The legal status of Texas is the standing of Texas as a political entity. While Texas has been part of various political entities throughout its history, including 10 years during 1836–1846 as the independent Republic of Texas, the current legal status is as a state of the United States of America.
Due to Texas's unique history, United States sovereignty over Texas has been disputed at times. Adherents of secessionist movements claim that American sovereignty is illegal, although this viewpoint is not widely held. Disputes over the legal status of Texas have revolved around key issues that include, but are not limited to, the legitimacy of its re-admittance to the Union following the Civil War, differing viewpoints over its de facto and de jure international standing, and perceived discrepancies between its original and current boundaries.
Regardless, a minority viewpoint, as expressed by some factions such as Republic of Texas (group), has persisted, asserting that Texas remains an independent nation and that American actions in the American Civil War have resulted in an illegal military occupation of Texas. The debate is considered by some to resemble academic discourse being argued by several other activist groups in the United States, most notably arguments over the legal status of Hawaii and the legal status of Alaska.[1][2] The situation most closely resembles that of Hawaii, as Hawaii was also annexed via a Joint Resolution of Congress.
- ^ Enriquez, J. The Untied States of America: Polarization, Fracturing, and Our Future. Crown Publishing, ISBN 0-307-23752-4
- ^ Mathson, S and Lorenzen, M.G. (5 Nov 2007). "We Won't Be Fooled Again: Teaching Critical Thinking via Evaluation of Hoax and Historical Revisionist Websites in a Library Credit Course". College and Undergraduate Libraries. Volume 15, 2008 (1/2): 211–230. published online: 11 Oct 2008.