Modern Era Begins

Vocabulary

• Industrialization – the making of products from natural resources

• Petroleum – a thick, oily liquid found deep in the earth, used in a natural or refined state as fuel

• Prohibition – a national movement to ban the manufacture, sale, transportation, or use of alcoholic beverages

• Progressivism – social reform movement based on improving society through the power of the government

• Suffrage – the right to vote

Galveston Hurricane

• September 1900• 6000 people died• Largest natural

disaster in US history• US Army Corps of

Engineers built a seawall and raised the city 10’ with sand

Oil Boom

• Demand for kerosene grew

• Provided better light than candles

• Also provided fuel for home heating and to power trains

• First refinery was in Corsicana

Spindletop

• Spindletop hill was located south of Beaumont

• Oil field found 1100 feet underground in 1901

• Once penetrated the gusher flowed nonstop for 9 days

• Oil field produced more oil than all other Texas oil wells combined

Boomtowns

• Oil operators moved into towns around Beaumont

• Sour Lake, Saratoga, Batson, and Humble quadrupled in population over 4 months

• Baytown became the largest refinery in the world

Houston Grows

• Houston became the center of the oil industry

• Already had a well developed railroad

• Allowed oil companies to safely transport oil across the country

• Built the Houston ship canal to allow larger boats to also transport oil

Lumber Booms in East Texas

• Oil boom needed lumber to build derricks, houses, and stores

• Camden, Kirbyville, and Diboll were founded by lumber workers

• Led to the establishment of workers compensation– Job related injuries paid

for by companies

Dallas Grows

• Most Eastern companies wanted a western office and chose Dallas because of the rail system

• Dallas became the leading retail city in Texas– Neiman-Marcus, Sears

• Became a white-collar city– Lawyers, bankers,

accountants, business executives

Assignment

• Create a chart that lists three oil fields and nearby towns

• Use the map on page 461 as a reference

Oil Field Nearby Town