Hazardous BusinessIllustration
Industry, Regulation, and the Texas Railroad Commission

Introduction
The Railroads Come to Texas
The Fight for the Commission
John H. Reagan and Early Regulation
The Oil Wars
The Power Years
Other Responsibilities
The Railroad Commission Today
Glossary

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Railroads Come to Texas

Land Transportation in Early Texas
Water Transportation in Early Texas

The Impact of the Transportation Problem
Texas Railroads Before the Civil War

Early Railroad Regulation
The Civil War and Texas Railroads
Texas Railroads After the Civil War

The Fight for the Commission

The Grange
The Farmers vs. the Railroads
Legislative Efforts
The Farmers' Alliance
The Texas Traffic Association

"Arrogant Capitalists and Powerful Corporations"
Enter Jim Hogg

The Legislative Session of 1889
The Election of 1890

An Idea Whose Time Had Come

John H. Reagan and Early Regulation

John H. Reagan
The Commission Under Attack

The Election of 1892
The Supreme Court Upholds the Commission
Progressive Regulation

An Agency Matures
Decline of Railroad Power

The Oil Wars

Early Days
Spindletop: Present at the Creation
Boom, Boom, Boom
Common Carriers

Blood of War, Blood of Peace
The Growing Crisis

"A Nostrum Worthy of a Blatter Skite Politician"
"God Still Rules the Universe"

The Largest Oil Field in the World
The Railroad Commission at Bay

The MacMillan Case
Sterling Sends in the Troops

Hot Oil: East Texas Under Martial Law
The Turning of the Tide

No Quick Fix
Enter the Feds

The Era of State and Federal Cooperation Begins
The Connally Hot Oil Act

The Power Years

The Aftermath of the Storm
The Duties of the Railroad Commission
Ernest O. Thompson

World War II and Texas Oil
Post-War Glory

The Rising Tide of Foreign Oil
The Railroad Commission Reacts

Regulatory Issues of the 1960s
The End of an Era

Other Responsibilities

Natural Gas
Liquified Petroleum Gas
Motor Carriers and Buses
Surface Mining
Jim Crow

The Railroad Commission Today

Glossary

Online Finding Aids

Suggested Reading and Links

Home>>

Page last modified: September 20, 2022