OKLAHOMA'S UNITED STATES HOUSE DELEGATION AND PROGRESSIVISM, 1901-1917 By GEORGE O. CARNE~ // . Bachelor of Arts Central Missouri State College Warrensburg, Missouri 1964 Master of Arts Central Missouri State College Warrensburg, Missouri 1965 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May, 1972 OKLAHOMA STATE UNiVERSITY LIBRARY MAY 30 1973 ::.a-:r...... ... ~·· .. , .• ··~.• .. ,..,,.·· ,,.,., OKLAHOMA'S UNITED STATES HOUSE DELEGATION AND PROGRESSIVIS~, 1901-1917 Thesis Approved: Oean of the Graduate College PREFACE This dissertation is a study for a single state, Oklahoma, and is designed to test the prevailing Mowry-Chandler-Hofstadter thesis concerning progressivism. The "progressive profile" as developed in the Mowry-Chandler-Hofstadter thesis characterizes the progressive as one who possessed distinctive social, economic, and political qualities that distinguished him from the non-progressive. In 1965 in a political history seminar at Central Missouri State College, Warrensburg, Missouri, I tested the above model by using a single United States House representative from the state of Missouri. When I came to the Oklahoma State University in 1967, I decided to expand my test of this model by examining the thirteen representatives from Oklahoma during the years 1901 through 1917. In testing the thesis for Oklahoma, I investigated the social, economic, and political characteristics of the members whom Oklahoma sent to the United States House of Representatives during those years, and scrutinized the role they played in the formulation of domestic policy. In addition, a geographical analysis of the various Congressional districts suggested the effects the characteristics of the constituents might have on the representatives. Since progressivism was largely manifested in Congressional enactments, I selected forty-four national political, economic, and social issues which could illuminate the part played by Oklahoma's delegation in the development and revision of national legislation. The analysis included national, state, and local news- iii paper and periodical files as well as the speeches and roll call votes found in the Congressional Record. The comprehensive record of the thirteen Oklahoma House members who served from 1901 through 1917 was thus analyzed so as to assess the progressive or non-progressive nature of their representation. I would like to thank the members of my graduate conunittee for their aid throughout my entire graduate program and for their careful reading of this dissertation: Dr. John F. Rooney, of the Geography Department; Dr. LeRoy H. Fischer, Dr. John A. Sylvester, Dr. Douglas D. Hale, and Dr. Theodore L. Agnew, of the History Department. I owe special thanks to Dr. Homer L. Knight, who, as head of the History Department, made it possible for me to pursue this academic degree, and to Dr. Agnew, the chairman of my graduate conunittee, whose long, hard, and able editorship of my dissertation is appreciated. Dr. Agnew will be remembered for his patience and promptness in seeing me through this academic effort. I would also like to thank Dr. Perry McCandless, Professor of History at Central Missouri State College, Warrensburg, Missouri, for planting ideas in my mind about the nature of progressivism; many friends who tolerated me during this effort; and the people who helped with the research of this manuscript, especially Mrs. Heather Lloyd, the reference librarian of the Oklahoma State University Library, and Mrs. Louise Cook, newspaper librarian at the Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City. But most of all, I want to thank my wife, Janie, whose encourage­ ment, patience, and proofreading assistance was of inestimable value. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. PROGRESSIVISM: DEFINITIONS AND HISTORIOGRAPHY 1 II. OKLAHOMA AND ITS CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: A GEOGRAPHIC-BIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS FROM 1901 TO 1917 26 III. THE TERRITORIAL DELEGATES: DENNIS T. FLYNN AND BIRDS. MCGUIRE 62 IV. OKLAHOMA'S FIRST TWO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATIONS FOLLOWING STATEHOOD •••••••• 80 V. THE 1910 ELECTIONS AND THE SIXTY-SECOND CONGRESS. 120 VI. THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1912 AND THE SIXTY-THIRD CONGRESS ••••••••••• 189 VII. THE ELECTION OF 1914 AND THE SIXTY-FOURTH CONGRESS • 269 VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 308 BIBLIOGRAPHY 336 APPENDIX 352 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Census Characteristics of Oklahoma's 1907-1914 Congressional Districts • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • 40 II. Census Characteristics of Oklahoma's 1914-1951 Congressional Districts 50 III. Representatives in Congress from Oklahoma (Original Districts) •••••••••• 60 IV. Representatives in Congress from Oklahoma (Revised Districts) •••••••••• 61 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Per Cent Urban Population of Oklahoma by Counties: 1910. 28 2. Physiographic Map of Oklahoma •••• 30 3. Congressional Districts, 1907-1913 33 4. Congressional Districts, 1914-1951 34 5. Per Cent of Negroes in Total Population by Counties: 1910 .• 37 6. Per Cent of Non-Protestants in Total Population by Counties (Grouped into Congressional Districts: 1916) •••• 42 7. Per Cent of Negroes in Total Population By Counties: 1920, • 44 8. Per Cent of Land Area in Farms in Oklahoma by Counties: 1910 (Grouped into the Eight Congressional Districts) 46 9. Average Value of Farm Land Per Acre in Oklahoma By Counties: 1910 (Grouped into the Eight Congressional Districts) ••• 48 vi CHAPTER I PROGRESSIVISM: DEFINITIONS AND HISTORIOGRAPHY Before assessing the nature and extent of progressivism in Oklahoma, a definit;ion of term:;,, as they are meant to be understood in this study, is necessary. An analysis of the following questions will be attempted: Who was a progressive? What was progressivism? What was the progressive movement? What is the progressive school of historiography? Perhaps a discussion of the differences of these terms will lead to a clearer understanding of the vernacular that has been used to describe this epoch in American history. With the terminology in greater perspective, an examination of the various schools of interpretation of the period will follow. ~ progressive has been defined by an older source as one who favors the gradual introduction of ~olitical and social reforms by government action.1 A more recent source defined progressive as a term applied, rather vaguely, to persons or theories that claim to favor progress. It stated that the term has often been a convenient 2 label for the omnibus category of views which are "left of center.it For the historian, there appears to be general agreement; that the 1Edward c. Smith and Arnold J. Zurcher, Dictionary of American Politics (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1944), 299a 2Maurice Cranston and Sanford A. Lakoff, eds.,! Glossary of Political Ideas (New York: Basic Books, 1968), 131. 2 goals of the progressive included tariff, tax, and banking reform; regulation of railroads, of trusts, and the employment of child labor; improvement of the conditions of the laborer and the farmer; and political innovations conceived in the interest of perfecting democra­ cy ~nd representative government. These goals, for the purposes of this study, constitute a working definition of the progressive pro­ gram and thus form the basis for a working definition of a progres­ sive. The terms progressive and progressivism, as used in the present study, do not necessarily reflect any commitment on the part of the writer to the view that there was at any time during the period from 1901 to 1917 any large group of men who were in agreement on all of the goals included in the reform program. Rather these terms and the definition refer to a trend that historians have apparently ob­ served in the politics of the United States during the period from 1901 to L917, and to the issues that historians suggest became upper­ most in the politics of that period. Further insight as to the definition of a progressive and progressivism can be obtained by looking at the writings of the avowed progressives and how they viewed themselves and their beliefs. J~gl~g by the autobiographies of many of the progressives, Henry George was a kind of Martin Luther to progressivism, a critic whose challenge to orthodoxy in his 1879 book entitled Progress~ Poverty opened the gateway to numerous conversions to the reform movement. Writing in the midst of the depress;i.oh of the 1870' s, George saw progress as a social process, rather than a mere advance of science or a fulfillment of individual fortunes. He believed that the "gar­ ments of laws, customs, and political institutions which each society 3 weaves for itself, are constantly tending to become too tight as the 3 society develops•" In a fine metaphor that struck the keynote of progressive thought• George suggested that men in a community, like sailors adrift in a lifeboat, must pull together to conserve their energies and together chart their course. George's work became some- thing of a catechism for .progre.s.sives, especially those who became active.at the outset of the twentieth century. The rhetoric of the progressives seemed to satisfy their need for a sense of forward motion, and their phraseology held deep signiH­ capce in· their· beliefs. , Therefore, additional understanding of progressivism can be gained by evaluating the words of three of the leading progressives of the periodt Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Robert M. LaFollette, who convey the sentiments o:f: the progressive spirit~ Roosevelt, as he battled at Armageddon in 1912, said that "progressives stand for the rights of the people." His approach to national problems was one of "understanding and good faith." The main purpose of progressivism• according 'to this leading progressive, was 1.1to place the American people in possession of their birthright, to secure for all the American people unobstructed access to the 4 fountains of measureless prosperity which their creator offers them~" In an article entitled ''Who is a Progressive," written earlier in 3 Henry George, Progress and rov~r,ty (New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1929), 514.