Ch. 20 Challenges and Progress-Lessons
Lesson 1-Political Affairs
New Beginnings and New Concerns
1. True
2. False; The constitutional delegates decided not to act on requests to grant women the right to vote.
3. True
4. True
5. False; After the Civil War and Reconstruction, African American participation in government was limited because of violence and intimidation.
The State Government at Work
Even though the Civil War had ended, the Texas countryside was not at peace. Outlaws robbed banks and trains. When cattle and sheep ranchers disagreed over land claims, they resorted to violence. The Texas legislature reorganized the Texas Rangers to reduce the amount of crime and violence, and to help Texans feel safe. Some towns tried to fight crime themselves with vigilante groups, but these groups often used harsh and illegal punishments.
The 1876 Texas Constitution also provided for the building of a new state capitol building. A new building became a necessity when the existing capitol was destroyed in a fire. Many official records were lost in this disaster. Construction began in 1882 and was completed in 1888. Texans had a week-long celebration when the building was finished.
Women in Texas After Reconstruction
Reform Effort of Texas Women:
Writing petitions and letters to legislators; giving speeches
Working through associations such as the WCTU
Going on strike for higher wages
Working in jobs traditionally held by men
Lesson 2-Railroads and Industry
Cause: Texas provided land grants to railroad developers to encourage railroad expansion.
Effect: Texas railways grew to 10,000 miles of track, including some transcontinental railways; settlement increased and new towns grew near railway stops; railroads carried crops from farms to markets
Cause: Some cities paved roads and introduced streetcars.
Effect: People could live in one part of the city and work in another, leading to the expansion of cities
Cause: Telephone service became available in Texas
Effect: People across the state could relay news immediately to one another, rather than having to use mail or another slower means of communication.
Texas Industry Develops
1. In 1870, less than 1% of Texas’s population worked in industrial jobs.
2. Refrigerated railroad cars encouraged the growth of the meatpacking industry in several Texas cities.
3. Cottonseed processing was Texas’s second largest industry by the end of the 1800s.
4. Railroads helped expand natural resource industries.
5. Some of the important natural-resource industries in Texas in the late 1800s include timber, salt, iron, and coal.
6. The discovery of oil caused the decline of the coal industry in the early 1900s.
7. Companies could set rents and prices of goods in company towns because almost all of the structures and services in the town were owned by the company.
Lesson 3-Calls for Reform
Farmers Face Problems
Economic depressions drove down the market price of cotton and other farm products, while high shipping prices increased farmers’ costs.
Farmers turned to the state government for help, but the government did not pass laws to protect farmers.
Farmers joined the Grange, an organization that set up cooperatives and pushed for reform in railroad shipping rates.
Farmers formed the Farmers’ Alliance, a group that sought government regulation of railroads and backed political candidates that supported its views.
Alliance members formed the Texas People’s Party (Populist Party), a political party that welcomed women and African American members.
Regulating Business
Progressivism
A. Business reforms
i. Trusts limited competition and fixed prices.
ii. James Hogg, state attorney general, lobbied for a state antitrust law.
iii. The Texas legislature passed the Anti-Trust Act of 1889.
B. Railroad reforms
i. John H. Reagan pushed for Congress to regulate railroads.
ii. Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission.
iii. The Texas legislature established the Texas Railroad Commission.