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Patricia Bellis Bixel’s “‘It Must Be Made Safe’: Galveston, Texas and the 1900 Story” gives us an in depth look at the political side of the effects of the Galveston Hurricane. The people responded with two aspects of the Progressive era of political reform and reliance on modern technology that they used to come together and rebuild their town.
Unsurprisingly they begin with focusing on engineering solutions and fortifications that would better prevent or withstand another hurricane. Many ideas resulted in physical fortifications of large shore walls and embankments, or more technological that included placing a battery at the far shores off Galveston. Ideas also advocated for the city to move off the shore completely, justifying that it was too dangerous of an area. W.L. Moody Sr. creates the strongest motivation of staying at the current location when he claims that if another hurricane were to wipe all human life off the shores, men and women would still come and populate the area. What was decided was a simple concrete wall that stopped the waves.
People of Galveston also condemned their government system, saying that the public officials had different interest for the town compared to the general population of Galveston. They realized they needed a new form of government that would work better with rebuilding the town. Galveston nearly had a complete overhaul of their political system, employing five city commissioners that would each be assigned to a certain department of the city. The system seemed to work well as they all were working toward their common goal of rebuilding. I agree with mvanderdussen that the system worked well because the people chosen to oversee each department were most likely the most committed citizens to Galveston.
The people of Galveston reliance of modern technology and political reform ultimately helped them rebuild a town that would be more prepared for another hurricane.