Texas History
Fort Burrows, B&B Ranch
“I gave my enemies a sword and they ran it through me.”
Richard M Nixon, 37th President
A Great Foreign Policy
A 1st US President to go to China
A Not so good Domestic Policy
A Paranoid
A Impeachment Process brought up from
Congress
A Resigned from office August 9, 1974
A nickname ‘ Tricky Dicky’
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http://www.gthcenter.org/exhibits/storms/1900/index.html
Modern Texas Emerges – 1900 thru 1929
16.1 - The 1900 Hurricane in Galveston
Read pgs 380 - 385
TimeLine:
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Hurricane Strikes Galveston
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Spindletop oil Gusher ushers in the ‘Oil Boom’ **** near Beaumont,
Texas
1903 Terrell Election Law
1906 San Francisco Earthquake
1910 Another Mexican Revolution
1912 the TITANIC Sinks
1914 1. WWI begins
2. Southwest Athletic Conference formed
1918 Texas Elects 1st Woman to state wide office
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18th Amendment - ??
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19th Amendment - ??
Vocabulary:
barrier island - body of land that protects a coast from a large body of water
hurricane - tropical cyclone storm, usually over water, with winds over 74 mph
The Story of “The Hurricane”
Galveston was built on a barrier island. The city became a leading port in Texas because it had a very wide and naturally deep harbor. Ships of all sizes could navigate through without concern of dragging bottom or becoming stuck on a sand bar. Ships carried Texas ‘goods’ from the city to other lands. The port there was also used to bring needed supplies and equipment into Texas. Many Europeans coming to Texas entered the state at Galveston.
Because Galveston is on the Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes were and still are a threat to the city. On September 8, 1900, a very strong hurricane hit the coast. This storm has been the worst recorded natural disaster in the history of the USA. Winds reached 135, category 4, miles per hour (MPH). Rain was heavy. Water flooded the city. Between 6,000 and 8,000 people died in the storm.
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More than 2,600 homes were destroyed and 1,000 more were damaged. Business suffered too! An estimated $30 million worth of property was lost. That would be about $700 Million today.
City leaders wanted to make sure the city did not suffer another disaster like this. They took two steps. They added sand to the island to make the city higher. They also built a long sea wall. The wall protected the city from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Rebuilding the city took huge amounts of time and money. During the rebuilding time, other ports in the state became more important.
The effort to rebuild the city led to a new form of city government. The governor of Texas chose the officials and named the position ‘commissioners’. Each one took control of one major task, such as public works or finance. They worked independently and were successful in rebuilding Galveston.
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Floods, Winds, and Flying Timbers
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By mid-afternoon, water from the Gulf covered half of the city streets
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A tidal wave lifted homes from their foundations
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People were killed and injured by flying timber, bricks, and slate
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Destruction
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Galveston in 1900
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The city of Galveston is on Galveston Island
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This island is a barrier island that protects the coast from the tides of the Gulf of Mexico
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Galveston was a leading port around 1900
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It was also a major entry port for immigrants in the late 1800s
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Named after Bernardo de Galvez, in the late 1700s
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Galveston Bay is the largest bay on the Texas coast
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Galveston’s 1st
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1st electric lighting in Texas
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1st telephone call made in Texas
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1st ‘Official’ baseball game played in Texas
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On April 21, 1868, the 1st account of a local base ball game was recorded by the Houston Post. At the San Jacinto Battlegrounds near Houston, where General Sam Houston led Texas to victory in the War for Independence from Mexico in 1836, a base ball game was played on the anniversary of the date now celebrated as Texas Independence Day. In another obvious rout that would rival the outcome of the original battle on that same site, the Houston Stonewalls blew away the Galveston Robert E. Lees by a score of 35-2.
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It has the oldest continuously run newspaper - the Galveston News , since 1842
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Became Texas’ leading port city
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A series of piers allowed ships to dock easily
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Cotton, farm supplies, and other cargo were traded
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250,000 immigrants from Europe entered the U.S. through Galveston
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Being on the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston always faces the threat of hurricanes
Category 1, 74-95 mph
Category 2, 96-110 mph
Category 3, 111-130 mph
Category 4, 131-155 mph
Category 5, 156 - mph
The Storm - “The Hurricane”
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The morning of September 8, 1900,
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They knew a hurricane had hit Cuba 4 days earlier
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Galveston expected some effect from the storm, but not a direct hit
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Winds eventually reached 120mph
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Telephone/telegraph lines fell, this caused loss of contact with mainland
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At 7:30pm the water level rose 4ft in a matter of seconds
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Destruction by the next morning
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6,000 to 8,000 had died
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3,636 homes were destroyed
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The city 15ft under water
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$30 million in damage($700 today)
The Galveston Hurricane is still the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history
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Areas
affected
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Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, south Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas (particularly around Galveston), much of the Central United States, Great Lakes region, Atlantic Canada
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Deadliest Atlantic hurricanes
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Rank
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Hurricane
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Season
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Fatalities
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1
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"Great Hurricane"
passed through the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
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1780
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22,000
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2
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“Mitch”
hit Honduras, Central America, Bay of Campeche, and ultimately struck Florida
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1998
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11,000 – 18,000
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3
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"Galveston" USA
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1900
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8,000 – 12,000
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See also: List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes
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The Wake of the Flood
City leaders made two major decisions to protect Galveston from future storms:
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Build a sea wall to prevent future floods - a wall six miles long, 16 ft high, and 17 ft wide
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Raise the elevation of the city by 17 ft - they poured 1 million dump trucks of sand onto the island
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During this time of rebuilding, Houston would become the state’s #1 port
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A new style of City Government - As part of the rebuilding, Galveston established a new plan for governing the city
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Commissioners, appointed by the Governor of Texas ( Joseph D Sayers ), were responsible for the various city functions
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Many other cities adopted this system; ( No longer used )
*** A 2nd Hurricane hit Galveston in 1915. The ‘wall’ held and only 9
people died.
1. A hurricane has sustained winds of…
A. 40 miles per hour B. 98 miles per hour
C. 32 miles per hour D. 74 miles per hour
2. What two steps were taken after the Hurricane of 1900 to protect Galveston from future storms ?
A. Houses were rebuilt with brick, and better forecasters were hired
B. A seawall was built, and the entire city was elevated
C. Houses were fortified, and drainage ditches were built
D. Better forecasting equipment was purchased, and an emergency evacuation
plan was developed
3. Why was Galveston at risk for hurricanes ?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
4. What factors contributed to the high number of deaths caused by the storm ?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
5. What two steps has Galveston taken to prevent similar damage in the future ?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
  
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