Progressivism

The discussions at the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention—and the compromises and decisions that emerged—were heavily influenced by the national movement of Progressivism. Progressive ideas and concerns (including conflicting views and notions about the process of government) shaped the new constitution. Progressivism emerged nationally at the end of the nineteenth century and dominated the first two decades of the twentieth century. Progressives did not all share the same set of beliefs. Some were Republicans and some were Democrats. Others were Socialists. Some wanted women to have the right to vote and for voters to directly elect US Senators (rather than state legislators selecting them). Some were focused on protecting the rights of workers, including the right to form labor unions, and on making working conditions safer. Others focused on fair competition among businesses or making sure food and medications were safe for consumers. These are just a few examples of the range of issues Progressives addressed in the early twentieth century as Oklahoma moved toward statehood.

While Progressives did not all want the same thing or even have the same political affiliation, they did have something important in common. And this is what led to them being called “Progressives.” They believed that progress and improvement were possible through passing new laws. The phrase “investigate, educate, legislate” is a helpful way of thinking about the process that Progressives aimed to follow, regardless of what they hoped to achieve. First, a problem had to be investigated to understand exactly what was happening. Next, the public and lawmakers needed to be told what the problem was. Finally, laws had to be passed to fix the problem.

This basic approach of Progressivism is important to understand here because it helps explain why Oklahoma’s constitution is as long and complicated as it is. Most Progressives shared a belief that with enough planning and attention to detail, it was possible to write the perfect constitution, and Oklahoma statehood provided an excellent opportunity for such a grand Progressive undertaking. The movement of Populism, which focused on protecting the rights of individuals and limiting the power of corporations, also heavily influenced both Progressivism and the drafting of the new Oklahoma Constitution.

Populism

Industrialization changed the US economy in the 1800s. It created a stark division between the big capitalists and the laborers. The big capitalists owned the businesses and gained a lot of wealth for themselves. The laborers made the products. They often worked for low wages. These workers felt their sacrifices were only lining the pockets of the big corporations, which included major banks, newspapers, railroads, and manufacturers. Farmers in Oklahoma felt the same way. They labored hard under difficult conditions. Yet the leases on their lands continued to increase in cost. While they were struggling to make a living, it seemed others were profiting from their poor conditions.

Oklahoma farmers of the late 1800s faced a lot of obstacles. First, many droughts caused crop failures. Second, from the 1860s to the 1890s, the price of farm products fell by sixty percent. Farmers could barely make a living. They felt the politicians were not doing anything to help. The farmers united to try to gain some power over government policies. They did this by forming the Populist or People’s Party. They wanted to put in place higher food prices. They wanted lower railroad costs. They also aimed to improve mortgage policies to make them fairer for farmers. This would stop them from losing their land. The economic problems of farming families were a major focus of the populist movement. These families were feeling hopeless, and the Populists wanted more than anything to relieve their suffering. Populist farmers felt like they were in a war with the wealthy, and they were losing.

Oklahoma was full of people who were open to the Populist message. By organizing the land runs, the government had tried to keep corporations from claiming big pieces of land. The distribution of land to so many people stopped corporations from turning around and selling the land for a profit. Because of the Homestead Act laws and the land runs, farmers or farming families had mostly settled Oklahoma. They had 160 acres and were trying to live off their plots. The farmers took pride in the labor they performed to produce food for American markets. They saw themselves as poor, hard-working farmers going up against wealthy banks and railroads. Such businesses held the power to earn money by buying and selling land or to transport their products to markets. They also saw big “cattle kingdom” ranchers as the enemy, since they held big tracts of land and had more wealth than farmers.

The Populist Party was unique because women were at the center of their activities. Women participated by speaking in public meetings and writing poems and songs. They did all these things to advocate for their causes, which included family economics, education, and spreading the Populist message. Mary Elizabeth Lease, a citizen of Kansas, became one of the nation’s most important Populist speakers.

In 1896, the People’s Party in Oklahoma agreed to work together with the Democratic party. This resulted in a Democratic sweep in the territorial elections. The partnership allowed for the election of many Populists, including Cora Diehl, a twenty-one-year-old Kansan. She was the first woman to win an election for territorial office.

Education and Unions

Within the context of Progressive and Populist influences, there were two important topics that were much debated in discussions about what the state of Oklahoma might be like. A number of Progressives strongly supported free compulsory (required) education. In the years following the end of the Civil War in 1865, compulsory school laws expanded, which led to a significant increase in literacy. Supporters of public education argued strongly that the state had an obligation to provide an education to its young people. Shortly after statehood, advocates of state-funded public education won a significant victory with the passage of Senate Bill 109. The new law called for the establishment and maintenance of an agricultural high school in each of the six districts. The job of these six high schools was to educate young people in both liberal arts subjects like history, literature, and language and in agricultural science and domestic science, for example cooking and sewing.

The role of unions and the rights of both farmers and industrial workers influenced the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution. The number of unions had steadily grown during the territorial period. For example, the Farmers’ Educational and Cooperative Union tried to protect farmers from corrupt landlords, high interest rates, and price gouging by railroads. The Twin Territorial Federation of Labor focused on fair wages and workplace safety. The United Mine Workers of America worried about the dangerous conditions and low wages that miners in Oklahoma faced. Other farming and labor unions emerged during this time and hoped to encourage state convention delegates to include protections for farmers and workers in the new constitution.

Farmers dealt with great uncertainty. They faced unpredictable weather (which the state could not control) and the rising price of farm goods. The state had no control over the weather or food prices but could perhaps exert some protection from large corporations. Industrial workers dealt with low wages and unsafe working conditions. Neither farmers nor industrial workers got near to what they wanted from the constitutional convention, but they were successful in advancing a greater understanding of the need to regulate railroads and large corporations.