The History of Spindletop and Its Impact on Southeast Texas

This project is divided into two parts: research and design. You will be graded on the scope of your research as well as the final presentation.

Part 1: Research

In this part of the project, you will need to focus your research on two components.

• Firstly, you want to focus on researching the history of Spindletop and the Lucas Gusher, following the research checklist in the "Tasks" tab.
• After you have done this research, you will want to then focus on how the discovery of oil in the region has impacted Southeast Texas today. This will require you to use higher level thinking to make the connection for yourself. Hint: Think about the political, social, and economic impact of oil in the region today.
• As you are researching, it is important to document your findings. You can document it any way you please, but you must cite your sources using the MLA citation guidelines.

Remember to check the validity of your sources. You will need to use both primary and secondary sources in your research so it's important that you are using sources from trusted websites. If you doubt the validity of a source, it is best not to include it in your research.

I have linked some good sources for you to use in your research below. You are more than welcome to do additional research as you see fit.

Research Links:

https://www.lamar.edu/spindletop-gladys-city/spindletop-history.html

http://av.cah.utexas.edu/index.php/Category:Oral_History_of_the_Texas_Oil_Industry_Records

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dos03

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flu04

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhi07

https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/spindletop

https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/spindletop-launches-modern-oil-industry/

Part 2: Design

In this part, you will take what you have learned from your research and compose a digital presentation of your findings. You can do this in whatever format you choose, but I would recommend using Prezi, Microsoft PowerPoint, or making an infographic. No matter which format you choose to make your presentation in, you will need to follow these guidelines.

1. You need at least 2 primary source pictures, each having a caption describing the picture.
2. You need to have described the history of Spindletop and the Lucas Gusher.
3. You need to connect its history to its impact in Southeast Texas. Remember to think about the political, social, and economic factors.

The more detailed your presentation is, the better. However, you do not want to info-dump. This means that you do not want to include all of the information you collected during your research if it serves no purpose. You will be graded not only on following the above guidelines, but also on how clear and concise your presentation is.