| Key to Oklahoma |
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The Early 20th Century: 1907 to 1920
Early Statehood GovernmentDemocrat Charles Haskell was a railroad promoter from Muskogee. He became the first governor. He helped the first state legislature, also controlled by the Democrats, pass the first laws to implement the progressive Oklahoma Constitution. Lawmakers passed laws to protect laborers. There were safety codes in mines, in factories and in other work places. An employers liability act and a workmen’s compensation law protected workers financially if they were injured on the job. Child labor was forbidden. Instead of forcing children to work, the legislature passed a compulsory education law. All children between the ages of eight and sixteen had to attend school for a term of from three to nine months a year. A Corporate Commission was established to regulate business and public utilities. Unfortunately, the first legislature also passed a series of "Jim Crow" laws that enforced segregation of the races. Those laws set the black community apart from whites. Many whites discriminated against them until the modern era. For example, schools were rigidly segregated as were transportation facilities and many public places like restaurants, cafes and hotels. A.C. Hamlin was the first black elected to the state legislature in 1908, however, he was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1910 when an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution prevented most African Americans from voting.
When they realized that they had lost the capital, Guthrie’s leaders filed suit in court. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, but the justices refused to interfere because such a huge majority had voted for Oklahoma City.
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