The fifteenth chapter of Richardson et al.’s Texas: The lone star state focuses on the events of the early 1900s as Texas transitioned into a new century as a diverse and modern state after the tragedies and unrest of the Civil War and the Reconstruction. Approximately 80% of the population still lived in rural areas, and work patterns often changed little from pioneer days. Even larger cities experienced lax lifestyles that were not as demanding. However, urban Texas was gradually growing, due to the advent of new technologies such as electricity and light industries as well as telephones. Railroads, first automobiles, and electric streetcars made transportation easier. Urbanization occurred largely due to industrialization as industries sprung up and expanded near the urban areas. One of these industries, oil, made Texas a completely different economy and state almost overnight. Although oil production was ongoing in the 1890’s, the discover of oil on Jan. 10, 1901 on Spindletop Hill demonstrated the immense amounts of oil that the Texas land held, and brought on a new age of wealth and industrialization (Richardson et al., 2010).
At the same time, the 20th century saw various social changes as well. Public leisure activities became more common, particularly an attraction in urban areas. Public healthcare became greatly established with building of hospitals and professionalization of nurses. Education, riding on the progressive boost of the late-19th century saw increased interest and investment. There was some progressive changes for certain populations such as women gradually attained more rights and generally enjoyed more freedoms than in other states. Meanwhile, Texas was becoming very diverse with greater participation of African Americans in the labor force (as well as politics and education) and the incoming immigrants from Europe and Mexico who were attracted by the freedoms and prosperity of Texas. Culturally, Texas which was not commonly seen as a leader in the arts, saw a rise in both academic literature as well as fictional literature and creative arts being produced in the Lone Star state, establishing it as truly a diverse, strong state of the Union. The three main ideas of this chapter are transition into the new century, technological adoption and oil boom, lifestyle and cultural shifts.
References
Richardson, R. N., Anderson, A., Wintz, C. D., & Wallace, E. (2010). Texas: The lone star state (10th ed). Routledge.