History and Influence of the Texas Railroad Commission
In my last 10 years working in the oilfield, whenever I was in Texas I always wondered why everything we did was reported directly to the Texas Railroad Commission. There was always a Railroad Commission Representative in all of our Pre-Spud meetings. The question of what power do they ultimately hold on the oil field. I decided to write a paper on the history of the Texas Railroad commission and any controversy that they could have been involved in. From research of the Texas Railroad commission’s web page, it was established in April 1891 to regulate the railroad industry of the 1800s. It is seen as the oldest regulatory agency not only in this state but also in the entire United States. The Railroad was seen as a
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The Texas Railroad Commission is seen as on the most important regulation institutes in the United States. (Prindle) The Railroad Commission started off in the US as a big business rather than later being knows as big government. The first three Railroad commissioners had been appointed in June 1891 by then Governor Hogg, these were John Reagan, Judge W. Mclean and L. Foster. Reagan had a large amount of influence on the RRC. He came from Tennessee to join the Texas Democrats in 1855. Reagan in the 1870-1880s set in the Congress to have regulation for the railroad through Pragmatic Federalism. This commission was established to prevent discrimination in railroad charges and establish reasonable tariffs through legislative mandates. It wasn’t though until 1917 that the RRC began to regulate the oil and gas industry which is what we will focus on. Choices made by the Texas Railroad Commission can affect other areas of the United States. The current to date
Oil has been the saviour of many and gave them something to live for. Oil was discovered in Texas in 1901 on spindletop. The thick goopy substance called petroleum made many families and individuals richer than they would have ever believed. It made job opportunities for most everyone and caused big changes to the society and how people live. What are the biggest social changes caused by the discovery of oil?
Key components of consideration that went into forming the Texas constitution. 窗体顶端 It can be argued that the key components of consideration that went into form in the Texas constitution were legitimacy, organizing government, providing power, and limiting governmental power. It was written by Alexander Hamilton that "constitutions should consist of only general provisions…" (Newell,Prindle,Riddlesperger,Donavan,Smith,Mooney,Pg39) This meant that any constitution that was put in place should be clear and straight to the point. The Texas constitution is a document that is so deep in detail and is so extremely specific, that it is always changing.
The railroad was first designed by George Stephenson whose original idea was to use steam to run the train and make transportation faster. When the US started using railroads and trains they purchased them from the Stephen Works company from Britain. “In the 1850s a boom in railroad development across the North was changing business organization and management and reducing freight costs. Railroads were influencing a rise in real estate values, increasing regional concentrations of industry, the size of business units and stimulating growth in investment banking and agriculture.
Throughout my paper I am going to describe the rules for amending the Texas constitution, the attempts at constitution reform during 1970’s, explain why the reform attempts failed and discuss why I believe the Texas constitution should have board language instead of having frequent amendments. The rules for amending the Texas Constitution are found in Article 17 of the Texas Constitution. Article 17 of the Texas Constitution explains the rules in the following steps: proposed amendments, publication, submission to voters and adoption (Sec 1. Article 17, Texas Constitution, amended Nov. 7, 1972 and Nov. 2, 1999).
Texas has had a vast majority of Governors throughout the centuries. The governors have reshaped and created Texas rules, helpful programs, and made some bad decisions. One out of the many governors of the eighteenth century gave quite a shock to have won the election of becoming Governor of Texas. This man is Edmund J. Davis, I will be discussing his early life and some of his occupations throughout his life; I will also discuss his term as governor, and what he did while Governor of Texas. It was October 2, 1827 in St. Augustine, Florida for any other person, it was another day, but to William Godwin and Mary Ann Davis it was a great day, their son Edmund J. Davis was born.
While the railroad construction began long before the 1860’s, the major push for the transcontinental ability was completed in 1869, as the final
White wrote an article, “Information, Markets, and Corruption: Transcontinental Railroads in the Gilded Age” published in The Journal of American History, he rejects the idea that the building of the transcontinental railroad was a grand venture, but a corruption filled schemed aimed at making the rich richer. His thesis states, “At the center of national corruption, both financial and political, were particular corporations: the railroad. They were the major corporate consumers of capital and the leading corporate objects of both regulation and aid…the transcontinental chartered to cross the western United States-were particularly open to corruption.” White specifically writes about the financial corruption. In his article, he also explains what other historians have written on the
Texas is the second most populated and second largest state in United State. Due to its size, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both American South and Southwest. Most of the population centers are located in areas of formers prairies, grass lands, forests, and the coastline. The current Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876. Like most of the states, it also provides for a separation off power.
Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern
The particular condition that the Constitution of 1876 was drafted under was the government and overthrow of Edmund Davis (Harpham, Champagne 81). Some of the main principles behind the Constitution were popular control of state government, limitations on state government, strengthening the economy, and finally promotion of agrarian interests. Some of the more important aspects reflecting the political philosophy of the framers were the high value placed on individual freedom from government. As well as the lack of faith the framers had in the government. Under the Reconstruction Constitution of 1869, Edmund Davis governed.
Transcontinental Railroad The largest single construction project ever undertaken within the country left approximately eighty thousand people dead, weighing in as the fifth deadliest construction project in the world. The Transcontinental Railroad shortened the distance traveled from the east coast to the west coast from months in a horse drawn wagon to only eight days by train. On July 1,1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Pacific Railroad Act. Asa Whitney, a New York businessmen tried for this project as early as the 1840’s, however, the 1850’s was the year that the United States Army Corps of Engineers was granted permission to survey the routes.
The Constitution of 1876 was toward the end in the development of a new, restructured and revised constitution in Texas, yet it was not the last attempt to revise the natural law of Texas. Pressure begin to build to change and streamline the Texas Constitution in the late 1960s. By 1969, fifty-six obsolete and out dated provisions were revoked, including a whole article. This called for a more fundamental overhaul and restructuring of the Constitution, which led to an extensive and prolonged process of constitutional revision that began in the 1970s. Efforts during this time were imperative for two reasons: it explained a long-standing concern whether the legislature had the constitutional right to convene as a constitutional convention; and secondly, the Texas Constitutional Revision Commission provided a thorough revision of the state constitution that served as the foundation for a new
The Civil War was the first war to use railroads and turn them into a weapon of war. During the Civil War railroads became the vital new technology for both the Union and Confederate forces. The great distances separating armies, the need for supplies, and quicker troop movements all increased the need for the railroad. Without this new weapon the Civil War may have lasted until the last man was literally left standing. The ability to implement and use the railroads in the Civil War would play a crucial role in the North’s victory and the South’s defeat.
The appearance of the railroad in the early 19th century created a revolution in the transportation for the development of the economy and the society. This invention, eventually, also brought a lot of outcomes as well as disadvantages for the people living near the routes and the stations. First of all, the railroad system increased the carrying capacity and reduced the shipping cost. Not only people near the stations received this benefit but also the rural area where the railroad system reached. “Railroads provided a quick, scheduled, and year-round mode of transportation.
To further the control of information within the United States railroad companies hired lobbyists and journalists to paint a specific picture of the transcontinental advancements to the American