(2/22/24) Starting a Research Project

So this is going to be my first real research project, so I thought I'd give what I'm thinking at the start of it. This project is for a class I'm taking for my degree, but I figured I'd probably find a bunch of stuff that was interesting that didn't fit into the the paper, and that those things would probably work well in a blog format. I'll probably post the final result of this project here as well.

I chose this particular topic for a couple reasons. For one, the class, while mostly intended to teach history majors how to do research, is done through the lens of family history, and my family is from Southeast Texas, where a lot of early oil industry took place. Secondly, I am very interested in industrial and labor history, so this specific topic appeals to me a lot on that front. I don't know how big my scope will be at this point, I'm only just getting started. My hope is to focus on just oil extraction in southeast Texas, around Beaumont and Spindletop, but there's a decent chance that I'll have to expand the scope a bit to capture the refineries and Houston as well. It'll depend on what sources I'm able to find. Either way, I'm definitely looking forwards to it.