:01

That they're not going to get off their fucking horse. If a Texas can ride a horse as opposed to walking anywhere, they're going to do that. Okay, gotta get off their ass. Governor Clark was a little nicer, saying that it was their exceptional horsemanship that drove them towards the cavalry over infantry, if not absolute necessity. Okay. Um, so they did not go into the infantry unless they were like hard pressed too.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:22

Texas Confederates were particularly violent when it came to Unionists and those actively trying to help the Union. Violent attacks against Tejanos, Texas Mexicans, um, as far as I could tell, uh, and Germans increased, sending many fleeing their homes to Mexico if they could. In August 1862, Fritz Tegner led 65 mostly German Unionists to try to flee across the Rio Grande. They were caught and 35 of them were killed during the ensuing battle. Uh, so over half of them were killed. Um 50 unionists were hanged in Galepsi only weeks later. 150 were rounded up and tried. Tried in a citizen's court where 40 were executed by hanging and two others were shot as they tried to escape. It is what is now known as the Great Hanging in at Gainesville. The illustrations of it are fucking horrific.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

No, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 22:14

It no, it was really rough. Um, so even though there was hatred towards Tejanos, Mexican Texans were recruited by both the Union um and the Confederate. Approximately 2,550 served in the Confederate Army or state militia, and 960 joined the Union. Two-thirds of Texans enrolled in the military um spent the war in the Southwest either defending against Native Americans or Union attacks or attempting to expand into New Mexico territory. New Mexico? They won't let it go. Well, I mean, they even when it was Mexico times, it was still called New Mexico. But they just like would not give it up. So, for example, in the summer of 1861, four companies of cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor moved into New Mexico and occupy the town of Mesilla, right outside of Las Cruces.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Okay.

Texas Battlelines And Military Role

SPEAKER_03 23:09

Baylor declares the existence of the Confederate territory of Arizona with the capital at Mesilla. He is the military governor. And I just think that naming yourself as the leader of something like that is just it's just so funny. I've decided to create the country of Snarfland. And who better to run it than I? I would live there. Thank you. And I would be its Queen Queen ruler. I don't know. The president queen all of the title. Almighty. That is I of Snarfland. Um so this win feels really good. Henry H. Sibley, a West Point grad, was like Mr. Presidency of the Confederacy Davis. We can totally take New Mexico. That one move, that single move that we did was so easy, we can do it like a bunch more times. What Sibley didn't know is that he couldn't recreate that success. He goes confidently to Valverde, where he knows he couldn't take the fort, Fort Craig. So he's like, hey guys, want to come out and fight out here in the open? And they were like, no. No. Um, do better, try harder. And Sibley goes, cash shucks, and he just goes, meh, fuck it, goes around the fort. There's a little skirmish outside, which the Confederates won, but the fort remained in mutant hands. So like weird. Um he continues to go into Santa Fla Santa Fle. Santa Fle. Santa Fla into Santa Fe, but it's cold and supplies are running low. Here's a real quick recap, real quick, of the Glorieta Pass, The Last Stand of the Confederates in the Far West. Simply says we have to go, we have to wait to go to Cal Colorado or California so we can get some more provisions. Glorieta is fine. Colonel John P. Slow Slough and a regiment of Union soldiers and cavalry decide to go check them out. The Confederates see the advance guard led by Major John Shivington and set up a battle line. Shivington flanks it by going up the hillsides and around the pass to go behind them. Okay. And the Confederates go, oh shit, and they back up. And they go through this three more times, where Shivington continues to go up the hill walls and back down and flank them. And so they they just keep doing this. And then finally the Confederates retreat enough to um a place called Canoncito, and they decide to leave their supply train there for now with some non-combatants and one single cannon to guard it. Okay. These Confederates and the Union troops under Slow find each other and they battle it out. The Confederates are gaining ground. They're feeling pretty good. They're pushing, pushing, pushing. But then they hear laughing behind them. It starts small. Just a simple giggle.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

That's my nightmare.

SPEAKER_03 25:52

But it's close. It's Shivington laughing.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

The fuck does that? Everything. Colonel Shivington. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

So everything quiets. No more shooting. The Confederates turn around and see who could be laughing at a time like this. And it's Shivington, that union fucking bastard. He did. He did. All the other times. He flanked them by going up the hill and went behind them. But instead of just coming up behind them, he was like, I have a great idea. And he just straight up like hunger games, their supply pile, blew that shit to fucking hell. It's all on fire. He's laughing like Louise from Bosburgers, which goes well, he's like he's just like giggling. And the Confederates were like, fuck. And they're like, okay, well, we're gonna pursue these Union people as they're retreating. And Shivington was like, I don't think so. And he climbs the fucking hills again and flanks the army. Because they don't look sideways. I don't understand. Like, this is why you lost. They can look up. Okay, turn left. So that's it. The Confederacy loses the far west because they couldn't look up. That's why. That sounds about right. She cut the digits. So for the second time, New Mexico says, no fucking thank you. Thank you. And then October 1862, the Union Navy takes Gavelston, but it was wrestled back by the Confederates on New Year's in 1863. Significant amount of back and forth between the Union and the Confederacy when it came to who held what in Texas. Texans are really holding their ground, and when they couldn't, they were frequently able to get it back. So there was this thing that the Union wanted to do, which is called like the Great Snake or something. So they were going to go around through the Gulf and circle back through like New Mexico, Texas, and encircle the Confederacy. But they were never able to really complete that circle because Texas was really good at getting their shit back. Okay. Got it. Most of the larger battles of the Civil War took place east of the Mississippi, but Texas sent thousands of men. One of whom, General John Bell Hood, lost the useless use of his arm at Gettysburg and a leg at Chickamunga. And just hopefully they weren't on the same side.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

I mean. Yeah, like, fuck, dude. What do I do now?

unknown 28:08

Fuck!

SPEAKER_03 28:10

Oh god, yeah. You at least want like, you know, opposites to balance each other out. Um over the entirety of the Civil War, between 1861 and 1865, between 70,000 and 90,000 Texans saw military service and fought in every major battle besides First Manassas and Chancellorville. Here ends the Confederate state of Texas.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

So we're uh France, Spain, Republic, Mexico, Mexico.

Six Flags’ Confederate Land Retired

SPEAKER_03 28:38

And we're just ending the Confederacy. Yep. Got it. Okay. Um and yes, there was a Confederacy land part of Six Flags. It is no longer there. Um, the area is now called Tower.

SPEAKER_00 28:50

What kind of rhymes are in it?

SPEAKER_03 28:52

Um, well, some of the original attractions here were Skull Island, Haddo War Canoes, Little Dixie Carousel, other South reenactment performers.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 29:03

None of these original attractions for Confederate land exist today.

SPEAKER_00 29:06

That's probably a good thing.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

I don't know what's there, but evidently I just left it at that. So I wasn't worried too worried about it. Um, I don't know what's there.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Okay, that's fine. Sounded.

SPEAKER_03 29:20

But we got rid of Confederate land.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

Yeah. I mean, that's probably a good thing.

Early Statehood: Borders, Debt, And Cotton

SPEAKER_03 29:26

Probably probably. Um, so our final flag, the United States. The one that flew at the park is the one we have today. Um, 50 white stars in a blue square in the upper left-hand corner and 13 stripes of red and white. Um we I'm so I'm gonna break it into the two sections. We're gonna go back to between the Republic of Texas and the Confederacy, and we'll call that the early statehood portion, and then we're gonna jump ahead uh to Texas until the 1960s, and we're ending there because that's when Six Flags was founded. Okay. So uh because I was like, there's a lot. Yeah. And I so I decided the 60s was gonna be a great place.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

I mean, it's Texas, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:07

Yeah, so much. Um, so yeah. Okay, early statehood, 1845 to 1861. Um, as early as 1836, Texans had overwhelmingly voted for annexation. The main concern among those in the United States was the issue of slavery. No question about it, Texas would be a slave state, and this would upset the precarious balance we talked about with the Missouri Compromise. Um, additionally, Mexico was going to be a concern as well. What if the US took in Texas and took up problems with Mexico because of it? Luckily for Texas, in 1844, when James Polk became president, he saw the vast state of Texas as a huge step to his country's spanning sea to shining sea. So in 1846, Texas was blessed with statehood. Okay. Cause just a wet dream, I guess, to get across the country. Um however, this annexation would was not beneficial to a few groups of folks. Caretaker guess.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

White people?

SPEAKER_03 31:11

No, no, no. That was beneficial to them.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

Oh. Slave owners?

SPEAKER_03 31:15

It's still beneficial to slave owners.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

What's the question?

SPEAKER_03 31:18

Who does it suck for?

SPEAKER_00 31:19

Oh, Mexicans.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

I don't know. You wouldn't tell me there's gonna be a pop quiz. I'm not prepared. Interesting if you're paying attention. I'm kind yeah, I am.

SPEAKER_03 31:31

Kind of uh Tejanos, Mexicans, Native Americans, and obviously African Americans.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Okay, so I got one right.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

Yeah. Okay. Uh Tejanos, as far as I could tell, are just Texas Mexicans.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:48

So but remember they were white until recently.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:52

When it counted.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:54

Then they could be white. But now it doesn't count anymore. Nope. So discrimination was rampant, especially towards Tejanos and Mexicans during the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848.

unknown 32:04

Excuse me.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

Towards Native Americans, following the regular pattern of forever and ever. Um, and especially as the United States settlers were pressing further west, forcing indigenous people onto reservations. Finally, towards African Americans with you guessed it, slavery. Uh, their population had grown rapidly in Texas, and the vast majority were enslaved. Okay. Those were those who were not enslaved still had to get permission to settle in Texas, just as they did during the Republic years. So you could not be a freeman in Texas. Okay. Without permission. Okay. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Which I'm sure was not ever granted.

SPEAKER_03 32:43

Or very fucking rarely. I'm like, why I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

I can't imagine like what kind of situation you'd have to be in to petition for that. I want one. Want one what? I want one what? If you say slave, you're fine. I will delete how much trouble right now. I know I will delete. I want one what? Clarify. Okay. So I don't know what would spur people to make that decision. I can't imagine it was made easily.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

So three.

SPEAKER_03 33:10

Uh oh.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

I'm not answering it.

SPEAKER_03 33:14

So now, for a state that's so excited to join the Union, how did it get sucked into siding with the Confederacy? Well, many of the white folks set in Lynn in Texas were from southern states and did their best to replicate Antebellum live living in Texas. They settled in the east and south where the terrain was recognizable and eventually tied their economies to cotton as a cash crop as well. Okay. So after annexation, Texans were still really looking forward to years of growth and prosperity, and instead they found themselves at war with Mexico again. Okay. So there was tension. President Polk, ever a fan of expansion, I see you. Oh don't when Mexico wouldn't just accept what he was saying diplomatically about the Texas-Mexico border, he sent in General Zachary Taylor to go hang out at the Rio Grande. This, of course, sparked war. Um, in which about 5,000 Texans served with the US. Uh, after the war was done, the United States and Texas had a boundary disagreement. Texas, guess what they wanted? What?

unknown 34:16

Brittany.

Railroads, Industry, And Privatization

SPEAKER_03 34:18

It's Britney, bitch. No. Britney! Why are you asking? Because I want you to know. I want you to answer this. Oh, God. Okay. Guess they wanted Britney! Brittany! No. Um, Santa Fe. They really, really wanted their border to keep following the Rio Grande all the way up. They even set up a county, Santa Fe County, and tried to set up a local government in New Mexico. New Mexicans were like, We thought we told you no already, you pushy bastards, and told them to get the fuck out. This time with the backing of the U.S. Army. The US Army was like, no, seriously, you can't be here. Um, so Texas tried for Santa Fe during the Republic years with the Santa Fe expedition. Okay. This Santa Fe county nonsense. She told you. And then again during the Civil War. Yeah, Texas was the enemy. You are so right. You're really getting things. Um, this thing is so funny. Like you're doing a great job, poor little little ghost talker. Um, so Texas is the guy who won't take the fucking hints, hitting him right in the face, and they're just trying to be like, fuck off, buddy. Uh so this occurred around the time that President Zachary Taylor took office in March 1849. He was proposing omitting the territorial stage, like they had with Texas, and admitting California and New Mexico directly into the Union. Okay. Both of these states were expected to prohibit slavery, giving free states the majority that slave states currently held by that slave states could not abide because you can't have more free states. No, that's stupid. And I'm just gonna say that this is what happens when you just allow bad people. Yeah, it is hurtful. It is hurtful. When you like just give concessions to bad people.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 36:08

Like you said, okay, fine, you can have Texas as a slave state, and we're gonna have a free state, and they're like, yeah, sure, but you can't double up. That's not fair. Fuck off.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:18

When you say that Germany can just have Austria, stop it. Like, stop making deals with bad people.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 36:26

God. Okay. In 1850, this fire was put out by what some Texans call, quote, infamous Texas bribery bill.

unknown 36:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

This said that Texas would give up the top nub that stuck above the 36. Yeah, that was a failure.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

Um I can't handle this.

SPEAKER_03 36:46

Connor's gonna be so annoyed. Connor's gonna be like, what the fuck? Yeah. Sorry, we have the Ghost Tube app on. Um we were hearing noises, and it looks like we have a lot to say about Texas statehood. Um so they cut off the top nub, and then along the and along the 32nd parallel on the 1303 meridian, 103rd meridian, giving New Mexico back her land that Texas again tried to take. So for their upset, Texas would receive 10 million in US bonds, half of which would be retained by the United States to satisfy the state's public debt it occurred during the Republic.

SPEAKER_01 37:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 37:24

So they which okay, just say that they get five million and forget forgive their debt.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:30

Why do you have to say all this stupid ass shit? So because they get five million in bonds and their debt forgiven.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

That sounds nice.

SPEAKER_03 37:37

For giving up a couple nubs of land.

SPEAKER_00 37:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

During the first few years of statehood, population boomed with an influx of immigrants from the south, the Midwest, and even foreigners like the Germans that we talked about. The state census in 1847 reported a population of 142,099. And just three years later, a US census was taken and reported the population at 212,592 people.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:06

So big population growth. Yeah. Even though many were excited to enter the romanticized life of pioneering by the late 1840s, Texas frontiersmen reached the Comanche lands.

unknown 38:16

Oh my God.

SPEAKER_03 38:17

I don't know what that's saying. Um absolutely. Um, indigenous people defending their land from intruding settlers, um, and the lack of water and wood for building, westward expansion slowed drastically. Um, which is why the west half of Texas is thinner. Um during the later years of the 1840s, the United States Army built eight military outposts between Fort Worth, which is on the northeast part of Texas, and Fort Duncan at Eagle Pass, right on the border with Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

Okay.

Politics, Panic, And The Texas Troubles

SPEAKER_03 38:51

And you can just kind of like draw a straight line. If you know where like Dallas Fort Worth is, um, which is like I said, it's northeast, um, and then you just draw a line straight down. That is where Eagle Pass is and Fort Duncan is. Okay. So it didn't take long at all for an additional seven forts. What did it say? Rapture. Stop that. Um actually, no. I feel like we're getting off topic. Um, it didn't take long for an additional seven forts to be built along the hundred miles or sorry, a hundred miles west of that original line from Fort Belknap to the Brazos River, or on the Brazos River to Fort Clark, which is now Brackettville, west of San Antonio. Okay. Which is like halfway through Texas. Okay. So this was a hundred miles further east, and then they moved just like a little bit further west to create another line of forts. Um, even so, they were never really able to figure out called the warfare between the um Texans and the Comanche through and after the Civil War. Um, that's okay, because like I said, southern slave-holding cotton producers were filling up the east side of Texas and making cotton king here too. So they didn't really want to go west, anyways, because it's really hard to grow cotton. Yeah, and they were really familiar with the soil and the land and stuff of East Texas. So that worked out fine for them. They don't care. Um three out of four heads of household were from the deep south by 1860, and the enslaved population grew with it. Between 1850 and 1860, the enslaved population saw a 214% growth. Damn. Uh-huh. This is because cotton cotton demand was also booming at the time, and Texas allowed themselves to get completely swept away. Of course they did. Which is what happened with a lot of the southern states, is they just got wrapped up in this. Yes. Um, so it slowed Texas' ability, Texas's ability to manufacture, partake in commerce, and stunted urban growth. Okay. Because the con concentration was on cotton and it took so much energy that they limited themselves for opportunities to thrive and grow in other ways.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

Um, they had to import a bunch of other stuff, which is, I think, part of what the a bunch of like these deep South Confederate people are like, oh, but our poor states, we didn't have any way. Well, you could have if you had prioritized things differently. Instead, you chose to hurt enslaved people and prioritize cotton over anything else. Anything else. Yeah. Yeah. You you decided not to make your own goods and decided that this was gonna be the way that you did it. Mm-hmm. Um, that's a failure to thrive.

SPEAKER_00 41:25

It sure is.

SPEAKER_03 41:26

Opportunities for indust oh, sorry, quote, opportunities for industry and commerce were thus reduced by the success of the plantation. Moreover, the planters who were, after all, the richest and most enterprising men in Texas and who would have to lead any move to diversify the economy, benefited enough financially and socially from combining land and slave labor that they generally saw no need to risk investments in industry or commerce. They're doing just fine. Okay. So they don't care.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 41:55

That I don't know if you know this, but rich people don't get rich by being giving.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

I mean what? So that's the craziest shit I've ever heard in my life.

SPEAKER_03 42:09

They did not invest in things that did not make them copious amounts of money at the time. So rich people are the best. Mm-hmm. They really have our best interests in mind. Uh when it comes to so when it comes to things like railroads for commerce, even these cotton men had to admit that that would be helpful because then they could ship their cotton. But they wanted it handled by private companies, not by funding it through state. So not by g giving that they wanted to hire private companies. So this resulted in only 400 miles of operating railroad being laid between 1856 and 1860, most of which radiated out of Houston to other parts. Okay. Um, part of the difficulty in laying track was the fact that Texas did not produce building materials and did not have the capital to finance more. Okay. So while they were concentrating on cotton, they didn't concentrate on making iron to build rail ties and power are they supposed to get? They have to, the you have to import it, and that gets pricey. Yeah. So um, education was also privatized during the antebellum period. Um, just when you privatize things, it fails.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:22

That that's all I'll say. This ended up producing institutions that popped up and faltered quickly, even with prestigious names like university only offering a maximum of a high school education that a majority of Texans couldn't even afford.

SPEAKER_01 43:36

Right.

SPEAKER_03 43:36

Obviously, the politics were rife with issues, but I want to mention just one that gives a good view as to why Texas joined the Confederacy. I don't remember what this is in excited. Let's learn. Let's learn together. Uh, in 1857, Sam Houston ran against a man named Hardin Runnels for governor. Houston maintained that he was a champion of the Union, which is a huge reason why Texas joined.

unknown 43:59

Um,

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Um, but Reynolds won and went in the opposite direction as Houston. He pursued an aggressive policy, again, towards Native Americans, which created more bloodshed on the frontier than any time since 1836.

SPEAKER_00 44:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

He endorsed extreme versions of state rights and advocated for Southern policies such as reopening the African slave trade.

SPEAKER_00 44:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 44:21

Even though Sam Houston.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 44:23

It's a choice. Yep. Um, even though Sam Houston took the governorship from Runnels in uh 1859, the state was so tied up and so tied to the old South that there was just no turning back at that point. It was just that's how it was its trajectory.

SPEAKER_01 44:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:39

Um then there was something called the Texas Troubles, which is super dark. Um during the summer of 1860, there was a series of fires in North Texas. Several slave owners forced their slaves to confess to arson, convincing Texas that there was a quote, massive abolitionist-inspired plot that threatened to destroy slavery and devastate the countryside. Okay. But the more likely cause of the fires was actually spontaneous ignition of phosphorus matches due to extreme heat.

SPEAKER_00 45:11

I mean, it does get hot in Texas.

SPEAKER_03 45:13

It does. And they were not as um like we have safety matches now. They didn't think so.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

Um There's fires, just blame it on the union.

SPEAKER_03 45:25

Blame it on abolitionists and the people that you've enslaved and forced to be here.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

Yeah, they did it for sure. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

I fear if arsonists and abolitionists was enough for Texas to hang anywhere from 30 to 100 black and white citizens by secretive vigilantes.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Love it. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:41

One citizen of Fort Worth said, quote, it's better for us to hang 99 innocent, suspicious men than to let one guilty one pass. End quote. Yes, that look of disgust. Could that that is correct?

SPEAKER_00 45:53

I hope he was also hanged. Gross. Okay. Okay, okay. Oh god, Texas. I can't. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:00

Real quick. Connor's gonna be really upset about this. Do you want to order those vectors? So because I'm almost done.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Uh yeah. I guess. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Do you want to order something else?

SPEAKER_00 46:11

I don't know what else there is.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

Sonic, McDonald's, Arby's.

SPEAKER_00 46:16

Well, you're the pregnant lady. What do you want?

SPEAKER_02 46:18

La Cosina, Wranglers, Dominoes.

SPEAKER_00 46:20

You're the pregnant lady. Okay. Sorry, Connor.

SPEAKER_02 46:24

No problem.

SPEAKER_00 46:25

Add whatever you want.

SPEAKER_03 46:26

Okay. So, uh, yeah, they'd rather hang all these people. And we're back, Connor. Um. So here's where we take a break in statehood to become part of the Confederacy that we already spoke about. Uh, things go hogwild, and then we jump back in after the Civil War.

unknown 46:44

Boop!

SPEAKER_03 46:45

There's clearly a lot about the Reconstruction period after the Civil War that's important. But as I am not brief anyways, I will skip a bit uh of that and maybe make its own episode, just like the Civil War. If people want that, I can do it. The people must vote. The people must vote. This is a republic. Let us know. It's not really a republic. Like I said, I have made this land of macaroni, and I am its queen, emperor, something. It is mine! We are the emperors, we have made it to ours. So, but anyways, no, I really want to hear people's opinions. So a few things that stick out. That is, um, Texas kept fighting after the surrender at um Appomatics? Appomattox? Appomattox? I don't know how to say it. Yeah, I spelled it out for myself. Appomattox. Okay. Um, so it technically ended in April 1865, and Texas kept fighting after the surrender at Appomattox, and peace was finally declared between the United States and Texas in August of 1866. Okay. Over a year after the Civil War had ended. Southern states remained under martial law until they accepted the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. In order. The 13th is the end of involuntary servitude, except for punishment is of a crime. Okay. Um, the 14th is citizenship to all people all people born in or naturalized into the United States, requires due process, and guarantees equal protection under the law. Um and the 15th prohibits states from denying the right to vote based on, quote, color, race, or previous condition of servitude. Okay. Which was to allow uh black men to vote. Just men. Yes, I was just gonna say I would like to very specifically say that it is only the men. Just men. So, not so fun fact. Black women were not allowed to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a hundred years after their male counterparts, and 45 years after white women were granted the right, the 19th Amendment.

SPEAKER_00 48:51

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 48:52

Um, last point I would like to make for the Reconstruction is Juneteenth. It is now a national holiday as it ought to be. So, like I said, Texas kept fighting for a long time after the surrender. And obviously, they did not inform the enslaved people of Texas of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

SPEAKER_00 49:09

No, because that would be silly.

Twentieth-Century Shocks And Innovation

SPEAKER_03 49:10

No, why would you tell them that? Um, and so on June 19th, 1865, 2,000 yo Union soldiers came into Gavlston and announced that the 250,000 enslaved black people in the state of Texas were free. Do it. Okay. Um, so this quote is from the National Museum of African-American History and Culture's website. Um it says, quote, Juneteenth marks our country's second independence day. This historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times. End quote. I just think that's great. Yeah. Um, it really is a second independence day. It's when, I mean, uh, you know, despite all the other challenges, yes, the never-ending fight for equality and freedom, Juneteenth is really a starting a starting point for a huge amount of positive changes. Yeah. Okay. And as much as I don't want to leave the reconstruction because I have so many opinions. Do you do you know that do you know that I'm opinionated? I have no fucking idea. I'll leave it alone. So, um, yes, if the people are entertained, um Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Then I will um then I will I will do more. So, um, I found a perfect website to help me get the rest of the way to the 1960s when Six Flags opened. So I'm gonna pick out some of the big moments that I thought were interesting from Texas history. Okay. It's uh from a website called the Texasalmanac.com. It's literally just like a timeline of the 20th century in Texas. So all right. September 8th, 1900. The Great Hurricane strikes and destroys Galveston, killing 6,000 to 8,000 people in Texas only. The Gulf of Mexico as a whole saw up to 12,000 dead. Jesus. 120 mile mile per hour rent winds ripped through the city, ushering in a 16-foot uh storm surge that caused a majority of the deaths by drowning. Yeah. Gavelston was until then known as the quote Wall Street of the South, with more millionaires per capita than any other American city at the time. Okay. This sparked the building of the Gavelston Seawall. Um, the initial portion spanning 3.3 miles long, um, of sections five feet long and up to 17 feet high, because obviously you can't like block the ocean.

SPEAKER_01 51:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:40

Um, so they had like these sections. Um, the wall almost immediately proved its usefulness when two more hurricanes in 1909 and 1915 had drastically lower losses of life. The wall now spans 10 miles of uh Galveston coastline.

SPEAKER_00 51:56

Well, that's good at least.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

Yeah. Okay. Um in 1901, a gusher drilled by mining engineer A. F. Lucas at Spendletop um began Texas's petroleum age.

SPEAKER_00 52:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:11

In 1910, Lieutenant Benjamin D. Polu makes the first military flight in a Wright's brother airplane in San Antonio.

SPEAKER_00 52:20

Well, okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:21

This seven-minute flight marks the start of the U.S. Air Force.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

That's fucking cool, actually.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

It is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 52:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:27

Um from 1911 to 1920, the Mexican Civil War spills over the borders of Texas and New Mexico as raids for supplies occur and refugees seek safety. In 1918, Texas women win the right to vote in primary elections. In 1929, the League of United Latin American Citizens is founded in Corpus Christi. Okay. Which is where Selena's from, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

Oh.

unknown 52:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

I know I love Corpus Christi for a reason.

SPEAKER_03 52:53

Uh yes. In 1937, a massive explosion caused by a natural gas leak destroys the London Consolidated School Building in Rusk County, killing 296 students and teachers immediately. Jesus. Subsequent related deaths bring the total to 311. When was this? 1937.

SPEAKER_00 53:13

Jesus Christ. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 53:14

Yeah, so um it was a gas leak in like the school's basement and it exploded. Um, interestingly, legislature requires a malodorant to be added to odorless gases so that leaks better detected. That was because of this incident. That makes sense. When you kill 311 people, you gotta go to the um and most of them are children. Yeah, you should probably act now. Yeah. Um, like school shootings. Um what? So in 1947, another pair of explosions rocked Texas as the French ship SS Grand Camp and the US or sorry, and the SS High Flyer explode in Texas City Harbor, killing about 600 and injuring 4,000 more. Jesus. Okay. The Grand Camp was carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, manufactured in Iowa, Nebraska. Although the diluted form using fertilizer is generally not flammable, the heat in the train cars on the way to Texas destabilized it.

SPEAKER_01 54:08

Yep.

Six Flags Over Texas: Origins And Legacy

SPEAKER_03 54:08

When the Grand Camp exploded, the neighboring put ship as shit instead of ship. The neighboring ship, the neighboring shit. Oh god. I mean, it was full of shit. Shit. Um ship, the SS High Flyer, also holding about 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, um, was destabilized. Um, the high flyer crew attempted to move away from the grand camp but couldn't raise anchor. The crew abandoned ship and it exploded 15 hours after the initial blast from the grand camp.

SPEAKER_00 54:44

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 54:45

In 1958, the integrated circuit is developed by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments, ushering in the semiconductor and electronics age.

SPEAKER_00 54:55

That was the year after my parents were born.

SPEAKER_03 54:57

Oh my god. Dear Lord. Um, and all I wrote here was I cannot reasonably explain what the fuck an integrated circuit is.

SPEAKER_00 55:06

I can't either, so don't ask me.

SPEAKER_03 55:08

I looked it up and I went, no.

unknown 55:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 55:12

So in 1961, the theme park Six Flags Over Texas opens to the public in Arlington, Texas, proudly displaying the flags of her history over the entryway and making themed areas for each era. We now know Six Flags as a staple roller coaster park here in the U.S., but it wasn't meant to last. Quote, the park's original purpose was to be temporary moneymaker for the Great Southwest Industrial District to fund other projects. I mean, it is a moneymaker. Yeah, when attendance soared and stayed high, it became apparent that the park should stay for family fun and entertainment as long as it could sustain itself. While there are currently 13 parks, the one in Maryland and Santa Clara, California are expected to close this year, 2025. Um really? Yep. Interesting. I don't know how to close this out. Enjoy your theme parks. And now when you go to one, especially the one in Arlington, I hope you see its history.

SPEAKER_00 56:07

Yeah, the end. Okay, well, that was fun. Okay, we'll see you next time. Bye next time.