Warm Up: What is the Cotton, cattle, and Rail Road era in Texas about? Conversation: none, raise hand if you want to answer a question. Help: Raise hand, if you get behind and need me to slow down, or if you have a question. Activity: finish Farming and Ranching notes and Westward Expansion video Movement: none Participation: finished packet of notes put on p.20 of your spiral

Texas Economy After the Civil War Includes farming, Industry, and immigration

Texas after the Civil War After the Civil War, Texas land and property did not sustain much damage since many of the battles occurred in other states. Unfortunately, the economy suffered. Many Texas families lost husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war. Some white Texans were not happy working with freedmen. Texans were financially ruined. Why?

Confederate bonds and credit Bond – certificate issued by the govt. promising to pay back borrowed money with interest. Confederate bonds – Many Texans had these. When the Confederacy was broken up, the bonds were worthless.

Confederate bonds and credit Credit – agreement in which the buyer pays over time. Businesses sold goods to the Confederate Govt. on credit. After the Confederacy ended, the debts would never be paid back to the business owners

Return to farming Many people were out of work, so they had to farm and grow their own food to survive. Problems: Equipment and land had to be repaired. Transportation was underdeveloped, meaning farmers could not receive needed supplies. It was too expensive to send crops to market for sale, so commercial farming was not a good option.

Subsistence Farming Subsistence farming: growing enough food to only feed your family. Extra crops were bartered (traded) or sold to neighbors or merchants in town. Bartering allowed families to obtain goods and services they could not produce themselves. Ex: I grow corn, you make shoes. I’ll trade you 3 pounds of corn for one pair of shoes.

Tenant Farming Tenant farming: practice of renting the land on which one lives and farms. Many Texans did NOT own land, or lost it due to financial difficulties. Plantation owners divided and sold land to farmers. If farmers couldn’t afford to buy it, they would rent instead. Problem: many farmers could not earn enough money to buy the land.

Sharecropping Many farmers were too poor to pay rent on tenant farms in cash. Sharecropper: farmer who paid the landlord with a share of the crop instead of money. Problem: Sharecroppers rarely got out of the landlord’s debt. Many former slaves (freedmen) became sharecroppers.

Sharecropper’s Cycle of Poverty

Railroads and Commercial Farming Texas government allowed railroad companies to build tracks in Texas. 1876 to 1885 – railroads rapidly expanded. Half of the track in Texas was built during this time. 1890 – Texas had over 8,000 miles of track. 1900 – Texas led the nation in miles of railroad track constructed.

Result of Railroad and Farming By the early 1900s, most of Texas could ship goods throughout the United States. Many farmers started buying large, commercial farms. Railroad companies sold land to farmers and businesses at low prices. Farming also expanded to West Texas.

Four Major Ranches King Ranch, JA Ranch, Matador Ranch, and the XIT Ranch. King Ranch – South Texas JA ranch – Palo Duro Canyon Matador Ranch – North West Texas XIT Ranch – Panhandle of Texas. This was the largest ranch in Texas (3 million acres, covering 10 counties). Texas govt. provided the land for the XIT Ranch in exchange for building the new Texas State Capitol.

New farming Technology Windmills – pumped underground water to the surface for farmers and their livestock. Greatly used in West Texas. Steel Plow – stronger and lasted longer than the iron plow. Cotton Gin – machine that separated cotton from seeds quickly and cheaply.

Boom and Bust Cycle of farming Agriculture was the leading industry in Texas Expansion of urban areas created demand of agricultural products The value of agricultural products increased Farmers continued to increase the production of agricultural products Machines were used to produce goods faster and more efficiently Prices began to drop because there was too many agricultural products on the market

Cotton: The King of Texas Crops Cotton was the biggest money maker for farmers in the late 1800s. Railroad expansion allowed farmers to ship cotton nationwide, and even worldwide. This led to new industry growth in Texas. Cotton industry contributed to clothing manufacturing (textile mills).

New Industrial Economy Railroad was a major contributor to the growth of Texas industry. How? It allowed sellers to send products anywhere in the United States.

New Industrial Economy Coal industry grew (fuel for railroads). Meatpacking and market centers develop. San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Galveston, and Fort Worth are the state’s largest cities by 1900

Lumber The lumber industry also grew (build towns, railroad cars, depot building, etc.). By 1900, lumber was the #1 industry. Cotton was #2. Sawmills were built throughout eastern Texas. Orange and Beaumont were major sawmill centers.

Lumber Company towns were created. Employees lived, worked, worshipped, shopped, etc. together. Unfortunately, they were paid in scrip, which was money that could only be used in the town and nowhere else.

Growth of Industrial Towns Fort Worth and Waco – cattle industry Beaumont – lumber Houston and Galveston – textile and sea ports. Dallas – major railroad depot.

Immigrants and other industrial workers in Texas Many people moved from rural farms to work in the cities. Many Europeans immigrated to Texas for jobs. Czechs and Poles settled in rural areas to farm.

Immigrants and other industrial workers in Texas Lebanese, Italian, Irish, and English immigrants settled in towns as businesspeople and laborers. All immigrants contributed to the economic development of Texas.