Wordy Thompson Graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law

Texan Wordy Thompson acts as the Director of Texas Discount Siding & Windows, where he oversees a team that provides expert installation of energy-efficient windows, siding, and fiber cement siding. Wordy Thompson began his educational path at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he earned degrees in both history and political science. After he graduated, Wordy Thompson enrolled at the Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Dedman School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor.

Located in Dallas, Texas, the SMU Dedman School of Law boasts a diverse community of students and alumni who come from the U.S. and more than 75 countries. Known for its comprehensive education in the areas of intellectual property, commercial and tax law, dispute resolution and litigation, and corporate, international, and comparative law, the school also offers more than 165 courses on health and environmental law and oil and gas law.

Dedman Law offers a four-year part-time J.D. for professionals as well as a traditional three-year program. Joint degrees are also available in the form of a J.D./M.A. in Economics and a J.D./M.B.A.. Each is offered in conjunction with the SMU Department of Economics and the Cox School of Business, respectively. With an active student government, moot court and mock trial competitions, an excellent Career Services Office, five legal journals, and five legal clinics, the law school has cultivated a thriving intellectual atmosphere in which to study the practice of law. The school’s law journals include the SMU Law Review, the Law and Business Review of the Americas, The International Lawyer, the SMU Science and Technology Law Review, and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce, and students can receive credit for working on these publications. Staff are selected based on both a writing competition and academic performance.

In 2006, the school served as headquarters for the Appellate Judges Educational Institute, which brought more than 225 attorneys and judges to campus, including the Chief Justices of Texas and Indiana, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and the Chief Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In February of 2010, the school hosted a two-day summit between the U.S. Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg. Attendees included U.S. Supreme Court Justices Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Justice Stephen Breyer, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as 8 Advocate Generals and 27 Justices from the ECJ. An exciting upcoming event includes the 2010-2011 SMU Law Faculty Forum, which serves as part of a series of workshops and presentations from Dedman School of Law students and other national and international law schools.

The Early History of Texas

The Boundaries of the Short-lived Republic of Texas Were Often Contested.

By: Wordy Thompson

As a native-born Texan with Irish-American ancestry, I have a strong interest in Texan history. My grandparents were brought to North Texas to work in the cotton fields and my family expanded into the home construction and lumber business in the 1940s. To this day, I maintain strong affections for the colorful characters that populated the lumberyard during my youth and for my father’s anecdotes about them. My mother was involved in the oil business for many years, and I also have experience purchasing and operating my own oil leases. My interests in Texan history go well beyond the twentieth century, extending to the long and complex relationship between Texas and Mexico, as well as to first-hand diaries of early settlers and Texas Rangers.

Texas was a contested territory from the early sixteenth century until the late nineteenth century. Numerous countries, including Spain, Mexico, France, the United States, and the Republic of Texas, lay claim to its territory, with Spain’s original ownership denied by the Frenchman Robert de LaSalle in 1685. Fort St. Louis was quickly taken over by Native Americans and the land reverted back to Spain in 1690. Spain quickly established some 30 missions in East and Central Texas, solidifying its claim on the land. Five of these missions exist to this day, preserving a remnant of this era of Texan history.

Texas was part of Mexico when the nation won its independence from Spain in 1821. The land was sparsely populated at the time and a burgeoning Mexico was in no position to protect its settlers from frequent Comanche attacks. Mexico opened Texas borders to U.S. immigration, hoping that these settlers could control the raids. The 30,000 U.S. immigrants pouring into Texas quickly outnumbered the 10,000 Mexicans who populated the area.

In 1830, slaves were freed in Mexico, angering many Anglo settlers who owned slaves. This led to the Texas Revolution in 1835, which notably culminated with President Antonio Santa Anna’s siege of the Texan fort, the Alamo. Propelled by cries of “Remember the Alamo,” the Texan army defeated Santa Anna near Houston in 1836, establishing Texas as a sovereign nation, the Republic of Texas.

The early boundaries of the Republic were notoriously unstable, with frequent Mexican attacks and incursions before Texas joined the U.S. in 1845. From that point on, cotton and ranching attracted increasing numbers of immigrants from the Eastern U.S. and Germany. Texas’ last change of allegiance came in 1860 during the Civil War. As slaves were predominant in the cotton growing areas of Texas, the state chose to join the Confederacy. Following the South’s defeat, Texas reverted to its current status as part of the United States.

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