Railroads:

• Began to build through Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory
• A railroad guaranteed growth - many towns would give the railroads "BONUS" money to build through their town

  Example: The Santa Fe RR was to pass through small town of Cross - Ponca City gave "bonus" $$$ and the RR was built through Ponca City.

• Sapulpa, Tulsa, and OKC grew up along the Railroads
• Interurbans - Short RR's or electric trolleys that ran within a city first appeared in OKC in 1902.
  • Interurbans came to Guthrie, El Reno, McAlester, Muskogee

Coal:

• Coal was being mined around McAlester in 1870's
• 1896 Law gave mineral rights to Mining Companies - ending $$$ for the Indians (later rights given back to Indians)
• By 1900's over 100 mines producing over 3 million tons of a coal a year
• Oklahoma mines dangerous - more men killed
• Labor Unions - (which were illegal) tried to organize
  • 1898 - 1st Union organized
  • 1903 - Twin Territory Federation of Labor - united workers from both territories

• 1897 - Nellie Johnstone No. 1 - 1st to strike oil near Bartlesville
• Oil wells began to spring up in Indian Territory
  • Most productive was SE of Salpulpa in Glen Pool
  • Workers began to flock to Indian Territory
  • The Texas Company (Texaco) and Gulf Refining Co. built pipelines from Glen Pool to Texas
• Tulsa became fastest growing city in US

• Mined by Peoria Indians in NE Oklahoma (Ottawa Co.)
• Tri-State District (Ok - Kansas - Missouri)
  • James Robinson, Charles Harvey, Alfred Coleman, and George Coleman
    • Formed Commerce Mining and Royalty Co.
      • Name given to Commerce, OK

Charles Haskell and William H. Murray leaders in movement for Indian State

• Indian state was to be called Sequoyah
• People of Indian Territory approved the Constitution
• Took to U.S. Congress - but they had decided to create a single state - Oklahoma

• People of both territories (Twin Territories) to write a single constitution
• Delegates to Constitution Convention were to be elected - 55 from Oklahoma Territory and 2 from the Osage Nation
  • 99 Democrats and 12 Republicans elected, 1 Indian
  • William Murray elected as convention president
  • Peter Hanraty elected vice president of convention
• Created Bicameral legislature - 2 Houses - Senate and House of Representatives
• Governor executive branch

Prohibition: outlawing alcohol

• Oklahoma was "wet" - Indian Territory was "dry"
• Temperance movement strong - fought for prohibition
  • Carrie Nation - attacked bars with an axe: published anti-alcohol paper The Hatchet
  • She lived in Guthrie for five years before statehood to insure that Oklahoma would enter the Union as a "dry" state.
• Many settlers were immigrants - alcohol part of their culture

Labor Rights: Most written by Peter Hanraty - labor leader

• Laws to protect health and safety of workers
• Right to recover damages if hurt
• 8 hr day
• convict labor prohibited
• child labor in dangerous jobs prohibited (under 15)

Black Rights:

• many towns would not sell or rent to blacks - leading to separate towns
• Ku Klux Klan - against blacks, Jews, Catholics - used terror and violence

Many problems with Constitution:

• Trouble with taxes
• Blacks rioted
• Congress refused to approve it

September 17, 1907 - 1st elections were held.

• Constitution approved by people
• All people elected were democrats
• Charles Haskell first governor
• Robert Owen and Thomas Gore - 1st State Senators
• Kate Bernard - elected (without opposition) to commissioner of Charities and Corrections
  • One of the first women elected to state office in USA
  • Prohibition passed 130,361 to 112,258 - OK dry state

• Statehood documents from the National Archives
• Guthrie was first capital

• 1st law passed - segregation - RR cars and in waiting rooms
  • blacks rioted - in Taft, blacks burned railroad station
• passed income taxes, bank regulation laws and created a labor board to solve workers disputes

• Republican William Howard Taft was elected president
  • Oklahomans supported William Jennings Bryan
• Democrats won state elections - but by smaller margins
• Blacks were voting and supporting the Republicans
  • To keep blacks from voting passed Grandfather Clause
    • Had to be able to read and write
    • Be a descendant of a person eligible to vote in 1866

• Guthrie was to be capital until 1913, then new could be chosen
  • Guthrie was Republican controlled and OKC was Democratic
  • Democrats passed law stating that any town could apply to become capital
    • Several towns put in for capital to be moved to their town
  • Elections were held for new capital
    • Before results were in, Charles Haskell took legal items and moved capitol to the Lee-Huckins Hotel in OKC
    • Guthrie put up legal battle and election was ruled invalid
    • Haskell called congress together and they passed law stating that Oklahoma City was new capital
      • Haskell's actions upset many, he lost next election to Lee Cruce in 1910
        • Cruce did not get along with congress
          • They tried to impeach him but missed by 1 vote
• November 5, 1912 another election was held to determine the Capital city − OKC defeated Guthrie, the official Capitol would be located in OKC.