| Key to Oklahoma |
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Oklahoma and Hard Times: 1920 to 1941Oklahoma in the 1920sWhen World War I ended, demands for Oklahoma’s food crops like wheat and corn declined. So did the demand for cotton and petroleum. Economic hard times returned in 1919 and 1920. The number of unemployed people went up. Many farmers and ranchers lost their land. Several oil companies went bankrupt or nearly so. Led by the old socialists, many workers went on strike and sometimes rioted to protest their bad circumstances. Other national developments also affected Oklahoma after World War I. An influenza epidemic swept the country in 1918 and 1919. The women's temperance movement found success with the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1919. The passage of the 18th Amendment began the era of prohibition. While the intentions of this amendment may have been good, the results proved ineffective. The ban on drinking was a benefit to the illegal trade of alcohol and organized crime. The women's suffrage movement was also rewarded with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, giving women the right to vote in all elections. The social changes, technological advances and illegal trade in alcohol during the 1920's resulted in that decade being known as the Roaring 20's.
Impeachment "fever" struck the Oklahoma legislature in the 1920s. The legislature was much more powerful than the governor, a fact spelled out in the Oklahoma Constitution. The legislature can impeach elected state officials. If two-thirds of the legislators find the official guilty, the person is removed from his/her state office. In 1912, the second governor, Lee Cruce, missed being impeached by only one vote. In 1921, Governor James Robertson also survived an impeached-minded legislature by one vote.
John C. "Our Jack" Walton campaigned against the Klan in 1922 and was elected governor. Thereafter, his name was added to the Klan hate list. Although Walton’s opposition to the Klan was heroic, he took other actions that were most unpopular. Walton spent state money lavishly. He tried to reward his friends and to please his political enemies by awarding all of them government jobs. He interfered with the state’s system of higher education, and he verbally attacked administrators at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M. He forced regents out and gave their jobs to his favorites. The presidents of both universities resigned under protest as did many faculty members. Then, Walton tried to fill their offices with his friends. The students in Norman and Stillwater took to the streets to protest what the Governor was doing. Citizens around the state also criticized Walton. Finally, in 1923, the legislature impeached and convicted him, forcing him out of office. Walton only served ten months of his term. Lieutenant Governor Martin Trapp finished Walton’s term. In 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act was passed, which finally granted full citizenship rights to all Native Americans in the United States. Henry S.Johnston was the next governor who was impeached. Elected in 1926, he was removed in 1929. Johnston was a most unusual politician. He put his astrologer on the state payroll and always consulted the Zodiac to pick the perfect time to sign bills into law. He turned his office over to his secretary and had nothing to do with most legislators. In 1928, he angered them and many other citizens by campaigning for New York’s Al Smith in the presidential race. Smith was a wet (a person who wanted to repeal the 18th amendment of Prohibition). He was also a Catholic and a "city slicker," who opposed the KKK. Whereas, most Oklahomans were Protestants, favored prohibition and tolerated the Klan. After Johnston toured the state campaigning for Smith and making himself more unpopular, he was impeached and removed. Lieutenant Governor William Holloway finished Johnston’s term.
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