Everything is bigger in Texas, or so the saying goes. That stereotype may very well be true because Texas is the 2^nd most populous state in the U.S. with over 25 million people residing there, and it’s also the 2^nd largest state, Alaska being the only other larger state. Texas, just as the saying goes, is also no stranger to turbulence and massive controversy.

On this day February 23^rd, in 1861, Texas became the 7^th state to leave the Union. A mere 17 years prior, Texas had finally been inducted into the union when James Polk became president, and now amidst the Northern vs. Southern conflict, Texas yet again was no longer part of the Union.

Exactly one month after it was voted that Texas would leave the union on March 23^rd, Texas would join the Confederacy.  Today, Texas’s economy is the 2^nd largest in the U.S., and in 2010 its GDP topped $1.2 Trillion. Texas economy continues to grow and has some of the fastest growing fields in agriculture, technology, and since the early 20^th century, oil production.