Oklahoma Academic Standard 5. The student will examine the Oklahoma’s political, social, cultural, and economic transformation during the early decades following statehood. 

Objective 5.4  Examine how the economic cycles of boom and bust of the oil industry affected major sectors of employment, mining, and the subsequent development of communities, as well as the role of entrepreneurs, including J.J. McAlester, Frank Phillips, E.W. Marland and Robert S. Kerr, and the designation of Tulsa as the “Oil Capital of the World”. 

In a Nutshell

Oklahoma is rich in available mineral resources and such resources have played a major role in shaping the state’s economy. Students should evaluate the role and contributions of entrepreneurs who have capitalized on Oklahoma’s underground wealth and accumulated vast fortunes. Students should also evaluate actions by entrepreneurs which sometimes led to exploitation of Indian lands and people. 

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Facilitate students in analyzing  he ways in which incentives and resource availability influence what is produced and distributed using examples from the oil boom and bust eras of the early 20th century.

• Assist students in evaluating the extent to which political and economic decisions have had significant historical and global impact with reference to government support of the oil production segment of Oklahoma’s economy. 

• Evaluate economic data from charts and graphs, noting trends and making predictions about the effect of the available mineral resources of Oklahoma.

• Construct visual and/or multimedia presentations, using a variety of media forms to enhance understanding of findings and reasoning, for diverse audiences related to the array of entrepreneurs of the early oil industry. 

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• entrepreneurs including JJ McAlester, Frank Phillips, E.W. Marland, Robert S. Kerr

• Mid-Continent Region 

• Nellie Johnstone #1, Red Fork Field , Glen Pool Field

• Osage Reservation Field, mineral rights, headright, royalties and impact, Osage Murders

• Wild Mary Sudik, Oklahoma City Field

• Tom Slick, Cushing Field

• Seminole Field, boomtown phenomenon, wildcatters

• Krebs, coal mining centers, recruitment of Immigrant miners

• Pitcher/Cardin, lead/zinc mining

• Governor Murray, Hot Oil controversy

• economic boom and bust cycles 

• Some students may have limited understandings of the magnitude of Oklahoma's mineral wealth in relationship to available national energy resources. 

• Many students will be unaware of both the positive and negative effects of mineral wealth discovered on Indian lands.

Instructional Resources