Class Notes / Learning Log / Textbook Notes
Questions/Main Ideas: Notes:
I. Reconstruction Ends
a. The late 1800’s was a time of growth and expansion in Texas.
i. Railroads spread
ii. Agriculture boomed
iii. industries expanded
iv. Many new political issues emerge
II. Railroads
A. Before 1900, most families traveled by wagons and buggies.
B. Texas encouraged the building of railroads across the state
by providing land grants to railroad companies.
C. The Land Grant Law of 1876 authorized 16 sections (10, 240 acres) of land for every mile of track the railroad company laid.
D. During this construction period, the state of Texas gave
away more than 32 million acres.
E. By 1900 a network of railroads totaling some
10,000 miles spread over Texas.
F. Journeys that had taken days or weeks now took
Hours.
G. Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth developed rapidly because they were railroad centers.
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III. New Industry Grows
A. 1868 - meat-packing industry began in the city of
Victoria
B. 1900 - lumber was the most important and valuable industry in the state.
– Timber companies harvested the timber of East Texas and built towns along the Sabine and Neches Rivers.
– Beaumont and Orange became major sawmill centers.
– Houston was mostly built by a lumber company owner.
IV. Monopolies Use Unfair Tactics
A. In the late 1800s, large companies that operated in Texas
joined together and formed trusts
B. These trusts:
– helped to prevent other companies from selling the same product or service
– reduced or eliminated competition and free trade
– Could hold a monopoly on a business, which allowed them to pay very low prices for materials they bought and charge very high prices for the goods they sold = huge profits
V. Farmers Become Trapped by Debt
A. Cotton prices fell during 1875, and remained low through 1900.
B. Overproduction of cotton continued this cycle of debt.
C. Farmers also claimed that railroads charged higher prices to farmers who had no choice than to use the local railroad to ship their goods.
VI. Texans Call for Reforms- The Grange
A. Formal name of the Grange= Patrons of Husbandry
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B. The Grange:
– organization that called for economic changes
– set up stores where members could buy supplies more cheaply
pressured state legislature to deal with unfair shipping rates charged by railroads
C. The Grange eventually replaced with more aggressive
political organization = Farmer’s Alliance
D. By 1886, Farmer’s Alliance had 100,000 members.
VI. New Laws Prohibits Trusts
A. 1889 - TX legislature passed Anti-trust Law stopping
companies from joining together to fix prices or
limit production.
B. Main reason for antitrust laws - unfair business practices by railroads.
C. The law often has been used to prevent unfair practices.
VII. Governor Hogg Regulates the Railroad
A. In 1891, the legislature created the Texas Railroad Commission, a state agency to regulate railroads operating in Texas.
B. Many railroads ceased unfair practices, such as fixing
prices and charging more for short hauls than
for long hauls.
C. The Railroad Commission has been expanded to regulate
other industries, particularly the oil industry.
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Class Notes / Learning Log / Textbook Notes
