Term Paper on "Evolution of Texas Rangers"

Term Paper 4 pages (1097 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Criminal Justice

Protecting the Rights of All:

The Evolution of the Texas Rangers

Texas represents a fascinating study in what it means to be an American. The meeting place of many different cultures, the state experienced the best and the worst of frontier life and settlement. The Spanish settled among the Native Americans, and later still, settler arrived from the fledgling United States. Texas was, in those days, largely wide-open frontier. Its vast spaces could not easily be controlled. Each of the above peoples, therefore, possessed its own brand of culture; its own ideas about what was right, and what was wrong - its own ideas about justice. The sudden, large-scale influx of' Americans upset the traditional balance that had gradually been created during centuries of Spanish rule.

Somehow, order had to be maintained. First proposed by Stephen Fuller Austin, the Texas Rangers were a paramilitary force that served in the absence of sufficient regular troops. Considering the instability of conditions in the early days, the Rangers would remain mostly military until the 1870s, after which they took on their modern police functions. (Campbell, 2003, p. 115)

From that time onward, the Texas Rangers would play a pivotal role in safeguarding the rights and freedoms of people all across Texas.

As the Texas frontier became more sure, and more safely within the bounds of the United States, and also after the Civil War,

The Texas Rangers were reestablished in 1874 by a newly elected Democratic governor and the state legislature. Two distinct forces were created: a "frontier battalion" comprising six companies of seventy-five men each for controlling the Indians on the western frontier, and a "special force" of rangers sent to the southwest sections in order to suppress bandit activity along the Mexican border.

(Bechtel, 1995, p. 34)

While these activities could still be called "soldierly," they do represent the slow movement of the Rangers toward a genuine police role. After all, the protection of life and limb is deemed, by no less a document than the Declaration of Independence, to be necessary to the pursuit of happiness. The Texas Rangers, in something resembling their original form, proved useful so long as Texas was still sparsely settled and "wide-open" territory. But as modern ideas of policing and criminal justice began to develop, the Rangers saw dramatic changes take place in their organization and its role.

By the early twentieth century, Texas' other state and local police systems had become more formalized and disciplined, and hence the Rangers no longer were a significant means of protection and law enforcement. In 1935, the dwindling force was placed under the Texas Department of Public Safety and its duties limited to activities such as riot control and other special assignments. (Vila & Morris, 1999, p. 29)

The increasingly limited use of the Texas Rangers was actually a reflection of positive developments in Texan society. As local municipalities began to improve their own forces, and as the State of Texas implemented a more "scientific" kind of state police, the Rangers were, in effect, becoming an anachronism. (Vila & Morris, 1999, p. 29)

Yet, the Texas Rangers had carved out a niche for themselves in the history of the State. Having been celebrated as romantic heroes, during the wild frontier days, the Rangers continued… READ MORE

How to Reference "Evolution of Texas Rangers" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Illegal Immigrants in the U.S Term Paper

illegal immigrants in the U.S. And the possibility of legalizing their status. The article shows: how illegal immigration is currently being dealt with, the views of people on the issue… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2196 words) Sources: 2 Style: MLA Topic: American History / United States

---

Law Enforcement and Security Essay

While it is unlikely that this was the first use of private security, it was the first documented use of such forces. "This established practice continued and evolved in ancient… read more

Essay 15 pages (5516 words) Sources: 15 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Theodore Roosevelt Research Proposal

Theodore Roosevelt: An American for a New Age

Few Americans have so profoundly influenced the modern era as Theodore Roosevelt. Statesman and cultural crusader, the twenty-sixth president of the United… read more

Research Proposal 10 pages (3918 words) Sources: 5 Style: Chicago Topic: American History / United States

---

Assessment for Training of the Metropolitan Police Department Term Paper

Training of the Metropolitan Police Department

Context of the Problem

Brief History of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area Police/

Community Relations since World War II

Major Problems Preventing Positive… read more

Term Paper 47 pages (12930 words) Sources: 30 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Workings of Forest Fire Management Systems and Urban Fire Departments Term Paper

Forest Fire Management Systems and Urban Fire Departments

Forest Fire Management Systems

New Technologies

Urban Fire Department

New Technologies

Descriptive Statistics

Suppression Costs for Federal Agencies. Source: National Interagency Fire… read more

Term Paper 63 pages (17324 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Management / Organizations

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>