Chapter 23 Review

  1. What caused the demand for oil to rise in the 1880s?

The development of kerosene

  1. When did people in Texas first begin drilling for oil?

1960s

  1. Who was Edwin Drake?

Discovered the first oil strike in the U.S. (Pennsylvania)

  1. What is the significance of the year 1901 for the Texas oil industry?

Oil strike at Spindletop

  1. What happened to the price of oil after the discovery of oil at Spindletop?

The price of oil dropped

  1. What happened to most of the new companies that formed as a result of the oil discovery at Spindletop?

They went out of business within a few years

  1. Why was it important to build refineries in Texas after the discovery of oil?

To turn oil into usable products

  1. What was the result of oil fields being over pumped?

A drop in oil pressure made further drilling difficult

  1. How did the oil boom impact the state of Texas? (3 reasons)
  • It attracted many workers to jobs in the oil fields
  • It caused state officials to pass new laws concerning wells and pollution
  • It provided funding for education and the arts
  1. Why did the state of Texas feel it was necessary to regulate the spacing between oil wells?

So fields would not be so quickly and easily over drilled

  1. What made the discovery of the East Texas Oil Field so surprising?

Geologists said there was very little oil in the area

  1. Why was being a wildcatter risky?

It was expensive and most wildcatters did not strike oil

  1. What happened to Beaumont as a result of the oil discovery at Spindletop?

Its population grew from 9,000 to 50,000

  1. What are petrochemicals and why did they become an important part of the Texas economy?

Petrochemicals are products made from oil and were huge for the Texas economy

  1. In 1876 the Texas legislature set aside some 1 million acres of land in West Texas for

The Permanent University Fund

  1. What were boomtowns like?

They were rough and dangerous

  1. Why were automobiles so important to the oil industry?

It gave the oil industry guaranteed customers

  1. How did education in Texas benefit from the oil industry? (3 reasons)
  • Taxes on oil and oil-related businesses
  • The Permanent University Fund, which receives royalties from oil
  • Philanthropy by Texans grown wealthy from oil
  1. Alternating periods of growth and depression in an industry or economy is known as what?

Boom and bust cycle

  1. Why was natural gas wasted during the early years of oil drilling?

No safe way to get it to the market

  1. Why were the oil companies that survived the early boom important to the Texas economy?

They employed thousands of people and helped boost many of the state’s other businesses

  1. Which region of Texas had the most natural gas fields in 1930?

South Texas

Vocabulary –

Horizontal integration-Owning many businesses in a specific field.

Vertical Integration –Owning the businesses involved in each step of the manufacturing process.

Philanthropy –Giving large sums of money or gifts

Fossil fuel –Material such as oil, coal or gas formed underground from plant or animal remains.