History of American Petroleum, 1859-1973
HON 3393 008
Class Meetings: Tuesday & Thursday 12-1:15 pm, David Boren Hall 182
Dr. Robert Lifset
Honors College Rm. 152,
Phone: 325-2594
Email: robertlifset@ou.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:30-3:30 pm and by appointment
What was once the primary ingredient of traveling salesman selling tonics has become the principle foundation of the modern industrial economy. Examining the story of oil in American history allows us to witness the rise of vertically integrated corporations; explore technological changes that have made possible our modern way of life; think about how petroleum production and consumption altered landscapes and the people who reside in them; and understand the changing relationship between government and the economy.
This course will examine how the United States became the world’s principle producer and consumer of oil in the 20th century.
Requirements
1. Active class participation; 2. Five response papers; 3. Three five-page papers
1. Class participation: This is a challenging course in which regular attendance is essential to successful completion. Assignments depend heavily upon material treated in class and class discussion. Moreover participation in class will prepare you for the assigned readings. Read the texts actively making note of what you like and dislike, where you agree and disagree. Think hard and critically about the readings and bring your thoughts and questions to class. Attendance is mandatory and will comprise a significant component of your participation grade.
2. Reaction papers: You will submit five reaction papers over the course of the semester. These papers should be between 2 and 3 double-spaced typed pages in length. Your specific response will focus on one of the questions posted on the “learn@ou” website. (https://learn.ou.edu/index.asp) These papers should be grammatically and syntactically correct and without typographical errors. You should make an early start on the reaction papers and write as you read. Each reaction paper is due in class on the day we spend discussing that reading assignment.
3. Three five-page papers: You will have seven days to complete each five-page paper. Each paper will require you to draw upon the material from one section of the course. You are encouraged to use the texts and your class notes. Papers will be graded for presentation (spelling, grammar etc.) as well as content. Your answer should be roughly five double-spaced typed pages in length. The first two papers are to be handed in at the beginning of class on Tuesday, March 3 and Tuesday April 9. The final paper may be emailed by the end of the day on Monday, May 11.
Grading: Your written work will be graded according to the following criteria: 1. Coherence of argument. 2. Extent and nature of supporting evidence. 3. Structure. 4. Style. 5. Presentation (grammar, spelling, layout etc.). 6. Creativity/originality of thought.
Grade Breakdown: Participation 30%
Five short reaction papers 25%
Three five-page papers 45%
Required Texts
Brian Black, Petrolia: The Landscape of America’s First Oil Boom. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Ron Chernow. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. New York: Vintage, 1998.
Hugh S. Gorman. Redefining Efficiency: Pollution Concerns, Regulatory Mechanisms, and
Technological Change in the U.S. Petroleum Industry. Akron: University of Akron Press, 2001
Nicholas Malavis, Bless the Pure & Humble, Texas Lawyers and Oil Regulation, 1919-1936. College Station: Texas A&M Press, 1996.
Laton McCartney. The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country. New York: Random House, 2008.
Tyler Priest. The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum in Postwar America. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2007.
Stephen J. Randall. United States Foreign Oil Policy Since World War I: For Profits and Security. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007.
Paul Sabin. Crude Politics, The California Oil Market, 1900-1940. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
Schedule
Part I: The Formative Years, 1859-1916
The Great John D. Rockefeller & the Rise of the Standard
Tuesday, 20 January:
Thursday, 22 January
Ron Chernow, Titan, chapters 5-6, 8-10, 12 pp. 73-117, 129-182, 197-215
Tuesday, 27 January
Ron Chernow, Titan, chapters 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, pp. 243-269, 283-298, 331-346, 361-396, 425-465
Thursday, 29 January
Ron Chernow, Titan, chapters 25-28, pp. 501-559
America’s First Oil Patch: Pennsylvania
Tuesday, 3 February
Brian Black, Petrolia, chapters 1-5, pp. 1-139
Thursday, 5 February
Brian Black, Petrolia, chapters 6-7 and epilogue, pp. 140-199
California
Tuesday, 10 February
Paul Sabin, Crude Politics, pp. 1-107
Thursday, 12 February
Paul Sabin, Crude Politics, pp. 111-209
Spindletop and the Early Mid-Continent Field
Tuesday, 17 February
Harold F. Williamson, The American Petroleum Industry, chapter 2, pp. 15-63
Kenny Franks, The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry, chapters 2-7, pp. 16-78
Thursday, 19 February
Kenny Franks, The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry, chapters 8-12, pp. 79-138
Antitrust and the Emergence of Oligopoly
Tuesday, 24 February
Joseph Pratt and Mark Steiner, “An Intent To Terrify: State Antitrust in the Formative Years of the Modern Oil Industry”
Thursday 26 February: NO CLASS
Part II: A New Order Between the Wars, 1917-1945
WW I: Oil and National Security
Tuesday, 3 March
Gerald Nash, United States Oil Policy, pp. 23-48
FIRST PAPER DUE
New Patterns of Consumption
Thursday, 5 March
Tom McCarthy, Auto Mania, Introduction chapters 1-5, pp. 1-98
The Oil Curse at Home: Teapot Dome
Tuesday, 10 March
Laton McCartney, The Teapot Dome Scandal, chapters 1-38, pp. 3-236
Thursday, 12 March
Laton McCartney, The Teapot Dome Scandal, chapters 39-53, pp. 237-319
Spring Break
Tuesday, 17 March
Thursday, 19 March
Conservation: Early Responses to Oil-Related Pollution
Tuesday, 24 March
Hugh Gorman, Redefining Efficiency, part I, pp. 1-133
Thursday, 26 March
Hugh Gorman, Redefining Efficiency, part II, pp. 137-214
The Crisis of Overproduction, the adoption of Prorationing & the Maturation of Oil Law
Tuesday, 31 March
Nicholas Malavis, Bless the Pure & Humble, Introduction and chapters 1-7, pp. xiii-110
Thursday, 2 April
Nicholas Malavis, Bless the Pure & Humble, chapters 8-11 and epilogue, pp. 111-192
Guest: Andrew Franklin
The New Deal & Labor
Tuesday, 7 April
John Clark, Energy and the Federal Government, chapter 8 pp. 193-250
Nigel Sellars, “Wobblies In The Oil Fields” in Joyce, An Oklahoma I Had Never Seen Before, pp. 129-144
WW II
Thursday, 9 April
John Clark, Energy and the Federal Government, chapter 13, pp. 316-347
SECOND PAPER DUE
Part III: A New International Order, 1945-1973
Oil Diplomacy
Tuesday, 14 April
Stephen J. Randall, United States Foreign Oil Policy Since WW I, Introduction and chapters 1-8, pp. 1-218
Thursday, 16 April
Stephen J. Randall, United States Foreign Oil Policy Since WW I, chapters 9-13, pp. 218-331
The High Energy Economy
Tuesday, 21 April
Daniel Yergin, The Prize, pp. 541-560
David Nye, Consuming Power, chapter 7, pp. 186-215
The Challenge of Modern Environmentalism
Thursday, 23 April
Hugh Gorman, Redefining Efficiency, 215-266
Tuesday, 28 April
Hugh Gorman, Redefining Efficiency, part III, pp. 269-363
The Off-shore Imperative
Thursday, 30 April
Tyler Priest, The Offshore Imperative, chapters 1-2, pp. 1-72
Tuesday, 5 May
Tyler Priest, The Offshore Imperative, chapters 3-6 and epilogue, pp. 73-226
Thursday, 7 May
Tyler Priest, The Offshore Imperative, chapters 7 and epilogue, pp. 227-281
Monday, May 11- FINAL PAPER DUE
Bibliography (Books marked with an * are available at the campus bookstore)
*Black, Brian, Petrolia: The Landscape of America’s First Oil Boom. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Carlisle, Rodney and August W. Giebelhaus. Bartlesville Energy Research Center, The Federal Government in Petroleum Research 1918-1983, Birthplace of Petroleum Technology. Washington D.C.: United States Department of Energy, 1985.
Clark, John G. Energy and the Federal Government, Fossil Fuel Policies, 1900-1946. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987.
*Chernow, Ron. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. New York: Vintage, 1998.
Franks, Kenny A. The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1980.
*Gorman, Hugh S. Redefining Efficiency: Pollution Concerns, Regulatory Mechanisms, and Technological Change in the U.S. Petroleum Industry. Akron: University of Akron Press, 2001
Joyce, Davis D. ed. An Oklahoma I Had Never Seen Before. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
Malavis, Nicholas, Bless the Pure & Humble, Texas Lawyers and Oil Regulation, 1919-1936. College Station: Texas A&M Press, 1996.
McCarthy, Tom. Auto Mania: Cars, Consumers and the Environment. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
*McCartney, Laton. The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country. New York: Random House, 2008.
Nash, Gerald D. United States Oil Policy, 1890-1964. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1968.
Nye, David. Consuming Power A Social History of American Energies. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998.
Pratt, Joseph and Mark Steiner, “An Intent To Terrify: State Antitrust in the Formative Years of the Modern Oil Industry” Washburn Law Journal. Volume 29, Number 2, 1990.
*Priest, Tyler. The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum in Postwar America. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2007.
Prindle, David F. Petroleum Politics and the Texas Railroad Commission. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981.
*Randall, Stephen J. United States Foreign Oil Policy Since WW I: For Profits and Security. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2005.
*Sabin, Paul. Crude Politics, The California Oil Market, 1900-1940. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
Williamson, Harold F., Ralph L. Andreano, Arnold R. Daum and Gilbert C. Klose, The American Petroleum Industry 1899-1959, The Age of Energy. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1963.
Yergin, Daniel. The Prize, The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power. New York: Free Press, 1991.
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