Report on “The Murder of William Marsh Rice” and The Spindletop Oil Gusher
The purpose of this report is two-fold: to discuss the novel “The Murder of William Marsh Rice,” by Paul Spellman and to discuss the Spindletop Oil Gusher, one of the significant Texas history events that serves as the backdrop for the story. The book is a fascinating combination of fiction and history. Though the main character and others are fictitious, the events that happen around them—the Great Galveston Hurricane, the murder of William Marsh Rice, and the Spindletop gusher which started the Texas oil industry—are all very real and critical to understanding the development of Texas (and places like Houston) over the past century.
First, let’s go over two of the three characters made specifically for the novel, as well as one unnamed character, created specifically for the purpose of this novel. The first of which being Caleb Lincoln, a detective of Pinkerton. Not much is said about him, but from what we can tell, in the past, he worked with the Texas Rangers and even Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” to name a few. As the story progresses, we learn that Lincoln is a very driven individual. True to his line of work,
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However, none of their attempts ever went anywhere close to the oil goldmine. Eventually they met a man named Anthony F. Lucas, who struck a deal between himself and the company in 1899. Lucas’s first efforts only got him about 575 feet underground thanks to financial troubles and the sands of the drilling sites caving in on the rigs. Still, he was not a man to give up so easily, as he was convinced that oil was down there. so he secured help from John H. Galey and James M. Guffey, for a small portion of potential profits. With this, Lucas pressed forward. Sometime in October, Lucas spudded on a new well, where a new, more efficient rotary type bit was used (Moor,
In conclusion, this is a great book to read. All of the characters and what they say comes from original sources such as manuscripts or trial documents meaning that this book has just about the most accurate information possible. The good part of having the information written in a simple way makes it easier for the reader to understand what actually happened instead of getting confused from complicated dialogue or complex timelines that leave room for misinterpretation. There is also a book written before this by the same author, James Swanson, that goes into more detail about the chase after the assassination, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer. Having another book acting essentially as a sequel to this one allows the reader to further explore the details of assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
These three characters’ behaviors, personalities, and their thoughts affect the story “Catch a Killer”. Also Tawney’s behaviors, that shoots Gladston’s theory down and finds Corso and Andrew, show his honesty. The beginning of the story tells how rebellious Andrew is. Bullying and cruelty is the reason that Corso becomes a killer. These three main characters are revolved around each other in the
The books “Fertile Ground, Narrow Choices” by Rebecca Sharpless and “The Path to a Modern South” by Walter L. Buenger paint a picture of what life was like from the late 1800’s to the 1930’s. Though written with their own style and from different views these two books describe the modernization of Texas through economics, politics, lifestyles and gender roles, specifically the roles of women during this era.
As we progress though the novel, we a introduced to a variety of characters in the story like Rachel Turner
...neth M. Goldstein, and William G. Howell. "Chapter 20 The Social and Economic Milieu of Texas Poltics." Understanding American Politics and Government. Texas ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 690-93. Print.
There were really no very interesting characters in this book. I was never one to be interested in history. There were some interesting parts though, for instance, the chapter about the railroad man was pretty good, and it was kind of cool that he got promoted to vice-president of the railroad he work on within a year after he started the job. Some of the wars he was in were ok as well. It sometimes amazes me that there were so many unnamed heroes.
The characters are initially what drew me to the film, particularly Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) and their relationship. White is something of a Big Brother Mentor to Orange, as Orange is brought into Joe’s operation under the guise of being new and kind of inexperienced as a consulting criminal and Freddy naturally gravitates toward him, as is shown through various cutscenes of Orange and White having normal conversations with each other outside the Heist. Their relationship dynamic is shown further after Orange has been tagged and White is comforting him both in the Getaway Vehicle and the Warehouse. Their dynamics are reinforced throughout the ending of the film as White tries to convince Joe that Orange is NOT the rat. (at that point, he had full faith in Orange not being the rat. White trusted him deeply.) However upon Orange’s betrayal White presumably shoots him in the face before subsequently being shot to death by the police, telling us that he doesn’t value people exploiting him. I mean, who values that right?
...is own. In an overall assessment of this book, Martin comes to the conclusion that “Campbell has succeeded in providing a thoughtful, very readable, and eminently useful survey of a fluid, exciting, and fascinating period of United States and Texas history through the lens of the life of the greatest Texas hero of them all” showing that Martin as well as Campbell seemed to be very fascinated by the heroism of Sam Houston (The Journal of Southern History, 60, November 1994, 796).
The expansion of agriculture and railroads helped form Texas’s present economy. The invention of the steam engine not only allowed people to move across the country in 7 days, instead of 6 months, but it also allowed crops and livestock to be carried to markets and places where they would be sold anywhere in the country. They could be moved to another farm in Texas as well. Since it’s such a large state, railroads were a necessity for travel, and general transportation. The railroad-building boom lasted 40 years. The production of cotton in Texas introduced some of the first slave-based cotton farms, and was the dominant crop for a very long time. After this event, Texas’s economy was forever changed.
The entire story essentially centered on a man named Henry Spearman who is an economist professor at Harvard that decided to go on a vacation with his wife to get away from his work that he always seemed to be doing. The events that ensue on this island make the economist work more than he probably would have if he had not gone on this vacation to Cinnamon Bay. The entire book contains many characters, each of which has something to do with the two murders that happen on this island in their own way, and it is not until the end, that we find out the connections. Some of the characters include Matthew Dyke (who works at the same college as Henry) and his wife; General Decker (who is one of the men who is murdered in the book); Curtis Foote (the other man murdered in the book), Doug and Judy Clark (a couple that is vacationing on Cinnamon Bay who has just had their children picked up when Spearman met them, meaning they can now freely go to the clubs), Detective Vincent (the detective of the murders who hasn’t had a lot of experience investigating murders), along with many others.
Pratt, Joseph A. “Exxon and the Control of Oil.” Journal of American History. 99.1 (2012): 145-154. Academic search elite. Web. 26. Jan. 2014.
Thesis: The nine years of Texas’s independence were long and seemed to be dragged out. Were those nine years unnecessary and could it have been done in a shorter period of time? 13 October 1834 was the first revolutionary meeting of the American citizens who’d settled in Mexico, in the area soon to be known as Texas. The people attempted a movement that soon was laid to rest by the Mexican Congress. Attempts at independence were silenced for the time being and the elections of 1835 proceeded forward.
Twain utilized his knowledge of the past and created a novel based upon a runaway boy and an escaping slave. Huckleberry Finn (the boy) and Jim (the slave) both escaped from society and traveled amuck down the river. Symbolically, they were both dependant on each other and they developed a special bond which aided them on their journey. Twain takes advantage of their separation from society and relays to the reader how the characters viewed their diversity. The two individuals become very close to each other even though they realized they were comprised of a different race. However, the thought of taking the role of a white man and turning Jim into custody crossed Huckleberry?s mind sporadically. Thus, Twain showed that he had assumed the role of the stereotypical white individual, and broke their bond of trust.
Baer, Robert. 2003. Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington sold our sol for Saudi Crude. New York: Crown.
Huckleberry Finn, Pap Finn, and Jim served as main attractions for the story and it’s plot. Without these personalities the story could have not taken place and the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” would have not happened.