And other events from
1880-1920
AGE OF OIL
Spindletop – This 1901 strike in Beaumont was the first “gusher” oil discovery in Texas.
Suffrage – Voting rights.
Prohibition – The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made it illegal to make or drink
alcohol.
Texas Railroad Commission – State agency created to oversee and regulate railroads and the oil
industry in TX.
Texas Equal Suffrage Association – Organization founded in Houston to advocate for voting rights for
women.
Galveston Hurricane of 1900 – The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history; caused the city to erect a sea
wall to protect the city from flooding in future hurricanes.
Boomtown – Towns that developed wherever oil was struck; they were notoriously dirty, crowded, and
rough.
Sour Lake – Oil strike in 1903 made by the Texas Oil Co., later called Texaco.
Petroleum – Naturally occurring liquid fossil fuel commonly called oil.
James Hogg – Governor of Texas who set up the Texas Railroad Commission and protected citizens
from unfair business practices.
Howard Hughes Sr. – Businessman who helped to invent the two-cone rotary drill bit, which allowed
further oil exploration and drilling in Texas.
Texas Farmers Union – Union created after the failure of the Populists’ Party. They were advocates of
farmers.
League of United Latin-American Citizens – Organization founded in Corpus Christi to support the
rights of Latin Americans in the U.S.
Progressivism – Movement in America at the turn of the century that encouraged social, political, and
economic reform.
The Oil Boom
©
Tara Fountain
WARM-UP
What is oil and how
is it created?
:
How is oil created?
Oil or petroleum is viscous black
liquid used as a fuel source; it is
created by the remains of
organic matter (dead
plants/animals) under pressure
over thousands of years.
THINK ABOUT IT
:
Name 3 ways we use
How do we use it?
oil each day?
Step 1
On your note sheet, choose Which products are created from oil
MAJOR ERAS IN TEXAS HISTORY
THE AGE OF OIL





Hurricane of 1900
Spindetop
Populism
Progressive Era
Texas Railroad
Commission






James Hogg
Growth of urban areas
Women’s Suffrage
Temperance Movement
Prohibition
World War I
AGE OF OIL
1880 – 1920 Progressive Era
 1900 – Hurricane of 1900
 1901 – Spindletop
 1917 – 1918 World War I
 1918 – 1931 Prohibition
 1920 - 19th Amendment – Women’s Suffrage

The Oil Industry in Texas
•Railroads began using oil for fuel in the 1880’s, which increased the demand
for the fossil fuel.
•Pennsylvania was the first state to produce American Oil in 1859
•Seven years later Melrose Petroleum Oil Company drilled Texas’s first
successful oil well in Nacogdoches but it wasn’t a long term success.
•In 1894 a major reserve in Corsicana was tapped creating the first major oil
supply in the state. This discovery encouraged drilling across East Texas.
•On January 10, 1901, Anthony Lucas hit the largest oil reserve the world had
ever seen at Spindletop.
•The discovery at Spindletop began the first of many oil booms in Texas.
1894: Oil discovered at Corsicana
Effects of the spindletop discovery
•The large number of wells at Spindletop caused over-drilling to occur.
•Spindletop wells went from producing nearly 50,000 barrels per day to about
10,000 barrels per day in just 2 years.
•By this time Spindletop had already made it’s name in history.
•The Spindletop oil boom led to the creation of over 600 oil companies,
including Texaco, Gulf, and Mobil.
•Oil replaced lumber as the leading Texas industry and oil companies
produced millions of gallons per year.
•By providing a new source of inexpensive, efficient fuel, Oil changed the
future for transportation and for industries.
The Oil Boom after Spindletop
•The oil boom of the 1920’s & 1930’s caused rapid growth in Texas and rural
areas were out run with oil derricks.
•In 1901 a flour milling company started using oil as a fuel source to run its
machinery and soon after other mills started doing the same.
•As the drilling for oil increased, boomtowns developed around the successful
wells, which caused crowded noisy conditions.
•Crime, diseases and a lack of safe drinking water were major concerns
during this time.
•Towns developed so quickly there wasn’t time for adequate development of
water and sewer systems which caused dysentery, typhoid fever and other
diseases.
•Lack of sewage and drainage systems, along with frequent rainstorms made
mud a huge problem too.
The Oil Boom after Spindletop continued…
•The oil discoveries created a demand for new industries and businesses.
•Refineries were built near oil fields to make the oil usable for industry. Companies
built pipelines to connect their refineries to distant oil fields.
•The Humble Oil and Refining Company (later Exxon Mobil) built the largest refinery on
the Gulf Coast.
•After Spindletop the search for oil spread and wildcatter’s made discoveries all over
Texas.
•The Great Depression hit and oil prices dropped tremendously. Texas Railroad
Commission had to regulate the amount of oil that producers could supply.
•Because Texas was the world’s leading producer of oil, slight changes in production
levels were felt world wide. The more oil Texas produced, the lower the prices dropped.
The less oil Texas produced, the higher the prices rose.
•The changes in oil prices had major effects on the automobile industry, shipping
costs, travel and many other areas of life.
Impact of oil
•Automobiles are powered by oil and gasoline
•Many of the plastic and rubber products in our homes and
classrooms are made from oil-based chemicals.
•In the 1920’s chemists learned how to remove chemicals from
petroleum to make everyday household items, which started the
petrochemical industry.
•World War II - chemicals used to make explosives + synthetic
rubber for tires.
•Petrochemicals raised environmental concerns because the
processes created large amounts of toxic waste.
Step 3
Use the flow chart to answer the following questions
1. According to the
title, what is the flow
chart about?
2. What step follows
the location for
underground oil
being identified?
3. What is the function
of the derrick?
OIL IN TEXAS

Age of Oil


Maps – Texas Oil Fields
Chart – Population of
Texas between 1880 –
1945
OIL IN TEXAS

Age of Oil


Maps – Texas Oil Fields
Chart – Population of
Texas between 1880 –
1945
POP QUIZ
GET OUT A SHEET OF PAPER!!!!!
POP QUIZ
WARM UP-BENEFITS OF HAVING OIL
Analyze the photo below. Use the T-Chart on your note sheet
to compare 19th century troubles with 20th century comforts.
PLACES OF IMPORTANCE IN TEXAS

Political and cultural regions
 Dallas/Ft.
Worth Metro (political)
 Houston Metro (political)
 Austin/San Antonio Corridor (political)
 African-Americans – East/Southeast Texas
(cultural)
 Mexican Americans/Tejanos – South Texas
(cultural)
 Cowboys – West Texas (cultural)
TEXAS BOOMTOWNS
Boomtowns
– Beaumont grew from
a lumber town of 9,000 to 50,000
Oil
Workers, speculators, gamblers,
adventurers all flocked to the oil
boom towns like Beaumont
Very
similar to what happened 30
years earlier in the cowtowns of
the Mid-West.
TEXAS BOOMTOWNS
Problems:
1.Major housing shortages
2.Strangers, criminals, flocked to towns to
make money from oil drilling and people
living there
3.Lack of oil producing restrictions caused
many wells to be pumped dry
4.Overdrilling and production caused severe
drop in oil prices
OIL IN NORTH TEXAS
 Petrolia
- 19 miles from Wichita Falls
 Electra – discovered by cattle rancher
W.T. Waggoner had the first big
boom in North Texas
 Burkburnett – well named ‘Fowler’s
Folly’, “gusher” that produced
thousands of barrels a day
HOUSTON BENEFITS FROM OIL BOOM
 Houston
became the center of the oil
business industry; “Where 17
railroads meet the sea”
 Petroleum companies need: banking,
insurance, transportation, and legal
services
 1914 – Houston Shipping Channel
opened which allowed large ships and
barges into the port.
TEXAS LEADERS IN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
 Howard
Hughes Sr.
Howard
Hughes Sr.
developed a new type of
drill bit -rotary drill bit.
Made
it possible to drill
through very hard rock to
reach oil deep underground.
(1909 patent)
QUESTIONS (1-4):
1. What were some of the uses of oil that different groups
had used throughout Texas history.
2. What is “Spindletop?”
3. What happened at Spindletop on January 10, 1901 and
what were the effects of this happening?
4. How did Spindletop affect economic developments in
Texas and the U.S.?
QUESTIONS (5-8):
5. New oil discoveries helped to create new drilling
communities called ______________.
6. How would you describe life in one of these
towns?
7. What major Texas city became significant to the oil
industry and how did the city help to grow the oil industry
in Texas and greater U.S.?
8. How was the lumber industry affected by the oil boom?
TEXAS IN THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
1880-1920
GALVESTON HURRICANE OF 1900
September 8, 1900: Galveston was struck by a
hurricane of unbelievable force.
 Impact:
1. worst natural disaster in U.S. history
2. more than 6000 killed or injured
3. aftermath brought new changes in city
government, housing and protective seawall
construction for residents

AFTERMATH OF GALVESTON HURRICANE

Engineers built a seawall around the
shoreline to prevent damaging waves and
water surges from destroying homes and
businesses. Houses were raised on
platforms or stilts as protection.

Galveston adopts a new city manager form
of government to handle the rebuilding
(most common form of city government in
Texas today)
PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT IN TEXAS
 Population
growth in the cities
brought in new problems and forced
Texans to deal with existing ones.
 The
Progressive Movement attempted
to reform (solve) these problems.
PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT REFORMS

Reforms included:
1. new form of city government (after
Galveston hurricane),
2. the Terrell Election Law,
3. women’s suffrage,
4. prohibition,
5. evangelical and other social services
organizations
PROGRESSIVE REFORMS

Terrell Election Law was passed in 1903 and
remains the basic voting law in Texas today.
This Law ensured:
1. elections would be carried out fairly
2. secret ballot voting
3. restricted campaigning near voting booths
4. primary elections held before the last
general election
PROGRESSIVE REFORMS
Women were still working to
reform election laws and gain
voting rights.
 1918 - Governor William P.
Hobby granted Texas women
voting rights in Texas primary
elections.
 1920 – 19th Amendment
passed gave women
constitutional voting rights in
elections.

PROGRESSIVE REFORMS




Progressive reformers targeted the sale of alcoholic
beverages as the center of social ills (no-good).
They argued that saloons were associated with
illegal activities like gambling, theft, and left many
families in poverty.
1918 -Texas approved a statewide prohibition law.
1920 – 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
made prohibition the law of the land.
THE FARMERS’ ALLIANCE – POPULISM IN TEXAS
IMPACT OF “BOOM AND BUST” CYCLES OF LEADING TEXAS INDUSTRIES THROUGHOUT THE 20TH AND EARLY
21ST CENTURIES

Farming

Reconstruction to Progressive Era






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
Farmers began to organize and machines were used to produce goods
faster and more efficiently
Prices began to drop because there were too many agricultural products on
the market
IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVE AND OTHER REFORM MOVEMENTS IN TEXAS IN THE 19TH AND 20TH
CENTURIES

Populists




Populism – Nationwide movement of rural citizens who had not benefited from
the modern lifestyle made by the growth in industry
Goal in Texas – Wanted the government of the people to protect the interests of
common workers
Farmer’s Alliance (farmers, ranchers, and farm laborers) spread throughout
South Texas forming their own party in 1892.
They called themselves the People’s Party or Populist Party
IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVE AND OTHER REFORM MOVEMENTS IN TEXAS IN THE 19TH AND 20TH
CENTURIES

Populists




Demanded government regulation of businesses; public ownership of
the railroads, telephone, and telegraph lines; and elimination of the
national banking system
Called for labor reform, a graduated income tax, and the direct election
of U.S. Senators (17th Amendment 1913)
Supported the creation of public warehouses where farmers could store
their excess crops until prices increased
Won some elections in 1892 and 1894 at the state level but movement
faded after 1896 because the Democratic Party began to adopt many
of the Populists’ ideas
DISCRIMINATION IN TEXAS

Democratic Party passed Jim Crow laws, that
discriminated against African Americans and many
Mexican-Americans. These laws blocked these people
from using public hotels, restaurants, and attending
entertainment events.

Discrimination was present in housing and education,
too. African Americans, as well as Mexican-Americans
lived in sections of towns with inadequate housing,
lighting, sewage, and police protection. Children
attended separate schools which were often poorly
constructed, lacking basic school equipment and
supplies.
DISCRIMINATION IN TEXAS
Racial unrest led to violence. Those accused
of minor crimes were sometimes lynched by
mobs (usually KKK).
 Ku Klux Klan was a politically powerful group
during this time.
 1902 - Democratic Party requires payment
of a poll tax and adopts a “whites only”
restriction for the primary election. These
bar most African Americans from voting
and/or participating in politics.

NAACP AND MUTUALISTAS

1912 – In Houston, the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) began. They
worked to end discrimination and
create racial equality.

Mexican Americans joined labor unions
and formed mutualistas (mutual
assistance societies) to provide
community service with weddings,
funerals, and aid to the poor.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Describe the situation facing farmers during
the early 1900s. What was their response?
What was the purpose of the Farmer’s alliance?