February 1

The State of Texas had a difficult birth. It declared its independence of Spain on March 2, 1836 and fought a war to insure that independence, a war, which they won on April 21. On December 29, 1845 President James K. Polk, whose catchy campaign slogan was 54’40” or fight (Canada just loved him for that one, but that’s another story), signed a bill admitting Texas as a member of the United States. On February 1, 1861, after being in the United States for less than 16 years, Texas seceded from the Union to become a slave state. Apparently, the State of Texas was then more a state of confusion, a condition that persists to this day.