Transcripts For CSPAN3 The Oil Industry Christianity Politics 20240713

Think we have the answer. Which is no. It was raining cats and dogs a few minutes ago. And i wondered, will there be people there . And sure enough, here you are. I tip my cap to all of you this evening. My name is andy graybill. I am the director of the clement center. I would like to thank the many people who helped make this evening possible. Thanks to jeff, who directs the cph. Especially for those people who have coordinated all of the logistics. During my first semester at the clement center, we received an anonymous 500,000 gift in honor of the governor who had died earlier that year. The donor wanted to hear our ideas first about how we put those funds to use before they were transmitted. Naturally, i proposed that this money be applied to my mortgage. [laughter] he passed. The benefactor liked much more the idea that we use the money to convert one of the junior postdoctoral fellowship lines to one that would support an invited senior scholar. That would cost more and they are harder to pry away from institutions. With that settled, i turned to my associate director for suggestions about who we might target as the inaugural recipient of this senior fellowship. She immediately proposed darren dochuk, who was hard at work with what sounds like a fascinating book about oil, religion, and politics. Because of other commitments, darren could only join us for the spring 2013 semester. But we loved having him with us in part because of his winning personality. You will get a taste of that in a moment, but especially so we could lay some claim to the book that resulted in the time that he spent here. It is a true pleasure to welcome him back to smu this evening having come full circle since he has finished that book. He grew up in alberta. Listen for the vowels. You will know what i mean. He will probably murder me for saying this, but he started his College Career as a scholarship volleyball player at George Mason University in fairfax, virginia. He decided that the mishigos of the d. C. Area was too much for him. I am making that up. But he returned home to his native canada. He finished in vancouver with the university of notre dame. He started his teaching career in the midwest at purdue before a brief stint as a associate professor in humanities. Proving that you can go home again, darren moved to notre dame five years ago where he is an associate professor of history. His first book, published in 2011, won several major awards including the John H Dunning prize from the american historical association, and one from the organization of american historians. A truly wonderful book. I have used it so many times in teaching in undergraduate and graduate classes that i have gotten free copies. Im not going to give them away to you, but i have free copies. I believe it at that. He has coedited a volume that emerged at a symposium called sunbelt rising. The politics of space, place, and region, published in 2011. That was a big year for darren. His research has been supported by the American Council society, National Endowment for the humanities, the american philosophical society, and the rockefeller foundation. He is here tonight to discuss his latest book, anointed with oil how christianity and crude made modern america, published last year by basic books, to great acclaim. Following his lecture, he will be happy to take your questions and sign books which are available for purchase. Right outside and off to the left is a place where darren can sign them for you. So please join me in welcoming darren dochuk. [applause] mr. Dochuk thanks, andy. And thanks to jeff, rhonda, and the center and to for southwest studies as well as the center for president ial history for cosponsoring this event. As you heard, the support of smu over the years has been tremendous and it is nice to be back on campus in dallas even with this unusual weather. Something i am used to though, having spent a good part of my life in vancouver, british columbia. It is a privilege to be with you today, especially because we are on an oil patch. I spent a good amount of my time over the last few months talking to audiences on the oil patch whether it is down in the southwest or in alberta, canada. Places it turns out where there is just a bit of oil and a bit of religion. So it tends to be a good conversation. And i am looking forward to that conversation later. It is also really special to be here quite simply because i spent so much time as a fellow, as was just pointed out, really doing the first wave of research for this project. And during that productive four or five months here, i was able to pour through the papers here at smu. The petroleum pamphlet collection, which is just tremendous, but also do some quick trips to other archives around the state. Again, no surprise that texas looms so large in my story. But being introduced along the way to so many colorful characters. Someone from Daniel Plainview to there will be blood to the apostle played by robert duval. Someone who is absolutely convinced that he could prophesy where oil existed and despite the efforts of geologists to thwart his advance, sure enough, came through in january 1901, predicting the site where it would erupt, putting texas on the map. Someone who saw himself as working with the favor and in favor of the divine. Or a geologist such as William Fletcher cummins, a geologist with a slightly different generation. This is a methodist circuit preacher who during his travels on horseback in the southeast portion of the state during the 1880s and 1890s, would look for oil. And sure enough, predict often where it was going to be. And then would move into mexico to serve as a geologist. Someone who combined his vocations as a cleric and a geologist. Or jake simmons, a very compelling figure, the most prominent africanamerican wildcat oilman who got rich in east texas in the 1930s and used his wealth to build an empire. But one that was also philanthropic, using his money to promote civil rights. He is also partially responsible for opening nigeria and ghana to Oil Exploration in the 1950s and 1960s. And others, like this very compelling figure, someone who wore her face on her sleeve as well. Very committed to a social gospel of human uplift and equality. It is she who, as you probably know or should know, would be responsible for taking down standard oil, forcing, really compelling the government to take apart the standard monopoly in 1911. This is all coming through her writing. Again, these are just a few of the characters that i got to know better at smu. Each individual saw oil as more than a material resource or commodity. To them it was a gift of the divine and a vocational calling that transcended the base workings of business. Petroleum was their anointing by god and their call to uplift humanity. My goal in writing the book was to explore how it is that oil has long enraptured americans in such fashion, and how it has imprinted itself on the american soul with real lasting social and political consequences. For people certainly in the pulpits and pews, and also those beyond. Someone who recognized that oil was existential, even theological for americans, was president jimmy carter, his words were appropriate for opening this talk. In summer of 1979 carter delivered his infamous crisis of conscious speech, or his malaise speech. It was one of his most important addresses, as it came amid revolution in iran and a resultant Second Energy crisis. With dead seriousness, he pleaded for people to support his Energy Conservation agenda. But he also asked for more. Explained, i began to ask myself the same question that i now know has been troubling many of you. Why have we been not able to get together as a nation to resolve our Serious Energy problem . You can picture him slamming, gently, his fist on the desk. It is clear that the true problems of our nation are deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages. Deeper even than inflation or recession. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. In the days to come he implored in conclusion, let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the american spirit. Those of you who are aware of carters career know that he spoke often on energy. In fact, he opened up his presidency in spring of 1977 with an energy program, at which time he said that kind of the fight for renewable energy, supplies, and new alternative sources amounted to the moral equivalent of war. And those who are aware of the 1979 crisis speech also know its evolution was uneven. Many of his advisers advised him against preaching and sermonizing to the people. They wanted him to show confidence. They wanted him to show that he had answers, not to to them into a kind of despair over the moral or lack of moral fortitude of the nation at that time. But carter did not budge and went ahead anyway. And the main takeaways of the speech therefore were his alone. First, that the United States had confidence in itself and its global standing. An second, the crisis was not just energyrelated. It was a spiritual crisis as well. His speech pointed to a couple of my core questions. How did oil get grafted on to america and serve as a catalyst for its ambitions on a global stage, paving the way for what would be known as the American Century . And what happened and what did it mean for the nation when the confidence of an American Century fueled by big religion and oil crumbled during the carter era . In an effort to address these and other queries related to the book, here is a sample glimpse of a couple of facets of what i call a religious biography of oil. And im going to focus principally on the heart of the 20th century for the 1930s to the 1970s. I will begin by glancing at just how some american powerbrokers, from the very beginning of the industry, envisioned the Petroleum Industry as essential to the rise of american political exceptionalism, then i will cut to the local level, and move beyond altitude. And we will focus just on one, what might be familiar to one oil patch which might be familiar to you, east texas in the 1930s. And i will finish by summarizing some of the political legacies of these crude awakenings in modern american. Petroleum achieved status between the 1930s and 1970s, but it first captured americas heart and a 19th century as the fuel and lubricant that would light cities. Andtacular, in its arrival, democratic in its privileging of labor, oilfree registered as modern americas lifeblood. Its discovery during the civil war and its role in setting the nations new economic course, its perceived Regenerative Properties for those on the civil war battlefield, as well as for a nation seeking healing. All of this underscored oils nature for a society on the rise. This is abundantly clear in the popular literature of the time. It is boilerplate for the american Petroleum Industry and also something that connected the property of oil and the materiality of it to religious allegory and a dreams of american providence. And destiny on an international stage. Everywhere it is to be met with, it lights the temples and mosques amid the ruins of babylon. It is the light of abrahams birthplace in damascus and burns in the grottoes of nativity in bethlehem, and the cottage and the banks of the euphrates and the golden horn. It penetrated china and japan. It shed radiance over many a dark african waste. American petroleum is the true true cosmopolite. Omnipresent and omnipotent. It filled its mission of lighting the whole universe. Bold, yes. Nothing cautious either about that. As much as u. S. Oil was mythologized or used as boilerplate, it also infused godfearing individuals with real clout, whose shared vision of the future translated to real corporate structures and outcomes. Their efforts were evident in early generations in the oil industry, but they carried special weight as u. S. Influence spread globally in the 20th century. Two sons of missionaries serve as illustrations here. Consider the first picture above. This is henry luce, the famous publisher whose parents were missionaries from china, funded by the rockefellers. In february of 1941, luce used the pages of life magazine, which he owned, to beseech americans as protector of the free world and create the first American Century. The first great American Century, his term. Luce had tested this a month earlier in a talk at the American Petroleum institute. There, he praised oilmen for being the vanguards of americas expanded role. Having within you a dynamic spirit of freedom and enterprise with a genius for cooperation and organization, it follows inevitably that you did not stop at the frontier, for your sense of the world, i salute you. Luce was especially enamored of Large Oil Corporations that were exploring for oil across the globe, and in the process, spreading modern technologies and knowhow. It was at this time that the seven sisters, as they would become known, derided as such, which included five u. S. Oil companies, gulf, texaco, standard new jersey or exxon, and standard new york mobile. This is the moment in which these companies are turning towards south america and the arabian peninsula. Urged on by washington to discover new fields and secure americans hegemony before domestic reserves ran out. We have had several cycles of peak oil in the last 120 years. This is coming in the wake of fears of peak oil in the interwar period, anticipating what would come next as the Automobile Industry continue to expand. For luce, their corporate labors conjured a sense of limitless power, which, when harnessed by godfearing patriots, had the capacity to transform the world. He drew on metaphor to encourage his compatriots to use oil to fuel international advancement, with america at the head. Scholars have proved how the singular possession of petroleum served as the pillar of the American Century. But luce, the very architect of the term, suggested a religion of ecumenical outreach and Global Development be included as a twin column. A second individual does as well. William eddie, the son of presbyterian missionaries in the and in fact, his parents were among generation of american missionaries that moved to beirut. There they spread mission basis but also hospitals and schools, most famously American University in beirut. At princeton, he went on to teaching dartmouth before accepting the presidency of the college in 1946. Eddie was a man of protestant confidence who envisioned a new world order constructed out of enchanting crude. In 1940, while traveling and recruiting for Financial Support for his school, he lectured on quote, the power of god in the secular world, which implored laypeople to be the quote, shock troops of the church, and raise up each sector of the globe. You and i, he declared, who believe in christendom are not doomed to weakness. We serve the only totalitarian king. We who follow christ need to cover ourselves with tolerance, reverence, and charity. And then wherever we walk, we shall find ourselves standing on holy ground. Within months, eddie was acting on this imperative. Serving as an officer for the office of strategic services. Eventually of course the cia, to survey arabia for subsurface crude, Gain Knowledge of its people and their faith in allah, and bringing the u. S. To union with this rising kingdom. Five years after claiming allegiance to a totalitarian and tolerant christianity, he oversaw a historic deal, pictured here before you, installing the u. S. In the region for good. Again, doing so, truly committed to what he saw as a religious alliance, a moral alliance between a people who shared faith monotheism and big book. His subsequent career testified to the potency of this liberal international vision. As a hired consultant for aramco, he promoted peace between western and saudi interests by way of mutual ambition and shared respect for the divine. Through aggressive proliferation of corporate promotion as well as practical instruction on how to live and labor in a land saturated by god, he not only wrapped aramco in a myth of capitalism and corporate benevolence, he also animated groundlevel operations on the drill sites and the oil camps with the tenor of intercultural and ecumenical exchange. And one of the more, i think, fascinating lines of work that my research took me into was looking at the interior lives, the internal workings of aramco, especially in the 1940s through the 1960s. There, William Eddie and several managers, many coming with missionary backgrounds, devised a whole institutional structure by which islam and protestantism and catholicism could kind of create a shared community, a shared knowledge of one another. For instance, they established the Affairs Division and housed it with some of the leading scholars of islam. But in the world of whos who, this division was responsible for education and for creating a sense of internationalist ecumenical exchange. They created secretly, because they were technically not allowed to do so in this country of theocracy, morale groups with small groups of christian worship. They called them morale groups because they could not call them what they really were, congregations and parishes. Again, its a system that proliferated in the shadows. But reinforcing their own kind of religious commitment to this enterprise as something more than the pursuit of black gold by the late 1950s, at least 5000 workers attending the groups, thousands of others doing so as well for anglican, evangelical, and eventually other groups. And finally at the highest altitude, they called for a moral alliance of america in the arab world, linking american catholics and protestants with muslims based on shared monotheism. In the book i talked about the effects of this on politics in washington in the late 1950s when eisenhower especially wanted to create a judeochristian america to bring protestants, catholics, and jews to gather to reinforce a sense of purpose, always in the face of communism, and also because of the law of these arabs in aramco wanted to reach out and include muslims within this quadrilateral. Of course with the broader International Political implications. This sense of vocation spoke to the aspirations of a whole cadre of visionaries. Powerbrokers with rising influence in mid20th century, major oil, and the state. They adhered to, what i call in the book a civil religion of crude. Hey confidence that big religion identified as ecumenical, internationalist, civil, and cosmopolitannd wedded to big oil, defined by , integration, combination, and collection to guarantee global influence. The linchpin of this cadre was, again, alluded to earlier, the rockefeller family. A family known to support the missionaries, both in china where luces parents worked, and those working with a tougher soil in the middle east. John d. Rockefeller jr. Placed the profits of the families standard oil empire in the service of a philanthropy that stretched scientifically informed international development. In the realm of corporate relations, his influence was imprinted on a magazine to keep employees, stockholders, and the public inspired to advance petroleums humanitarianism into modernizing societies. Juniors sense of mission got a boost in 1940 when his five sons founded the Rockefeller Brothers fund. Of the five, none was more important to linking oil to Global Economic and cultural initiatives than Nelson Rockefeller, pictured with a pointer, whose work with Interamerican Affairs placed him at the forefront of the u. S. Plans in south america. We dont have time to go into the influence that he had within major oil circles. His work with creole oil in venezuela was crucial to his own kind of career development. At that time he insisted his oil company hone relations policies and deal with locals on a more equal but not fully equal playing field. At the heart of that was also a sense of embedding religion, in the case of venezuela, catholicism, on Company Compounds to help provide a foundation for this vision. And he reached out to his coexecutives and managers and called on them to be secular missionaries, if you will. Nelsons agenda would assume an urgency in the 1940s. And increasingly in the late 1940s as latin america becomes a site of political contestation and fear of communism looming large. With that in mind, president truman would outline his pointfour program in 1949 where he said americas foreignpolicy engagement had to focus on Economic Uplift and a vision of developing the globe to win hearts and minds through the application of technological knowhow. Again, this is very much coming out with and aligned with Nelson Rockefeller. And aramco, incidentally, would build its model in some ways drawing on the same Lessons Learned that Nelson Rockefeller would offer in venezuela. Nelson was not outspokenly religious, but he was a man who longed to reshape the Southern Hemisphere in an image of christian democracy. He believed it would stymie communisms influence and would ensure americas place at the head of the new international order. Indeed, big oils apostles would not have worn convictions on their sleeves. It would be for the sake of universal brotherhood. Yet however much they were drained of its dogmatism, oils promise continued to inform their actions. Oils global topography became their theological plains. The civil religion of crude is one thread in oils religious biography. Certainly vital to understanding the United Statess role in international context. But if we want to understand some of the profoundest turns in modern United States politics, you must look at the oil patch, a unique landscape out of which stirred a challenge to this gospel. There, amid jungles and the glow of refining fires, countless citizens stirred up and longheld the carbon gospel of their own, the one that i call wildcat christianity. Now, in technical terms, the progenitors of this faith were wildcaters themselves. Independent oil hunters who drilled wildcat discovery on domestic frontiers. Emboldened by oils rule of capture, the businesss founding legal code, which granted any man authority to cap subsurface crude aggressively and on their terms, wildcatting lent the early industry essence that would endure across time. For john d. Rockefeller senior, that rule of capture was in his mind, wasteful. His was a bureaucratic outlook that lined up with the protestant work ethic. Which assumed good capitalists would uphold rules of calculation and control. While the rockefellers consolidated the industry, the competitors who had hoarded his monopoly in pennsylvania considered their role of capture sacrosanct. It protected their wishes to act alone. Be it before their god or on their patch of soil. They reveled in risktaking and accepted the volatilities of chance and pursuit of profits as if there were no tomorrows. They were warrior heroes. Wildcat christianity captured in sacred terms the resilient utopian expectations that accompanied their quest to drill. Amid their sectors boom bust cycles and fluctuations of health and wealth, their faith offered meaning through a theology that nurtured personal mystical encounter with soil and an active higher being. A fierce individualism fortified by smallscale association. And notions of time that anticipated the violence of life in the age of oil. At the turn of the 20th century, wildcat christianity was forced out of its original home in the alleghenies by the rockefellers and relocated west of the mississippi. And those of you are familiar with the history of oil know that this is a story of migration. Western pennsylvania would flourish into the 1890s. But soon the epicenter of american oil would shift west. It would do so much to the surprise of the rockefellers. John archibald, perhaps you are aware, famously said in the early 1890s that he would drink every gallon of oil west of the mississippi. This is how sure he was that oil did not exist there. Others would have the last laugh, and that would be the small producers would be forced out and have to go hunt for it with their spiritual devices, prayer, and whatever they had into western terrain. There they would discover oil in southern california, central and south texas, really putting texas on the map. This started the texas gusher age. And then of course it would culminate in many ways in the east texas strike of the 1930s. The story does not end there, of course. It goes to west texas and elsewhere. I would like to pause now and flesh out what does this wildcat christianity look like on the ground. I have talked at length about the executives in the managerial class, but i want to give you a sense of what i think are four facets of wildcat christianity as they appeared in east texas in 1930s. I know we have at least one person here from east texas somewhere in the audience. So how did wildcat religion come to define the western oil patch in such potent and lasting form . Well, lets take a look at this briefly. How did it start . Well, it started with daisy bradford, a christian woman who recruited Marion Joyner to find oil on her farm. A selfmade prophet from alabama whose only education came from memorizing the testament. He was a quintessential poor boy, who could only work shallow pools. He was certain that god would guide him to crude. With word of something brewing, people dressed in their sunday best and would make their way to bradfords farm to watch the magic man at work. On october 5, 1930, audible gargling could be heard in the casing. Next came a spurt, then a flow, all of which electrified the crowd. One witness described the scene as hilarious. Oil they cried, oil. Some jumped up and down with joy. Tossing straw hats high into the air to demonstrate their feelings. One crewman pulled out his pistol and shot at the oil spray in the sky and was quickly tackled with danger all around. [laughter] joyner turned pale at his creation, almost in disbelief that what he had prophesied came true. What came true was epic in proportions, the east texas pool was to be discovered as the largest, up to that point, ever discovered in the world. It was a length of 43 miles long, 10 miles wide, containing 5. 5 billion barrels. What happened overnight is a booming population with this new booming economy. Workers from all over the region poured into east texas looking for employment. What else is going on at this time . The depression. Yeah. So, here you have in the poorest counties of one of the poorest regions, all of a sudden this explosion of possibility, and people are ready to take full advantage of that, no matter the cost. More jobs, higher income, this was the odd circumstance that made east texas an island during the entirety of americas decade of depression. The phenomenal excess of abundance led to it acquiring a largerthanlife feel. Again, what did it create culturally in the pews and in the pulpits . Four essentials i would say to the wildcat faith. Enraptured with the black stuff, east texass citizens revamped a wildcat system of belief association in politics that would legitimate their ownership of this new material form of wealth. First, amid this excitement of the gusher age, they intensified the outlook that far god is the reason for their escape from affliction into abundance. Even as they envisioned this, they also embraced the mystery and curious workings of chance. And in keeping with their prosperity gospel and celebrating the speculative and supernatural dimensions of faith, oil, and the markets. Good christians would maximize oil than trying to control and discipline them. Several features of this booming landscape reinforced this mindset the landscape itself, once farmland, is now a jungle of derecks. I think the joke in one of these towns is that you could jump from one dereck to the next and travel for blocks on end. Which was not so bad when youre trying to escape a fire. The rise of the wildcat personality. The wildcater. Perhaps many of you have read about the big rich. There have been many books hunt andbout h. L. Others who hit it big here. Reinforcing again the ability of the independent oilman to dream big. And to not just dream big, but to have others dream with them. There are reasons for this. Quite striking, at the first outset of the strike, first discovery, Major Oil Company standards refused to go in. Their geologists said this is just a small pocket, dont worry about it. Well, youve got all these small producers, again, still using a range of devices to find oil, continually striking another well, another expression of oil wealth. So, why is this important . Well, as late as 1935, independents will manage more than half of the 22,500 wells in operation in east texas. This is not just mythological, or mythical, it is something concrete. The power of the independent oilman and the wildcat are now assuming a new form. Church life itself would change. One of my favorite pictures is the oil derricks around this church property. I believe in longview. Not an unusual occurrence or site. Many churches saw this as a way to gain riches, and they would bring in, lease their land out, often they would open up by consecrating their land, and then they would spud the well. One church did not have to wait long for the richest to pour in. New buildings would follow. There was a turns out a revival it turns out a revival in gothic architecture throughout the region. So even the poorest churches of christ, pentecostals, could now pour their money into incredibly impressive architectural forms. The windfall for east texass lucky citizens also created a second affect, a leveling of class, or a new populist dream. And a rise of conviction that plain folk could finally realize their destiny as equals. That the rockefellers no longer had their grip on them. As one writer offered, here with the democratic opportunity that pushed frontiers far beyond adam smiths wildest dreams. Oil saturated with riches pouring into the offering plates, even the most marginalized religious folk could enjoy the launch into this new social order. They too could contribute into sending their riches to small christian colleges. Some larger like baylor, to support them during the depression, taking ownership of religious institutions beyond the four counties of east texas. Bolstered by the success of their communities, looking to future gains, east texas church folk nevertheless knew that oil was impermanent. A local captured the sentiment when he titled his memoir, where oil flows, joy and woe curiously mingle. Showers of wealth and health today could mean deluges of misfortune tomorrow. This was the tradeoff of life in an oil boom escape, where the frailty of everything and an inevitable future of depletion always clouded the soul. When you strike oil, you let loose hades. And hades was apparent in east texas. Usual outbreaks of fire and distraction, injuries and death, but in the case of east texas, really, the ultimate form of devastation occurred at the New London School in 1937. This was a brandnew, milliondollar school of 700 kids. It was the envy of School Districts around the country. On one of the classrooms, there was a plaque to which students would look on a daily basis. Oil and natural gas are east texass greatest mineral blessings. Without them the school would not be here and none of us would be here learning our lessons. On one day at the end of class, the last class session, someone flicked on a switch in the mechanical room and what immediately happened was beyond belief. One of the schools brandnew buildings literally exploded into the air. We have stories of children in the other building looking one minute, seeing a building, going minute, seeing a building, going down to tie their shoes and looking up and not seeing it anymore. For the next 18 hours, oil workers poured into the town hoping to find the children buried beneath the rubble, using their hands to claw out workers, safety workers coming from dallas. Media as well, including a young walter cronkite. The end of this was 300 children dead. One third of the towns average population, incidentally it would be the reason why the federal government would mandate for natural gas. This is life in the oil patch of east texas. For many east texans, the calamity generated new end times thinking. It encouraged them to appreciate life and health and wealth is a miraculous interlude in an otherwise difficult slide towards cataclysmic end. And pray to an allpowerful being who giveth and taketh suddenly but is always there. Theirs was a mentality that defied postmillennial confidence in the benefit of this. Rockefellers confidence. And accepted the reversals of an apocalyptic mode. But rather than dwell on despair, local pastors urged citizens to renew their faith in a christ who expected them to use what prosperity they had in the passing moment to prepare for his return. Surely god is beginning a revival here that is destined to sweep america, they charged in the wake of the new london disaster. Fourth dimension of this, and this is where we will focus on for the remaining moments, the remaining minutes. And that is on the political side of this. The spirit of rebellion that is generated in east texas. Amid the oil patch, citizens absorbed the truth that they alone had the courage to stand out and times darkness with uncompromising drive, including in their work. If time is running out, death and an afterlife on the horizon, what is a person to do but drill, drill, drill. Was it not incumbent on them now to use politics to guarantee them that right. Those who inhabited oil prices patches were therefore filled with a spirit of rebellion. It was led by these cohort or spirit there would be earlier fights on behalf of the wildcaters, talking about a fight of the standard at the federal level, but it is the 1930s that will spark this rebellion in full. We already know that thanks to the work of the historians, it is at the new deal that the rise of the postwar conservatism takes root. Largely in reaction to franklin d. Roosevelts policy on labor. But i argue in the book that we need to also understand just how central oil and texas oil is to this movement. The revolt intensified, therefore, in the 1930s and especially the 1940s. Partly in response to new deal policies, trying to curtail some of the excesses of east texas and the chaos. But also in reaction to u. S. Oils shift abroad. Which was encouraged by the secretary of interior, pictured below on the right. Unable to tap faraway pools, frustrated by washingtons investment in a foreign instead of domestic production, wary of internationalist projects of development, and feeling abandoned, independent oil responded politically. Instrumental in his counteraction was j. Howard pew, whose muscular faith fueled the traditions of his father, not an uncommon story here. The son of a man who was almost driven out of business by standard in western pennsylvania. Jay howard assumed the seriousness of his father. One senator once quipped, a senator who did not appreciate him, that he not only talks like an affidavit, he looks like one. [laughter] he was a seriouslooking fella, with some bushy eyebrows. This was a man who preached a sermon at the companys Christmas Party every year, insisting on why you had to use the king james version. A smart conservative, serious businessman and christian. And as a result of sunocos rootedness in texas, its first kind of leverage would come, and saving the company would come from moving to beaumont almost immediately. And it would take a foothold there. It would then have a big hold of east texas. So even though it was based in pennsylvania, sunoco would become really the square dealer as opposed to the new dealer, the square dealer, familyrun companies of east texas. So Jay Howard Pew kind of assumed the role of wildcat political warrior naturally. What were some of the initial political victories . And here will take us to the present moment in the next few minutes. How does the spirit of rebellion manifest itself in a broader political moment . Some of these pivots are hidden ones in our history. A first victory for the pews and the wildcaters of east texas and texas as a whole was their dissension and protest against the proposed anglo American Petroleum agreement, which was fashioned by harold ickys as a way for the federal government to align with the british and large Oil Companies to really kind of take new steps in a postwar period to manage the pools and the drill sites that were coming online in the middle east especially. Ickys saw himself as being one of the leaders of this coalition. But, and as he saw, too, this was an attempt to further the internationalist Oil Ambitions and the civil religion crude of crude that were shared. Thanks to those who used the media that they owned, and were considerable, to stir up opposition to the agreement, this would be a failed attempt. The plan would place the american Petroleum Industry under the bureaucratic control of the federal government and expose it to foreign interest. As a result of this protest , which made its way into washington, roosevelt would shelve it, and truman would kill it a short time later. A second victory, isreal becomes a state. Because of their alliances and the need to mandate and work only in arab muslim Oil Producing states, the majors could not move into israel. And so who does israel turn to, lead by a number of Oil Executives with american Oil Experience . They would turn to the independence of texas. The independents from texas would welcome the opportunity and often, with their bibles in hand, would travel to the holy land to use scripture to hunt for crude. It would be a frustrating journey at first, but this is one that continues for many independent oilmen. And strengthening once again this relationship with israel. Pew would have other means of promoting his politics. One would be the formation in 1948 of the Pew Charitable trust, and especially the own trust within this. Which was in his words, to acquaint americans of the values of the free market, paralyzing effects of government controls, and the interdependence of christianity and freedom. Again, nothing subtle. [laughter] the third victory, and key victory to getting us closer to what happens in the 1960s and 1970s, culminating in 1980, is the tidelands controversy. And this is going to arise when truman seizes control of 10 miles offshore oil leasing, not just in texas, but also in california and along the coast in louisiana. This would lead to a revolt of unprecedented nature among independents. And they would fight back. They would fight in 1948 on behalf of the dixiecrat party. We know about the issue of race and civil rights and how that sparked Strom Thurmonds alternative to the democratic party. But the fight for tidelands control was also important as well. More importantly, it would lead to 1952 and the work of wildcaters and their allies in the church. Especially evangelicals in the southwest. Especially evangelical preachers like the emerging star evangelist billy graham, who at this very juncture would make dallas his second home and would make First Baptist his church membership. Hunts perhapshe likely part of his reasoning. But it would be this alliance of an emerging evangelical movement, which again, we know the political outcome of to some degree, and wildcaters that we would see the revolt really come to fruition in 1952. A rally of churches and oil associations behind the eisenhower ticket. Not just rallying behind the ticket, but in the case of billy graham being instrumental in wooing Dwight Eisenhower to the republican ticket. The result would be an eisenhower victory on a platform of handing back control the tidelands to the states. And this was a very valuable commodity, much of the leasing was funding Public Education in texas. Again, so the fight for control of tidelands was also a family values political issue. Forging this alliance that would have lasting effects. And you might be wondering what this is. This is Billy Grahams Evangelistic Ministry that started a movie company. His first movie produced was mr. Texas. The second movie was oil town usa based in texas. Celebrating the potential of the wildcater should he come to christ and personal salvation to use that wealth and those riches to promote the gospel that billy graham preached to large audiences throughout the world. What were some of the next steps beyond this . The unabashed evangelical push for petroleum would continue. In 1964, many powerbrokers within this emerging block threw support behind barry goldwater, which caused liberal critics to rail against extremists in the oil fund the political right. But for independent oil churchmen like pew, there was no question who was on the wrong side of the spectrum, rockefeller republicans. Besides conjuring up bad memories of one familys near destruction of another , rockefeller also registered with pew as the face of a coercive system of centralization and compromise that had long threatened to emasculate his profession and the countrys beliefs. I know much about rockefeller, pugh wrote privately, he is the worst person to become president of this country of ours. To put a republican in as president like nelson who supports all the evils that have brought the country, would be the most tragic thing that could happen. They gave pugh great pleasure, the acceptance speech trumpeted the wildcat ethic. I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and let me remind you that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. Having defeated their archrival, and in many ways his vision, goldwater assumed control of the republican party. Meanwhile, they continued to build economic empires. Oil production and refining centers designed to secure oil reserves for the continent. One of the most impressive was the great canadian oilsands project, built in 1960 by Jay Howard Pew in partnership with the evangelical premier of alberta at the time, whose friendship was shared thanks to billy graham. So kind of a triangulation of politics, religion, and oil. In 1952, poew would invest 250 million. This would be the largest private investment of its kind in canada at that juncture. 54,000 acres out of which they wanted to draw oil. The project began in 1964, at least it was christened. And in 1967, the opening ceremonies was a great celebration full of prayer and singing, almost like a revival. This venture combines drama and science. Man against nature. Daring the risk of large financial resources. Some proudly announced at the time. Great Canadian Oil Sand stood at the tribute to mans inventiveness and determination to overcome the obstacles of nature and the signal that the dawn of a new age arrived. Richard nixon would rely on the same system of support to win his victory in 1968 and 1972. His vision was tightly attuned to the religious topography of the oil patch. Through his rise through his ties rather to billy graham and sunbeltbased ministries, he gained access to the aspirations of an ascendant force that would soon redefine the american landscape. Indeed, the Energy Crises of the 1970s would empower this southwestern based evangelical and oil movement and republican right. On one hand, the global ruptures of the decade and the struggles of major Oil Companies to handle opec and the quest by arab Oil Producing countries to nationalize their industries undermined the multinational corporations and the civil religions of crude that rockefeller once stood for. On the other, the prosperity gospel that had captured the Southwestern Oil patch mindset in the 1930s now bloomed on a national stage, propelling the evangelical movement phenomena that was associated with as a whole into the national consciousness. Famously of course one magazine declaring 1976 the year of the evangelicals, as well as oilfunded superstructures of education and church ministry. Like oral roberts here in tulsa. All symbolizing the rise of this oilfueled evangelical movement. Which was really by this point, the beating heart of wildcat christianity. Meanwhile, evangelicals purchased books that gained the crisis pinned the energy on u. S. Reliance on muslim controlled oil. The alliance created by the Rockefeller Center contrary prophesies the end of the world was imminent because washington had forsaken the interest of values of independent oil. Among the most popular author of such books is john, based right here at dallas theological seminary, who wrote for a sprawling national audience. His 1970s text armageddon, oil in the middle east crisis, reached millions of viewers. He channeled his end times angst against environmentalists who made america dependent on nonchristian others. Were americans able to tap oil just off the gulf coast in , alaska, underneath southwestern soil and the shale deposits of colorado and wyoming, he asserted they might yet survive another day. Pairing premillennialist understandings of time with fears of peak oil, arab, muslim control over oil and the threats of israel and the kind of american power, evangelicals in the southwest, oil and Church Associations forcefully sold the message that it was the patriotic independence of u. S. Oil patch that could save america from the dependence on foreigners and from its slide into godlessness. Wildcating oil warriors did not just want revival, they wanted to bring their fuel and family values to the white house. Jimmy carter would feel the effects of that ambition. To be sure, and as historians have emphasized, social politics looms large as well. Carter supported the equal rights amendment and womens rights. They all wrangled evangelicals, who by 1979 had come to see jimmy carter as anything but evangelical. Independent oil men were among those who led the fight of for social conservativism. With Jay Howard Pew now deceased, it was up to other wildcaters to bankroll the cause. One of the biggest boosters was. Unts son the junior hunt had the crusade for christ, which proposed a one billion venture to proselytize youth, and sponsor a christian apologist, whose 1979 manifesto sparked evangelicals antiabortion crusade. But not much triggered hunt in his rage more than Carters Energy politics. The president s support of the e. R. A. And abortion rights infuriated them. But carters crisis of confidence speech was equally damming in their eyes. Carter bemoaned the nations high energy consumption. The attack on oil in moralistic terms of was in their mind the final straw. Over the course of the next year, republican candidate Ronald Reagan inflamed their anger with his harddriving quest for the presidency. Running on the slogan lets make lets make America Great again he won the hearts and minds of the american oil patch. [laughter] we must remove obstacles to oil production, he declared. It is no program to say simply use less energy. Exuding the audacity that the oil patch embrace, he mingled with preachers promising them the nation would be great again as soon as washingtons. Bureaucrats let rugged wildcaters is open up new frontiers and pioneers raise their children in communities calibrated to the morals of their past. The structure of the wildcat christianity is oil funded mega churches pastors would welcome his family values message. Reagan would reward his supporters by making one of them his secretary of the interior. In this role pentecostal james watt would see to it that evangelicalisms longstanding fears of encouragement on the resources would find policy outlets, and in the spirit of wildcaters who had begun their fight against the new deal order by confronting an interior secretary of a different ilk he promised to restore the oil patch to the people who headlong worked at as theirs. Although watts career in washington would be short, the wildcat revolt would continue to strengthen in the 1980s and yet and beyond right to today. Each step forward when me to step back for the dreams like william eddy. Rising frustrations of opec, festering worry about liberal Energy Policy and heighten aramco, withith whom eddy had befriended and suspicions that americans turn ed to foreign oil in 1940 was at the root of the Oil Shortages in the 1970s. By the 1980s with saudi arabia now sole owner of aramco, the Alliance Moral disbanded. And william eddys generation dead or dying, one could say that the American Century and the twin pillars of International Oil and religion had succumbed. Of course, there are other signs including the persian gulf war. And a violent remapping of Oil Interests and american confidence in the middle east. Today it is very clear that the exceptional authority is no longer americas to enjoy alone. Major oils ambassadors who went out into the world to educate people in the fantastic possibility of the black stuff helped spur other myths of exceptionalism. One should consider it the wildcaters day in the sun. We are putting American Energy first, mike pence proclaimed in midland. He heralded the three pillars of american greatness, faith freedom faith, freedom and Natural Resources and promised that developing them would make America Great again. A familiar refrain, one that j. Howards peers would recognize. At the same time, the oil patch as ecstatic is also misleading. As much as ive emphasized two of the 20th century oil patch, gospels others have created legacies as well. Recent battles over energy and environment have exposed dissent and theil patches efficacy of the wildcat imperative. Children of the wildcat gospel and the oil patch are rallying against the Keystone Pipeline and the alberta oilsands. One young evangelist among them for the carbon free gospel states it simply many people , see the pipeline as a political or economic issue but i see it as a moral issue. Another proselyte promises a power shift brought on by revival on behalf of the planet. Yet another ironic twist joining the Rockefeller Brothers to finance this antialberta oilsands is the Pew Charitable trust. The proud creation of jay howard , the project is now under attack from another one of his institutional legacies. Finally as much as wildcat , religion continues to possess the pulpits of the american oil churches, where fracking permeates vernacular speech, oils effects on Spiritual Health are being debated and decried. Is oil and gas truly of god, they ask . Regardless of what side americans fall in current pipeline and energy politics, one thing remains consistent with the past, and it is a dynamic that president jimmy carter rightly perceived in his 1979 speech, that Energy Debates in this country are as animated by competing worldviews of the here and now and thereafter as they are by sheer economics. And that for combatants across the spectrum, waging them is the moral equivalent of war. Thank you. [applause] we have a few minutes for questions. Thank you very much for your talk tonight. One comment, one question. The comment, it was the event of the New London School explosion by the way, i am a registered professional engineer in the state of texas. It was that one event that the ure implemented the licensing of professional engineers that designed and built public infrastructure. So that was another outflow from that one tragic event. Thank you. The question i have is my grandfather grew up in east texas, longview on the farm. , at that time, the farm boys were flooding from the farm to longview, kilgore, henderson to work out in the fields. Quickly, the parents, the mothers particularly, reeled the boys back in because there was such massive loss of life and limb in that type of occupation. Luckily, im here because he migrated from there into dallas during the depression and left the fields to come here to find a safer employment. But was there anything in your research that talked about trying to reconcile religion with this extremely dangerous life . Great question, great point. Thanks for that story, too. And certainly ive brushed over , in an effort to show how enchanting this oil boom was, it was devastating and people knew from the get go that was the flipside to this, and i could have gone on about that. First of all, those who went to kilgore and longview did not always get jobs. In fact the labor pool was , quickly saturated and they often found themselves in food lines. That did not line up with the prosperity gospel. And, of course, the destruction of lives is just profound. I write in the book of other instances that pale in comparison to new london but almost on a daily basis open up the newspaper and hearing of someone else falling off, killing themselves or impaling themselves. I guess what i would add to that is, even the downside the dark , side of the oil boom, ultimately reinforced this kind of religious worldview that came to expect the calamity. Not necessarily welcoming it, but expecting it as part of the new reality. Pentecostalism. Why would it flourish . It is a sense of the supernatural workings of god in a crazy environment with rich atential, but it is also gospel of healing. Healing revivals would spread throughout the oil patch for this very reason to let average , people handle the grief and handle the the bloody bodies that were around them on a regular basis. So, thanks. Yes . My grandfather worked [inaudible] texas. [inaudible] right. He lost his toe and had to go to the hospital. [inaudible] so, he went to fort worth. A drilling company. Threw him out the window. [laughter] a tough guy to work with. Oh, yeah. For sure. [laughter] thank you very much for your talk. This may be a basic question, but can you talk about what was driving the demand . What was the biggest . Was at the use, the heating oil, vehicles . You talked mostly about the supply side but what about the demand . That changes over time. Early on it is mostly aluminum. As the whale industry dies in the mid19th century there needs to be alternatives. Oil would come to represent that possibility. Lubricants for machinery. By the turnofthecentury, fuel, of course and that would be, famously churchill turning , the British Naval fleet to oil rather than coal which comes with a whole host of geopolitical strategies that are going to lead to the 20th century of war. Then, of course, the automobile in the 1920s and the 1950s with, as we were talking about the dawn of the hydrocarbon age , and the age of freeways and expansion of suburbs and so forth. During war, fuel of all kinds. , heact, as much as pew loved getting those federal contracts during world war ii. Sunoco produce refined, i think, more high quality Aviation Fuel than any other company, i think matching standard new jersey. , for thosegovernment contracts and that allowed pew to come out of the war, all the better positioned to have an influence. So. Yes . I recently finished Rachel Maddows book blowout. Have you read it . This question comes up often. I should probably just sit down and read it. I was just going to ask you to comment because im sure she has read your book as part of her research but she further connects the dots of big oil with the far right but also into countries that are not democratic because, where people have a voice, they make them reduce their margins to clean up after themselves, etc. Thanks. Good question. Well, i hope shes read my book. I have been at a few of these talks where they are like you , have got to send her your book. I have sent her my book. If you have direct access maybe , send her an email. She is on the mark. And what you heard today and will read through the book is you know, i think, how to put it, giving these subjects at all levels somewhat the benefit of the doubt, trying to show the textured, detailed description narrative of just how oil has certainly been a Destructive Force globally. These same companies have done great damage, something that Rachel Maddow highlights and rightly so. I am trying to explain in a broader historical narrative and context just how people were willing to take on those costs, level, orpersonal what were their motivations, their intent. And i highlighted, i am not trying to be, to romanticize this, but i highlighted a few individuals whose work for international Oil Companies stemmed from profound personal convictions. And they certainly wrestled with the muddiness of middle eastern politics. William eddie would die in the early 1960s a very bitter man because he saw the American Government shifting course from this moral alliance toward support of israel. So, he saw how this region was erupting. He grappled with the fact that he was partly responsible for bringing oil to this region or building an apparatus. So, yeah, that is the dark and very important facet of this story. Im glad Rachel Maddow has told it. I will go read her book and see if she told it well. [laughter] any more questions . Do you envision an addendum to this book with the socalled, uh, singularity of producing our own oil . Do you ever see . Hopefully there is an addendum. That might include i will say this. The addendum will include fracking and some of the more recent, you know, i declare the American Century over as the way i see it but of course, after , another fear of peak oil in the early 2000s, there is plenty of gas and oil now, and American Energy independence is secure more than it was before. That would be one aspect of it, the ways in which, you know, alternative Energy Sources are going to perhaps be expanded on account of the same kind of entrepreneurialism we see in the wildcatting epic of yesteryear. There might be other ways in which this unfolds. Certainly, the Large National companies, the scale now of oil, on a global scale, and the politics of that is also going to become, and saudi arabia and aramco, the most Profitable Company in the world. All of these are things to watch in the coming few years. But, honestly, ive enjoyed my time in oil. I am not sure how much more i will spend. I did enjoy being in texas. On my next topic i have to find a way to come back. Thank you. [applause] that obviously concludes our event, but i would remind you there are books for sale outside and darren will be available to sign them. Thanks again for coming. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] this is American History tv on cspan3, were each weekend we feature 48 hours of programs exploring our nations past. It is easy to follow the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak at cspan. Org coronavirus. Track the spread through the u. S. And the world with interactive maps and charts. Watch briefings and hearings with Public Health specialists any time unfiltered at cspan. Org coronavirus. Tonight, George Mason University professor examines how early americans responded to natural and manmade disasters. Here is a preview. Exception, notable humanitarian relief was not forthcoming from the federal government during the lifetimes of the founders. That exception was in 1827, when Congress Granted the city of a fireria 20,000 after destroyed 53 buildings, leaving many people homeless. We know alexandria is now in virginia, but then it was part of the district of columbia and governed by congress. Federal Disaster Relief for alexandria was considered controversial. Congressman and future president a sizablelk spoke for minority of legislators when he condemned the mesh measure and said it represented a dangerous precedent. In reality, it did not. Instead, it was congresss decision to protect merchants and business interests rather than alleviate human suffering that set the precedent that endured in the United States until the postcivil war era. Merchants benefited from similar legislation after reports of a second big fire in 1806 and so did commercial interest in norfolk and new york city. Congress took these steps to help merchants in the aftermath of the urban fires because cities and their ports as sites of trade and sources of tax dollars were deemed essential to the republics economic health. Earthquakes, and other socalled natural disasters were also common in the early republic. All,f, if it happened at was totally locally organized and privately funded. Governmentss, state rarely allocated funds for Disaster Relief. Learn more about Disaster Relief tonight at 7 00 p. M. Eastern here on American History tv. Next, dermot turing, nephew of alan turing, talks about his book x, y, and z. French,icles how british, and polish spies were able to decipher the german enigma code in wwii. The International Spy museum in washington, d. C. Hosted this event. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the International Spy museum. I am the executive director. Im excited to introduce a program with author dermot turing. He is also the author of a number of other books including alan turing and the bomb breakthrough. He is the nephew of the famous