Long a Democratic Party state, Texans supported Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election. In return for Texas's support, Eisenhower had promised Allan Shivers, the governor of Texas, that the oil-rich tidelands near the state's coast would be given to Texas. Shivers was either Texas's governor or lieutenant governor from 1947 to 1957. He supported several programs that made Texas more modern, including funding for roads and bridges and allowing women to serve on juries.

As Texas grew in wealth and population, it increased its influence in the federal government. Texan Lyndon Johnson was elected vice president in 1960, and he became president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

The 1950s were filled with protests and fear. When public schools were desegregated, some white mobs in Texas—and elsewhere in the country—prevented African American students from going to school. Fears about the rise of communism led to the so-called "Red Scare." The Texas legislature passed a law requiring all state employees, including teachers, to sign a loyalty oath.

Texans on the Move Interstate highways were built in the 1950s, improving travel nationwide and allowing many people to move to the suburbs. During the 1950s, a severe drought put a strain on Texas's water resources. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built more dams across Texas rivers, and farmers and ranchers found ways to conserve water.

New technologies sprang up in other areas as well. Doctors Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley pioneered new techniques in treating heart disease. In a Dallas company called Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby and other engineers and scientists developed the transistor and the integrated silicon circuit. In addition, many scientific advances were made at NASA's headquarters in Houston.