Texas History Study Guide 1870 s to 1910 s The Gilded Age o 1870 s to 1900 term coined by Mark Twain o Era of rapid economic growth esp in North and West o Despite corruption high voter turnout o Wanted 8 hour work day abolition of child labor civil service reform prohibition and women s suffrage Sharecropping system animals provided o Decline in 90s from economic and environmental factors o Tenants shared up to half of crops with landowners based on how many tools and o Tended to be locked in cycle of debt could not own their own land o Overproduced cotton and tobacco which led to lower prices and soil exhaustion o Texas 1 producer of cotton Crop lien legal charge system o Credit system widely used by farmers o Borrowed money against anticipated value of harvest End of Plains Culture o White farmers taking over previously Indian lands US Army s war against the Comanches and Kiowas 1874 1875 o Red River War against Kiowa Comanche Southern Cheyenne and southern Arapaho o Natives receiving poor to no care promised from the US o Then the virtual extinction of southern buffalo by the white man o Also began the white settlers going to the Texas Panhandle Texas Ranching Economy o The advent of the barbed wire fence o Cattle boom in the early 1800s o Barbed wire caused tension between big and small ranchers ranchers and farmers Fence cutting Cowboy strike of 1883 Cattle drives routes practices o How to get cattle to the market up north o Cheaper than putting cattle on rail o Usually 11 persons to 3 000 cattle o With quarantines and barbed wire had to switch to train Three phases of Tejano ranching from 1848 to 1900 o Recovery 1848 1866 herds begin to be collected more breeding sales question of land grants settled o Boom 1866 76 1880s tremendous boom in ranching economy both cattle and wool o Decline 1890s overabundance of livestock and wool worldwide harsh winter killed grass 5 6 years of drought could not improve herd until New Deal Era Texas Rangers Initially to defend against rogue Indians o o Worked in the 70 s along the Mexican border to prevent skirmishes o Came back into power with Democrats under Capt McNelly o When Porfirio came into power raids on Texas Las Cuevas War Violated international law by crossing border and fighting o Declined in the Great Depression o Mixed legacy as often went beyond duties in a bad way Frontier Legacy Texas major cities in the Gilded Age o Few brick building o Distinctive economic activities San Antonio merchant class Best schools in Texas largest city until 1910 Best for trade and commerce Dallas Milling Center Eventually offer banking and trains Fort Worth railroads and meat packing Houston trade Connected to New Orleans by water Rail trade commerce center Center to export Texas goods Not yet an oil city Benefitted from lumber growth Corpus Christi Galveston small ports El Paso leading refinery Also railroads and international rail Laredo international rail Eagle pass international rail Brownsville commerce center and port Most important town in south Texas Exported lots of silver in all forms Also exports wool lead copper Galveston manufacturing Jefferson river port John H Kirby lumber o Largest lumber manufacturer in Texas Southern US o Founded Southern Pine Association o Served two terms in Texas legislation o Also established Kirby Petroleum company Houston Oil Company o Reign ended by the Great Depression in 1933 o Lumber first million dollar industry in Texas Coal in Texas o Poor quality coal o Have to import from other states o Increased with finding of oil International Railroads in Texas o Rails connect US and Mexico through Texas o Bring ease to movement of people and goods o Brownsville and Laredo Jay Gould o Owned and monopolized lots of railroads o Texas and Pacific Railroad o Fraudulent stock manipulations The railroad strike of 1886 o Organized by Knights of Labor against Texas and Pacific Railway o Gould sent strikebreakers scabs to continue work and called for military help o Violence turned public against strike and knights of labor o Haymarket Square riot where it got violent Porfirian Mexico 1876 1910 o Era of economic development and political repression o Cause of internal and external migration o US and British money into Mexico to help develop o Diaz took power in 1876 then overthrown in 1910 o Failed to allow free elections and was repressive o Texas greatest benefactor of economic development Knights of Labor o First national union prominent in Texas and southwest o African Americans could only join in segregated assembly o Lost support after Great Southwest Strike of 1886 o Lost almost all support after Haymarket Square Riot 1886 Agrarian unrest Grangers o Wanted to improve conditions for farmers o Best work improving education in schools 6 mo school term o Wanted lower salaries for public officers homestead protection railway regulation etc o Failed to regulate interstate trade Farmers Alliances o Banding together to form cooperatives in face of falling prices rising farm costs o Labor issues Great Southwest Strike in 1866 o Southern Alliance Colored Men s alliance o Proposed the sub treasury plan o Not very successful Populists People s Party o Grew out of Farmer s Alliance also helped with downfall o Initiative referendum recall 8 hr work day direct election of the senate progressive income tax railroad regulation anti trust measures o Failed because of infighting left out blacks could not overtake democrat power o Wanted the gold standard Sub treasury Plan o Proposed by Charles Macune o Based on a flat currency system based on needs of country not gold silver o Proposed government land and commodity loans to farmers o Government hold onto nonperishable crops till higher prices New developments in Education and some in social matters A M College 1876 o Grants for funding to improve education and training for farmers ranchers University of Texas 1883 o Receives federal funding Medical School at Galveston 1891 Prairie View Normal Institute 1879 o For African Americans o Purpose of normal schools To train high school graduates to be teachers Sam Houston State Normal School 1879 o First teacher training in Texas Agrarian Unrest and other political dissenters Dissenters of Challengers to typical parties George Thompson Ruby o Elected to state Senate in 1869 o One of mulattos elected after civil war o most important black politician in Texas during Reconstruction Norris Wright Cuney o Supporter of Edmund J davis o
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