Ch. 21-Oil and the New Century-Lessons  

Lesson 1-The Age of Oil Texas Gold Problem: By the late 1800s, the demand for oil was rising. Solution: People began looking for oil deposits. Problem: In 1901, oil gushed from the ground for nine days at Spindletop. Solution: Workers finally came up with a plan to cap the well.

Problem: The oil wells were inland, and the new oil companies’ refineries were in the Texas Gulf Coast. Solution: Some companies built pipelines to carry the oil from the fields to the refineries. Problem: The equipment used by Howard Hughes, Sr., and his partner could not drill through the hard rock in Texas. Solution: Hughes invented a new drill bit that could break up the rock and drill deeper.

Problem: Oil boomtowns became crowded and lawless. Solution: The governor sent the Texas Rangers to restore law and order.

The Lumber Industry Booms 1. The oil boom created a demand by the oil industry for lumber products. Wood was needed to build derricks and nearby homes and stores. 2. The work was not easy, and it involved long hours for low pay. The job, from cutting trees to sawing them into boards, was very dangerous. There were frequent accidents.

3. Many lumber workers lived in towns owned by the lumber companies and rented homes from the same companies. The workers had little money and it was likely all they could afford. 4. The companies were able to keep workers under their control by where the workers lived and how they were paid. Workers were often paid in scrip, a form of currency that could be used only in company-owned stores.

5. Some people thought the land should be used for farming, while others wanted the trees to be replaced.

Texas Cities Grow Main Idea: Texas towns and cities grew quickly due to the expansion of industry in the early 1900s. Supporting Detail: Houston, with its transportation, banking, insurance, and legal services, became the center of the oil industry.

Supporting Detail: Dallas became a commercial center in central Texas due to its railroad connections. Supporting Detail: Meatpacking plants in Fort Worth and the oil refining and shipping industries in Port Arthur boosted those cities’ populations. Supporting Detail: Mining and remining of copper, lead, gold, and silver helped El Paso grow

Lesson 2-Migration and Everyday Life People on the Move Cause: Some immigrants began to leave their own countries because of difficult conditions, and others moved to Texas because of the opportunities they could find there. Effect: The population of Texas grew from 3 million to 4.6 million people between 1900 and 1920.

Cause: A brutal dictator ruled Mexico in the early 1900s Cause: A brutal dictator ruled Mexico in the early 1900s. After he was overthrown, the country struggled to establish democracy. Effect: The number of people leaving Mexico and moving to Texas tripled between 1900 and 1920.

Cause: African Americans left Texas farms and moved to the state’s cities. Effect: African Americans began advancing in business, education, religion, and cultural affairs. Cause: African American women formed social organizations. Effect: Social organizations created opportunities for some African American women to gather for social activities and to organize reform efforts.

Rural Life in the Early 1900s 1. False; Although many Texans moved to cities and towns in the early 1900s, Texas remained a rural state. 2. True 3. False; The number of beef cattle and horses in Texas declined sharply in the early 1900s.  

4. False; Farmers often bought ranches to grow cotton and wheat. 5. True 6. False; The cost of living doubled between 1913 and 1920, while farm incomes remained the same. Most farmers could not afford to own land.

7. False; They had to plow with mules, hoe as much as an acre of plants per day, and pick cotton by hand. 8. False; Women in rural Texas had to haul water from outdoors and heat it on wood- burning stoves in order to perform simple tasks such as bathing children or washing dishes. This made daily tasks difficult and time-consuming.

Lesson 3-The Progressive Era 1. Galveston was devastated by a hurricane on September 8, 1900. 2. Galvestonians replaced their mayor and city council with a commission form of government. Each of the five elected commissioners headed one city department, such as police or fi re, and all worked together to make laws for the city.

3. The commission form of government was successful because it relied on expertise and efficiency. Galveston’s government became a model for other cities. 4. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a seawall along the waterfront to protect homes.

Oil and a New Century Voting: The Terrell Election Law of 1905 required that major political parties hold primary elections which allowed voters to choose candidates for office.

Education: A 1914 law allowed rural voters to form school districts with two or more schools; another 1914 law created a minimum requirement for school attendance. Conservation: In 1914 the Texas Forestry Association was formed to protect the state’s forests; it convinced the legislature to create a new state department called the Texas Forest Service.

Women Win the Vote 1893: Rebecca Henry Hayes organized the Texas Equal Rights Association, which worked for woman suffrage. 1903: Annette, Elizabeth, and Katharine Finnigan founded a suffrage group in Houston.

1915: Suffragists wrote letters, signed petitions, and lobbied state legislators to let women vote. 1918: Suffragists promised to vote for Governor William P. Hobby if he signed a bill allowing women to vote in primary elections. Hobby signed the bill and was elected. 1920: The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted full voting rights to women across the country.

Prohibition in Texas 1. Reformers believed that alcohol caused many of society’s problems and that the men who spent money in saloons were making their families dependent on charity. 2. These organizations were leaders in the fight to ban the sale of alcohol.

3. Conservatives, who usually disapproved of federal interference in local issues, opposed prohibition. 4. In 1918 Texas approved a statewide prohibition law. In 1919 the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made prohibition the law in the United States.

Lesson 4-The Struggle for Rights African Americans and Reform 1. Following the Civil War, Republicans had championed the rights of African Americans in the South. However, by the 1890s, some Republicans began to think that continuing to support the rights of African Americans would hurt their party. In Texas, when these Republicans gained a majority within the party, it stopped supporting African Americans.

2. In an effort to restrict the voting power of African Americans, Democrats enacted a poll tax. An individual who wanted to cast a vote, had to pay $1.50. This cost kept many poor and minority citizens away from the polls.

3. Segregation is the practice of separating races of people 3. Segregation is the practice of separating races of people. One Jim Crow law resulted in the segregation of public facilities, such as streetcars and buses. African Americans also had to use separate water fountains, restrooms, and railway cars. They attended separate schools, which were poorly equipped. They lived in parts of town that were not well maintained.

4. Two African American men, Charles N. Love and W. E 4. Two African American men, Charles N. Love and W. E. King, founded newspapers that served the African American community. These newspapers united the community and spoke out against segregation and lynching. Organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), were established to work toward racial equality. African American ministers gave advice on political and community affairs. Some African Americans left Texas and the South to find jobs in the industrial cities of the North.

Cultures Clash in South Texas 1. True 2. T rue 3. False; Mexican immigrants who became migrant workers left the Valley to work in Southeast, Central, and North Texas and the Panhandle for part of the year.

4. True 5. False; The populations of San Antonio and El Paso grew rapidly because of Mexican immigrants escaping the Mexican Revolution.

Oil and a New Century Cause: Anglo and ethnic Mexican groups felt distrust and fear toward one another during the years of the Mexican Revolution. Effect: Many innocent citizens were killed or wounded in violent conflicts.

Cause: Some people who sought revenge or protection formed vigilante groups. Effect: State officials increased the number of Texas Rangers and sent the state militia to the Rio Grande Valley.

Cause: Native-born Tejanos and Mexican Americans who settled in Texas experienced discrimination. Effect: Mexican Americans joined labor unions and self-help organizations. Tejanos founded mutual aid groups called mutualistas.