The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 68, July 1964 - April, 1965 Page: 539
574 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
economic policy but the polarization of 'Texas politics along
these lines has benefited the Republican party to the extent
Texas is presently, in the words of these political scientists, a "one
and two-thirds party state."
To support this conclusion, the authors describe in topical
fashion the effect geography, historical tradition, economic is-
sues, racial-ethnic factors, and urbanization have had on the
Republican party and the conservative and liberal factions of
the Democratic party. Near the end, a thirty page section exam-
ines the 1962 election in the light of the trends discernable over
the decade of fifties. A brief postscript written after President
Kennedy's assassination admits Lyndon Johnson's accession to
the presidency will have the short-range effect of slowing down
the growth of Republicanism in Texas but that in the long-run
"one can expect a resumption of the battle along lines" traced
in the book. The book is liberally illustrated with thirty-seven
tables, eight maps, and seven appendixes.
This search for the "more constant factors" in Texas politics
led the authors by design to limit discussion regarding the in-
ternal politics of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches
of the state government. Scant attention also is accorded the fac-
tional and party leaders, the personalities who make the machin-
ery go. One other self-imposed limitation, perhaps more serious
than the authors realize, is reliance almost entirely upon county
as opposed to precinct election returns. Occasionally selected pre-
cincts of the more heavily populated counties are singled out
to make a point but generally the tendency is broadly to describe
Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, or Bexar counties as Republican, liberal
Democratic, or conservative Democratic without looking beyond
the county returns to the precinct level where a more meaningful
picture can be sketched.
Historians cannot be too critical, however, of a study that is
modestly described as an effort to present "significant election
statistics in a form that facilitates more rigorous analysis." Most
readers will agree with this reviewer that the authors have ac-
complished a great deal more. They have in fact done the best
job yet of summarizing main trends for the last two decades of
Texas political history. JAMES A. TINSLEY
University of Houston539
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 68, July 1964 - April, 1965, periodical, 1965; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101198/m1/626/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.