Texas History

Fort Burrows

16.5 - Life in Rural and Urban Texas

A typical day in the life of a 13 year old son on his family farm in the early 1900s…..

“ I did my chores every morning before school. I had to milk the cows and chop wood to last all day. After I washed my face and hands, I ate breakfast, which was usually bacon, eggs, biscuit, and gravy. I walked to school carrying my lunch in an old syrup bucket. Two biscuits, eggs on one, and bacon on the other biscuit. I walked to school with one brother and two sisters. There were eight children.”

Life in Texas changed in the early 1900s. Silent Movies, & Radio became important parts of culture. We now had leisure time. The economy grew during the 1920s. Many people enjoyed better lives. Farmers had problems, though. There were more farms, but most farmers did not own their own land. During the 1920s, farmers began to use machines to carry out more and more of their work. These machines were costly. To buy them, the farmers had to borrow money. Then the food prices fell. As a result, farmers could not pay off their debts.
The number of people in the state continued to grow. Many new settlers came from other lands. At the same time, the state had large numbers of African Americans and Mexican American. /
Scene from the 1921 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, one of the highest-grossing silent films.
In the 1920s, cities were growing quickly. Four Texas cities – Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, & San Antonio – grew to have more than 150,000 people. Houston was the state’s leading port. Dallas became a manufacturing center. Many of the factories there made Textiles. Fort Worth was the Meat Packing capital of Texas. Also most all railroads came thru Fort Worth. San Antonio was a center for the Wool Industry. The city had a mix of Hispanic, German, and Anglo cultures. The growth of cities led to a greater need for Roads, Utilities, & Other Services.
The 1920s saw social changes. Women had more job opportunities than ever before. People had more leisure time. Due to the innovations and inventions, that reduced work-time.

Main Idea:

Life changed quickly in both rural and urban Texas. Farms experienced both prosperity and hardship. Cities faced both opportunity and challenges.

Vocabulary:

surplus - more food, fuel, lumber, etc, than people need

Multicultural - mix of many races Hispanic, German, Anglo, etc. of people in one city, town, or region

Changes in Life in Rural and Urban Texas

Area of Change / Change
Lifestyle / ⌂More leisure time for radio, movies, and sports
⌂More women work outside the home
Population / ⌂Almost Doubles
⌂1900, 3 million…..1930, 6 million
⌂1900, 71,000 Mexicans……1930, 680,000
⌂1930 , 1 out-of-every 5 Texans are African Americans 1,200,000
Rural Texas / ⌂More Farms and Farmland
⌂Tenant farmers ran 60% of the Farms
⌂Irrigation and Machinery, especially tractors
⌂Increase Debt
⌂Reduced Crop Prices
⌂Drought kills crops and creates ‘Dust Bowl’
Urban Texas / ⌂Population Boom
⌂By 1920, 30 Texas Cities had over 10,000 people living in them
⌂Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, & San Antonio had over 150,000
⌂Growth in demand for services
⌂San Antonio becomes a multicultural city

A Changing Population

Population goes from 3 million to about 6 million

TEXAS IN THE 1920s

  

Population Changes / Troubles on
the Farm / Changing Lifestyles
♫Population of Texas grew
♫Cities grew larger
♫Many immigrants came from South & Central Europe and Mexico
♫Many of the African Americans left Texas for other States / ♫Falling food
prices made
it hard for
Farmers to
pay off their
growing debt / ♫More people have Electricity and Cars
♫People have more Leisure time
♫Movies, Radio, & Sports grow more popular
♫Women have more Job Opportunities

Changes in Rural Texas

Several factors changed farming

3 out of 5 Farms are being worked by Tenant Farmers

Railroads and highways enabled farmers to bring their crops to market

Irrigation allowed farmers to grow crops on once-dry lands and improved the work-life of Farmers

Machinery, especially Tractors  made farm work faster and easier

Farmers in Crisis

The growing population led to an increased demand for food

Farmers grew a surplus, or more food than the population needed

Surplus of crops + Crop prices dropped ( low prices ) = many out-of-business

Many farmers went into debt buying new Tractors & Machinery

Long Droughts destroyed crops

Dust Bowl caused many Family-Farms to Go Out Of Business

Changes in the Cities

Houston / Members of different ethnic groups helped build the railroads. Many of them stayed in Texas. Houston the Railway of the South.
Dallas / Dallas became a center for banking, medicine, publishing, jewelry, & machinery manufacturing. Nearby cotton fields helped Dallas become a Textile Center
San Antonio / San Antonio’s location near sheep ranches helped it become an important Wool center. Also known as - the mixing-pot for Texas ethnic cultures, Multicultural City
El Paso / The ‘gateway’ to Mexico. El Paso’s location near major mining areas and plentiful natural resources allowed it to become a center for Industry and Transportation

Lifestyle Changes

Leisure Time

1922, Texans own more than ½ million trucks and cars

Radio, ( WBAP in Fort Worth ), Silent Movies, and the newly organized, Southwest Conference ( 1914 ) provided collegiate Sporting Events

The Southwest conference organized football, basketball and track competitions among colleges and universities

The Role of Women

The growing number of schools and the rapid growth of industry created more job opportunities for women

Women became teachers, dressmakers, telephone operators, office workers, and sales representatives

1.What does surplus mean?

A. shortageB. custom-made C. extra D. spoiled

2. In 1914, the Southwest Conference organized what types of competition between colleges and universities?

A. soccer and rugbyB. volleyball

C. hockey, swimming, and trackD. football, basketball, and track

3. What two factors changed farming ?

______.

4. What major lifestyle changes did Texans undergo in the early 1900s?

______.

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