Oil/Gas Boom and Galveston Hurricane

"They’ve picked on the oil industry that’s paved more roads, built more schools, educated more children, and has done more for the United States than any industry alive today. I dare anybody to say that’s not true."

Clell Reed Interview in Life in the Oil Fields

According to Clell Reed, the oil industry -

• expanded the political system.

• contributed to the Texas education system

• drove farmers and ranchers out of Texas

• caused a decline of the railroad system.

As more oil is produced, the price generally becomes -

• cheaper

• higher

• more expensive

• more abundant

Why did the government step in to regulate the oil industry?

• The government wanted to collect taxes from oil companies.

• The government wanted safer working conditions.

• Overproduction caused prices to drop too low.

• The oil industry was becoming corrupt.

Which of these created a high demand for oil?

• the need for plastics

• railroads began using oil for fuel

• a great need for machine lubricants

• the Industrial Revolution

Why was the oil gusher in Beaumont, Texas so exciting?

• People had never seen a gusher before.

• There was a lot of real estate in Beaumont

• The Standard Oil Company had representatives in Beaumont

• It was a large well that held promise of wealth

Who was the engineer that struck oil at Beaumont (Spindletop Hill)?

• Patillo Higgins

• James Hill

• Anthony Lucas

• Charles Goodnight

Following the spectacular discovery of oil at Spindletop, -

• only business people tried to get rich in the oil industry.

• boomtowns in Texas soon sprang up

• working conditions for oil workers improved

• the price of property in the area decreased

Spindletop, TX was the _____________________.

• black liquid made from dead plants and animals

• person who drills for oil in random places

• largest oil discovery in 1901

• the largest industry which drives the economy

Which event occurred in 1901?

• Discovery of Oil at Spindletop

• Arab Oil Embargo

• U.S Entry into World War I

• Galveston Hurricane

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was especially devastating because -

• few people listened to the many warnings to leave the island

• there was little advance warning of the hurricane and therefore no preparations for it

• Galveston's commission government was not capable of dealing with the crisis.

• the sea wall and other protective measures taken earlier proved insufficient