North America is a continent geographically. It is not all under a single government.
Los Angeles has significant population and some territorial size, but its city government is not sovereign. It is under a state government (California) and a national government (the United States).
Similarly, Texas -- at this point in history -- is not independently sovereign, but is one of the 50 states that make up the USA as a true state with all the characteristics listed. There was a time in Texas' history when it was a sovereign state on its own -- during the years of the Republic of Texas, which existed from 1836 to 1846.
Answer: Electricity became important during the Second Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s. Electric lights allowed factories to stay open longer and produce more goods.
Tennessee legislature had passed the Butler Act, which declared unlawful the teaching of any doctrine denying the divine creation of man as taught by the Bible.
On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln names George Brinton McClellan general in chief of the Union army, replacing the aged and infirm Winfield Scott.
