The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984 Page: 431
468 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
sequently, there have been studies of socialism and populism; biogra-
phies of William H. ("Alfalfa Bill") Murray, Thomas P. Gore, and
Robert S. Kerr; some fine studies of voting behavior by Samuel A.
Kirkpatrick and others at the University of Oklahoma Bureau of Gov-
ernment Research; and scholarly articles, theses, and dissertations on
a variety of political topics. Scales and Goble synthesize this literature
and offer a number of new interpretations. The discussion of pro-
gressivism borrows heavily from Goble's excellent Progressive Okla-
homa, stressing the business orientation of the Democratic progres-
sives and the ineptitude of the Republican opposition. Their analysis
of the failure of the Socialist party is drawn from the works of James
R. Green, Garin Burbank, and others, and emphasizes the opposition
of upper- and upper-middle-class Oklahomans rather than demo-
graphic changes and land consolidation to explain its demise. Their
analyses of the turbulent 192os, with the decade's numerous impeach-
ments and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, is not startling but is rich in
detail. Students of Texas politics will find the story of Murray's gov-
ernorship, the "Bridge War," and the oil-conservation issue of par-
ticular interest. There are many parallels between Texas and Okla-
homa in the development of conservative Democratic opposition to
the New Deal and the rise of Republicanism in the 1950s. Clearly the
economic and demographic changes of the last three decades have
dramatically altered the state's political structure. Thoroughly re-
searched and well written, this book is a solid study of the evolution
of Oklahoma's political system.
The volume edited by the Morgans is broader in subject matter and
more analytical. The initial contribution by Jerome O. Steffen places
the history of Oklahoma in the context of early modern European
history and in the broad framework of American history. His wide-
ranging analysis sets the stage for essays on politics by Danney Goble,
literature by Anne H. Morgan, and Oklahoma's landless farmers by
Sheila Manes. While Goble summarizes Oklahoma Politics: A History,
Anne Morgan breaks new ground with a review of the novels, short
stories, plays, and memoirs written about Oklahoma. The essay by
Manes analyzes the great migrations of Sooners in the period from
1920 to 1950, and her evidence dispels the myths of the "Okies" and
the stereotypes produced by John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
A bibliographical tour de force, Rennard Strickland's essay demon-
strates that the published history of Oklahoma is rich in firsthand ac-431
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984, periodical, 1983/1984; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117150/m1/499/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.