Texas History Test Case Studies & Practical Application 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads that Texas seceded from the Union in 1861 even though Governor Sam Houston opposed it. What does Houston's opposition reveal about the secession debate?
- Not all prominent Texans supported the Confederacy; Unionist sentiment existed even among leaders (Correct answer)
- Houston supported secession but opposed the timing chosen by the legislature
- Houston feared secession would give Mexico an opportunity to reclaim Texas
- The secession vote was unanimous in both the legislature and the public referendum
Correct answer: Not all prominent Texans supported the Confederacy; Unionist sentiment existed even among leaders
Sam Houston refused to take a loyalty oath to the Confederacy and was removed from office, showing that even Texas heroes held Unionist views.
Question 2: The Texas Populist movement of the 1890s gained support among farmers struggling with debt. Which specific grievance most mobilized Texas farmers toward the People's Party?
- Railroad rate discrimination that charged farmers more per mile than large shippers (Correct answer)
- Federal tariffs on imported cotton that undercut Texas prices
- A state law requiring all farms to use steam-powered equipment by 1895
- Competition from California fruit growers flooding Texas markets
Correct answer: Railroad rate discrimination that charged farmers more per mile than large shippers
Railroads charged small farmers higher per-mile rates than big businesses through complex rate structures, draining farm profits and fueling the Populist revolt.
Question 3: A researcher studying the 1953 Texas Tidelands Controversy finds that it determined who controlled offshore oil. What was at stake in this federal-state dispute?
- Whether Texas or the federal government owned and could tax oil revenues from the Gulf of Mexico seabed (Correct answer)
- Whether Texas could drill oil in disputed waters claimed by Mexico under the 1848 treaty
- Whether private oil companies or the state of Texas owned onshore oil reserves
- Whether the U.S. Navy could commandeer Texas oil platforms during the Korean War
Correct answer: Whether Texas or the federal government owned and could tax oil revenues from the Gulf of Mexico seabed
The Tidelands dispute was over control of the oil-rich submerged lands off the Texas coast; Congress ultimately granted Texas control out to 10.5 miles offshore.
Question 4: During World War II, Texas hosted numerous military training bases. What long-term economic effect did this wartime investment have on the state?
- It accelerated industrialization and urbanization that continued after the war ended (Correct answer)
- Texas declined economically because wartime rationing devastated cattle ranching
- Military bases replaced the oil industry as Texas's primary revenue source
- The bases were all converted to universities, expanding higher education access
Correct answer: It accelerated industrialization and urbanization that continued after the war ended
Billions in federal defense spending built infrastructure and created industries that transformed Texas from a rural agricultural state into an urban industrial economy.
Question 5: The Dawes Act (1887) affected Texas tribes by allotting reservation land to individual Native Americans. What was the practical consequence for tribal land holdings in Indian Territory adjacent to Texas?
- Tribal land bases shrank dramatically as 'surplus' lands were opened to white settlement (Correct answer)
- Tribes used allotment proceeds to purchase additional Texas border lands
- Allotment strengthened tribal sovereignty by giving members individual property rights
- The Dawes Act did not apply to tribes with treaties signed before Texas statehood
Correct answer: Tribal land bases shrank dramatically as 'surplus' lands were opened to white settlement
Allotment divided communal tribal lands into individual plots and sold remaining 'surplus' land to settlers, reducing tribal territory by millions of acres nationwide.
Question 6: A civil rights historian examines the 1944 case Smith v. Allwright, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Why was Texas central to this landmark ruling?
- The case struck down Texas's all-white Democratic primary, which effectively denied Black Texans voting rights (Correct answer)
- Texas had the last remaining poll tax in the South, which the ruling eliminated
- The case challenged Texas's grandfather clause that restricted voter registration
- Texas election officials had illegally destroyed ballots cast by Black voters in 1942
Correct answer: The case struck down Texas's all-white Democratic primary, which effectively denied Black Texans voting rights
Lonnie Smith, a Black dentist from Houston, sued Texas election official S.S. Allwright for barring him from the Democratic primary, winning a Supreme Court ruling that white primaries were unconstitutional.
Question 7: When analyzing the Texas drought of the 1950s (the worst since the Dust Bowl), which combination of factors made it especially devastating for the Texas economy?
- Simultaneous collapse of cattle, cotton, and small-grain farming across most of the state (Correct answer)
- The drought coincided with a worldwide oil glut that cut Texas petroleum revenues
- Federal crop insurance had been repealed in 1948, leaving farmers with no safety net
- The drought destroyed Texas's citrus industry that had just been established in the Rio Grande Valley
Correct answer: Simultaneous collapse of cattle, cotton, and small-grain farming across most of the state
The 1950s drought hit multiple agricultural sectors at once across Texas, devastating ranching and farming communities that had not yet diversified into the oil economy.
Texas History Test Case Studies & Practical Application 5
A student reads that Texas seceded from the Union in 1861 even though Governor Sam Houston opposed it.
What does Houston's opposition reveal about the secession debate?