Oklahoma History Academic Standards

OKH.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."

"16 Tons: The Story of Coal in Oklahoma," Crossroads

Oklahoma History Center Education Resources

Traveling Trunks
Oil and Gas

E-Exhibit
The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and New Deal in Oklahoma

The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

Larkin Warner, "Oklahoma Economy"
Kenny A. Franks, "Petroleum Industry"
Brad Agnew, "Twentieth-Century Oklahoma"
LaRadius Allen, "McAlester, James Jackson"
Christopher J. Castaneda, "Phillips Petroleum Company"
Ken Anderson, "Natural Gas"
Anne Hodges Morgan, "Kerr, Robert Samuel"
Ross Peterson-Veatch, "Kerr-McGee Corporation"
Bobby D. Weaver, "Marland, Ernest Whitworth"
Bobby D. Weaver, "Marland Oil Company"
Dan B. Wimberly, "Phillips, Frank Freeman"
Thurman Shuller, "McAlester"
Steven L. Sewell, "Coal"
Keith L. Bryant, Jr., "New Deal"
Chongo Mundende, "Conservation Districts"
Carl E. Gregory, "Tulsa"

Research Center Resources

LeRoy Henry Fischer, Oklahoma's Governors, 1929-1955: Depression to Prosperity (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1983)
John W. Morris, Cities of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1979)
John W. Morris, Drill Bits, Picks, and Shovels: A History of Mineral Resources in Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1982)

Audio/Visual

"History of Coal in Oklahoma: J.J. McAlester," Crossroads
E.W. Marland Inauguration, 1935, (F2009.117.14, OHS)
Sherwood Forest (2004) documentary - follows the story of Samuel Lloyd Noble and the American roughnecks who carried out a top-secret mission to solve the problem of oil shortages in World War II. Request access for your classroom.

Online Primary Sources

"Oil and Gas," Voices of Oklahoma

Additional Resources

"Oklahoma Passage Telecourse #114 Petroleum & Mining - Unit 3, Lesson 4," 1991-09-03, OETA, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Michael Wallis, Oil Man: The Story of Frank Phillips and the Birth of Phillips Petroleum (2014)
"High Stakes: The Life and Times of E.W. Marland," Marland Estate Foundation
John Joseph Mathews, Life and Death of an Oil Man (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1951)
"Frank Phillips," Oklahoma Hall of Fame
"E.W. Marland," Oklahoma Hall of Fame
"Robert S. Kerr," Oklahoma Hall of Fame
"The Marland Family," Marland Estate
"The Legacy of Robert Kerr," The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
James O. Kemm, Tulsa: Oil Capital of the World (Arcadia Publishing: 2004)
"Making Tulsa 'Oil Capital of the World,'" American Oil & Gas Historical Society
Ray Tuttle, "The Explosion of the Oil Capital of the World," Tulsa World, March 10, 1997

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