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{{Infobox officeholder
| image = William H. Murray.jpg
| caption = Murray, {{circa|1930s}} 1930s
| order = 9th
| office = Governor of Oklahoma
Line 13:
| predecessor = [[William J. Holloway]]
| successor = [[E. W. Marland|Ernest W. Marland]]
| office1 = Proprietor of the [[Aguairenda]] Colony, Bolivia
| president1 = [[Bautista Saavedra]]<br>[[Felipe Segundo Guzmán]]<br>[[Hernando Siles]]
| term_start1 = 1923
| term_end1 = August 6, 1928
| predecessor1 = ''Position established''
| successor1 = Colony charter revoked
| office2 = Member of the<br>[[U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Oklahoma]]
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| term_end4 = 1909
| predecessor4 = Position established
| successor4 = [[J. M. Ratliff]]
| birth_name = William Henry Davis Murray
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1869|11|21|mf=y}}
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| profession = [[Teacher]], [[lawyer]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| footnotes =
}}
'''William Henry Davis''' "'''Alfalfa Bill'''" '''Murray''' (November 21, 1869&nbsp;– October 15, 1956) was an American [[educator]], [[lawyer]], and [[politician]] who became active in [[Oklahoma]] before statehoodserved as legalthe adviser to Governorfirst [[Douglas H. Johnston]]Speaker of the [[ChickasawOklahoma NationHouse of Representatives]]., Although nota [[IndigenousU.S. peoples of the Americas|American IndianCongressman]], hefrom wasOklahoma, appointed by Johnstonand as the Chickasaw delegate to the 1905 Convention for the proposed9th [[StateGovernor of SequoyahOklahoma]]. Later heHe was electeda as[[Southern aDemocrat]]ic delegatemember toof the 1906[[Democratic constitutionalParty convention(United forStates)|Democratic theParty]] proposedwho stateopposed ofthe Oklahoma;[[New itDeal]] wasand admittedsupported in[[racial 1907segregation]].
 
Murray started his political career with several failed runs for political office in his home state of [[Texas]] before moving to [[Indian Territory]] where he married [[Mary Alice Hearrell Murray]], the niece of [[Chickasaw Nation]] Governor [[Douglas H. Johnston]]. Although not [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indian]], he was appointed by Johnston as the Chickasaw delegate to the 1905 Convention for the proposed [[State of Sequoyah]] and later he was elected as a delegate to the 1906 [[Oklahoma Constitutional Convention]] for the proposed state of [[Oklahoma]]. He served as the president of both [[Constituent assembly|constitutional conventions]].
 
Murray was elected as a representative and the first [[Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives]] after statehood. He also was elected as [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] (D-Oklahoma), serving between 1913 and 1917.
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After returning to Oklahoma, he was elected the ninth [[governor of Oklahoma]], serving from 1931 to 1935. During his tenure as governor in years of the [[Great Depression]], he established a record for the number of times he used the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] to perform duties in the state and for declaring martial law at a time of unrest.
 
In his later life, Murray published a three-volume memoir and several books which contained [[Racism|racist]] and [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] claims. Historian [[Reinhard H. Luthin]] described his [[populist]] campaign tactics and rhetoric as [[demagoguery]]. His son, [[Johnston Murray]], was later elected Governor of Oklahoma.
 
==Early life, education, and family==
William Henry Davis Murray was born on November 21, 1869, in the[[Collinsville, townTexas]].{{Efn|After waking up from a night of drinking in 1932, Murray claimed he was actually from [[CollinsvilleToadsuck, Texas|Toadsuck]], Texasa (renamedplace "Collinsville"which didn't exist, besides for the Toadsuck Saloon in Collinsville.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-12 |title=Toadsuck, Texas: A fake town people think was real |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/features/toadsuck-texas-a-fake-town-people-think-was-real/287-b9d60158-4a06-4812-8c9b-e6e4a5b7dde9 |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Power |first=Texas Co-op |title=How Did the 1880s)Former Town of Toadsuck Get Its Name? |url=https://texascooppower.com/a-town-called-toadsuck/ |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=Texas Co-op Power |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Strong |first=W. F. |date=2022-05-04 |title=What happened to Toadsuck, Texas? - KUT & KUTX Studios - Podcasts |url=https://kutkutx.studio/stories-from-texas/what-happened-to-toadsuck-texas |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts |language=en-US}}</ref>|group=note}} He was born to Uriah Dow Thomas Murray, a [[grist mill]] worker, and Bertha Elizabeth (Jones). Uriah Murray was born in Tennessee in 1839, moved to [[Texas]] in 1852, and was descended from [[Scottish people|Scottish]] immigrants. He had two older brothers: John Shade Murray and George Thomas Murray. He had a younger sister and brother who died in infancy. His mother died when he was two years old and in 1873 his father remarried to Mollie Green, a widow from [[Montague, Texas]].{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=103}}
 
After the marriage, Murray moved with his father and brothers to [[Montague, Texas]].{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=103-104}} Uriah opened a grocery store and butcher shop and had seven more children with Mollie Green. On September 18, 1881, he ran away from home with his two older brothers. He worked picking [[cotton]], chopping wood, and as a bricklayer before attending public school in Keeter.{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=104}} Murray attended College Hill Institute in [[Springtown, Texas]], and started selling books to pay for school. He graduated from College Hill with a teaching degree in 1889 and began teaching in a public school in [[Parker County, Texas]].{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=105}} During this time he attended a [[Campbellite]] church, but was not particularly religious.{{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=486}}
 
===Early career in Texas===
Murray became politically active and joined the Farmers' Alliance and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], and was a vocal critic of the [[People's Party (United States)|People's Party]].{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=106}}<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaBill" /> In 1890, he was a delegate to Texas State Democratic Convention.{{sfn|Henry|1985|p=14}} In 1891, he wrote for the ''The Farmer's World'', a Dallas newspaper.{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=108}} In 1892, he ran the [[Texas Senate]] against [[Oscar Branch Colquitt]] and [[George Taylor Jester]], coming in third in the Democratic primary.{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=110}} In late 1893, he launched the ''The Corsicana Daily News'' and ''The Navarro County News'' with his brother George.{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=112}} In 1894, he again lost a race for the Texas Senate to Colquitt.{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=113}}
 
After [[reading the law]] and passing the Texas [[bar exam]] in 1897, he moved to [[Fort Worth, Texas]] and began practicing law.{{sfn|Bryant|1965|p=113}} He later worked as a writer for the ''Fort Worth Gazette''.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaBill"/> He was a skilled orator and campaigned for [[James Stephen Hogg]] when the latter ran for Governor of Texas.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaBill"/>{{sfn|Henry|1985|p=14}}
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On March 28, 1898, Murray moved to [[Tishomingo, Oklahoma|Tishomingo]], the capital of the [[Chickasaw Nation]] in the [[Indian Territory]] (now eastern Oklahoma), where quickly became a political and legal advisor to [[Douglas H. Johnston]], the Governor of the [[Chickasaw Nation]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=104}} After he married Johnston's niece [[Mary Alice Hearrell Murray]] on July 19, 1899, he was allowed to practice in Chickasaw courts and started a law practice with Chickasaw Senator M. V. Cheadle.<ref name = "TSHA">{{cite web |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmu16 |title=Murray, William Henry David [Alfalfa Bill] |author=Bryant Jr., Keith L |publisher= The Handbook of Texas Online – Texas State Historical Association |access-date=December 21, 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=104}} The couple had five children, including [[Johnston Murray]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=105}}
 
He acquired his nickname "Alfalfa" around 1902 while working as a political operative for Palmer S. Moseley, gubernatorial candidate for the [[Oklahoma Territory]]. Murray frequently toured to give talks to local farmers about politics and farming. He often referred to a large tract of [[alfalfa]] which he cultivated. Arthur Sinclair, who heard one of his speeches, reported to the editor of the Tishomingo ''Capital-Democrat'' that he had just seen "Alfalfa Bill" deliver one of his finest speeches. The name stuck with Murray for the rest of his life.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
 
===States of Sequoyah and Oklahoma constitutional conventions ===
In 1905, tribal governments in Indian Territory organized a convention to create a constitution for the proposed [[State of Sequoyah]]. Governor Johnston appointed Murray to represent the Chickasaw at the convention in [[Muskogee, Oklahoma|Muskogee]].{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=39}} Of the six delegates at the convention, four were [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]; Murray and [[Charles N. Haskell]] were the only non-tribal, European Americans. The delegates drafted a constitution, which in a referendum was overwhelmingly approved by the voters of the Five Tribes.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
Murray's relationship with the Chickasaw Governor Johnston benefited his political career. By 1903, American Indians of the [[Five Civilized Tribes]] were talking of seeking statehood for Indian Territory as an independent, Indian-controlled state, to be called the [[State of Sequoyah]].
 
Trying to avoid another state that might be dominated by Democrats (because of the Five Civilized Tribes' origin in the Southeast and their histories of slave-holding and alliance with the Confederacy in the Civil War), [[President of the United States|President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], a Republican, opposed separate statehood for Sequoyah. Roosevelt insisted that the Indian and [[Oklahoma Territory|Oklahoma]] territories had to be admitted as one state – Oklahoma.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
In 1905, the tribes organized a convention to draw up a state constitution. Governor Johnston appointed Murray to represent the Chickasaw at the convention in [[Muskogee, Oklahoma|Muskogee]]. Of the six delegates at the convention, four were [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]; Murray and [[Charles N. Haskell]] were the only non-tribal, European Americans. The delegates drafted a constitution, which in a referendum was overwhelmingly approved by the voters of the Five Tribes.
 
In response to Congress's passage of the [[Oklahoma Enabling Act|Enabling Act in 1906]], the people of the two territories held a joint convention. Murray was elected as the delegate for District 104, which included Tishomingo. At the convention in [[Guthrie, Oklahoma|Guthrie]], Murray worked closely with [[Robert L. Williams]] and again with Charles N. Haskell. They became lifelong friends and political allies.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} He was the president of the Guthrie Convention.{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=39}}
Trying to avoid another state that might be dominated by Democrats (because of the Five Civilized Tribes' origin in the Southeast and their histories of slave-holding and alliance with the Confederacy in the Civil War), [[President of the United States|President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], a Republican, opposed separate statehood for Sequoyah. Roosevelt insisted that the Indian and [[Oklahoma Territory|Oklahoma]] territories had to be admitted as one state – Oklahoma.
 
In response to Congress's passage of the [[Oklahoma Enabling Act|Enabling Act in 1906]], the people of the two territories held a joint convention. Murray was elected as the delegate for District 104, which included Tishomingo. At the convention in [[Guthrie, Oklahoma|Guthrie]], Murray worked closely with [[Robert L. Williams]] and again with Charles N. Haskell. They became lifelong friends and political allies.
 
[[File:HASKELL, C.N. GOVERNOR LCCN2016858937 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Murray's friend and Oklahoma founding father [[Charles N. Haskell]].]]
 
Due to his experience in Chickasaw politics, Murray was elected by the delegates in 1906 as the President of the Constitutional Convention.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} During the [[Oklahoma Constitutional Convention]].{{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=487}} Murray fired all [[African American]] clerks and white janitors and rehired them with the white workers as clerks and the African American workers as janitors.{{sfn|Darcy|2008|p=261}} He kept Haskell close to him; one newspaper reported the latter was the "power behind the throne.". Together, the two men controlled the convention, gradually shifting power away from the president and vice-president of the convention, [[Pleasant Porter]] (Creek) and [[Green McCurtain]] (Choctaw). The [[Oklahoma Constitution]] produced under their guidance was substantially based on elements of the Sequoyah Constitution.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
 
The proposed constitution included [[white supremacy|white-supremacist]] and [[segregationist]] causes strongly supported by Murray.<!-- Should be discussed in more detail -->{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} President Roosevelt objected to these clauses and obtained their deletion before the constitution was submitted to Congress. The US Congress admitted Oklahoma to the Union as the 46th state on November 16, 1907.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
 
==Oklahoma politics==
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With the state constitution in place, elections were held in 1907 for offices of the new state government. Murray was elected as a state representative and, after being admitted to office, as the first [[Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives]].{{Sfn|Henry|1985|p=11}} His ally [[Charles Haskell]] was elected as the state's first governor.
 
As a speaker, Murray often opposed the progressive work of [[Kate Barnard]], Commissioner of Charities and Corrections,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Trait |last2=Bass |first2=Elizabeth M. B. |title=Connecting the Dots of History — Celebrating Kate Barnard |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/03/28/kate-barnard-made-history-in-oklahomas-early-days/7018203002/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |date=March 28, 2021}}</ref> supported anti-corporate legislation,{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=106}} and pushed for [[Jim Crow laws]] similar to those in southern states to limit the rights of [[African Americans]].<ref name="Lackmeyer-1">{{cite news |last1=Lackmeyer |first1=Steve |title='Alfalfa Bill' Murray, governor celebrated across Oklahoma, oppressed minorities with Jim Crow laws |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2022/03/24/tributes-oklahoma-governor-alfalfa-bill-murray-exclude-bigotry-antisemitism/9454149002/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |date=March 24, 2022}}</ref>
<blockquote>"We should adopt a provision prohibiting the mixed marriages of negroes with other races in this State, and provide for separate schools and give the Legislature power to separate them in waiting rooms and on passenger coaches, and all other institutions in the State ...… As a rule they are failures as lawyers, doctors and in other professions...Iprofessions…I appreciate the old-time ex-slave, the old darky – and they are the salt of their race – who comes to me talking softly in that humble spirit which should characterize their actions and dealings with the white man.".<ref>Egan, Timothy. ''The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2006.</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2020}}</blockquote>

Murray also supported the creation of five agricultural high schools that later became junior colleges. Four were named after his friends and the fifth was named after himself.{{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=489}} Murray left the state legislature after one term and did not seek re-election in 1908.<ref name="Knoxville Focus">{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Ray |title=‘Alfalfa'Alfalfa Bill’Bill' Governor William H. Murray of Oklahoma |website=[[The Knoxville Focus]] |url=https://www.knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/alfalfa-bill-governor-william-h-murray-of-oklahoma/ |access-date=14 April 2024}}</ref>
 
===1910 and 1918 gubernatorial campaigns and United States Congress===
{{see also|1910 Oklahoma gubernatorial election}}
In 1910, Murray ran for governor but lost in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] primary, but lost to [[Lee Cruce]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=106}} In 1912, Murray lead the Oklahoma delegation to the [[1912 Democratic National Convention]], where he supported [[Woodrow Wilson]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=107}} Also that year, he was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] representing [[Oklahoma's at-large congressional seat]].{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=40}} During his first term he opposed the [[Federal Reserve Act]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=107}} He won re-election in 1914, but lost in 1916. He ran in the [[1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial election]] and lost the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] primary.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=107-108}}
 
===Bolivia colony===
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In 1922, he negotiated with [[Bautista Saavedra]]'s government for a colony in Bolivia, this time in the [[Tarija Department]] twelve miles north of [[Yacuiba]].{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=402}} He received 42,000 acres under a 99-year lease for $1,800. He agreed to settle 25 families by December 31, 1925, and the colony had its export taxes waived. While Saavedra supported the colony, [[Flores Adolfo]] from the Tarija Department argued against the colony being built on traditional Indian lands in his district.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=403}} Proponents of the colony advocated it as a buffer between Paraguay and was approved by the [[Bolivian Congress]] in 1923.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=404}}
 
Colonists were required to follow the laws of Bolivia and a code of laws personally written by Murray. Amongst Murray's laws were a ban on brothels and saloons, a requirement to build a poultry shed within two years, a law that Murray owned all agriculture equipment, and a requirement he must personally approve all land transfers. Any change to the laws required a majority vote and Murray's consent.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=405}} He barred colonists who were members of [[labor unions]], [[socialists]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]s, or born outside the United States. 41 families signed up with 15 leaving on May 4, 1924. About 80 colonists boarded the ''Oroya'' in New Orleans before sailing through [[Havana]], the [[Panama Canal]], to [[Antofagasta, Chile]]. The caravan then traveled by rail to [[Tartagal, Salta|Tartagal]] and then on foot to the [[Tarija Department]] through the [[Andes Mountains]]. The group arrived at [[Aguairenda]], the colony site, on June 18, 1924.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=406}}
 
The colonists immediately discovered much of the best land in the area was already leased by local Indigenous people.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=408}} Colonists, mostly living in the school run by the local Catholic mission, were dissatisfied with the colony's poor living conditions.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=409}} Most colonists left by the end of 1924 and Murray returned home in June 1925 to recruit more colonists.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=413}}{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=416}} Later that year he shifted to trying to recruit Indians from their village at El Palmer.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=416}} With the shift in strategy, the colony grew to nearly 400 and ran Bolivia's first [[cotton gin]].{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=417}} Conflict in the Bolivian Legislature led President [[Hernando Siles]] to demand he create a profitable cotton colony or relinquish his concession. His lease was cancelled on August 6, 1928, and Murray transitioned to raising cattle before finally leaving Aquairenda[[Aguairenda]] on July 24, 1929.{{sfn|Bachhofer|1996|p=420}} He returned to Oklahoma on August 24, 1929.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=108}} After attending a "Constitutional Convention Reunion" later that year and announced another campaign for governor in January 1930.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=109}}
 
===Governor of Oklahoma===
[[File:Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Governor Murray faced the beginnings of both the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Dust Bowl]].]]
Murray won the Democratic nomination, defeating Frank Buttram, the son of a tenant farmer and oil millionaire, in the runoff election.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=110}} He easily defeated Republican Ira Hill in the November election.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=112}} His campaign slogan, at a time of the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Dust Bowl]], railed against "The Three C's – [[Corporation]]s, [[Carpetbaggers]], and [[List of ethnic slurs|Coons]]."<ref>{{cite book|title=Progressive Oklahoma: The Making of a New Kind of State by Danney Goble|last=Gould|first=Lewis L.|publisher=The Journal of American History Vol. 67, No. 3|year=1980|pages=714}}</ref>
 
After attending a "Constitutional Convention Reunion" in 1929, Murray announced another campaign for governor on his wife's birthday: January 9, 1930.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=109}}{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=40}} The primary election included candidates such as [[A. S. J. Shaw]], [[Martin E. Trapp]], [[Everette B. Howard]], and [[Frank M. Bailey]].{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=42-43}} He advanced to a runoff (the first after the state approved a [[runoff election]] law) alongside Frank Buttram.{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=47}} During the runoff campaign, ''[[The Daily Oklahoman]]'', the Altus ''Times-Democrat'', and ''Farmer-Stockman'' all opposed Murray's campaign with ''The Daily Oklahoman'''s [[Edith Cherry Johnson]] writing especially harsh columns accusing him of [[demagoguery]].{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=53-55}} At the state Democratic convention, Murray tightened his control over the party and secured a party resolution encouraging a [[boycott]] of the ''The Daily Oklahoman'' and the ''Times-Democrat''. The ''[[Tulsa Tribune]]'' criticized the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s boycott as "un-Democratic and un-American."{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=59}}
Murray was inaugurated as the ninth Governor of Oklahoma on January 12, 1931, and filled state jobs with many of his political allies and members of the [[Oklahoma Constitutional Convention]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=113}} He faced the harsh problems of the Great Depression. Under the previous Governor, [[William J. Holloway]], the state government had accumulated a deficit of over $5,000,000 in its effort to encourage jobs and provide welfare. Mass unemployment, mortgage foreclosures, the deficit, and bank failures haunted Murray's administration. In 1931, the legislature appropriated $600,000 for emergency necessities. Through money collected from state employees, businessmen, and his own salary, Murray financed programs to feed Oklahoma's poor. No federal relief program had yet been instituted. Murray became a national leader for the victims of the Depression, and called for a national council for relief to be held at [[Memphis, Tennessee]] in June 1931.<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries">{{cite web |title=William H. Murray |url=http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/bios/murray.pdf |publisher=Oklahoma Department of Libraries |access-date=14 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009194750/http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/bios/murray.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2006}}</ref>
 
Murray won the Democratic nomination, defeating Buttram, the son of a tenant farmer and oil millionaire.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=110}}{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=57}} He easily defeated Republican Ira Hill, a former [[Rough Rider]], in the November election.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=112}} His campaign slogan, at a time of the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Dust Bowl]], railed against "The Three C's – [[Corporation]]s, [[Carpetbaggers]], and [[List of ethnic slurs|Coons]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Progressive Oklahoma: The Making of a New Kind of State by Danney Goble|last=Gould|first=Lewis L.|publisher=The Journal of American History Vol. 67, No. 3|year=1980|pages=714}}</ref>
During "Alfalfa Bill" Murray's campaign for governor, he promised to crack down on corruption and favoritism for the rich, to abolish half the clerk jobs at the State House, to appoint no family members, to reduce the number of state-owned cars from 800 to 200, never to use convict labor to compete with commercial labor, and not to abuse the power of pardon. Once in office, he appointed wealthy patrons and 20 of his relatives to high office, purchased more cars, used prisoners to make ice for sale and clean the capitol building, and violated all the other promises. When the State Auditor pointed out that 1,050 new employees had been added to the state payroll, Murray simply said, "Just damned lies." For each abuse of power, Murray claimed a mandate from "the sovereign will of the people."{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=112-114}}
 
Murray was inaugurated as the ninth Governor of Oklahoma on January 12, 1931, and filled state jobs with many of his political allies and members of the [[Oklahoma Constitutional Convention]].{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=113}} He faced the harsh problems of the Great Depression. Under the previous Governor, [[William J. Holloway]], the state government had accumulated a deficit of over $5,000,000 in its effort to encourage jobs and provide welfare. Mass unemployment, mortgage foreclosures, the deficit, and bank failures haunted Murray's administration. In 1931, the legislature appropriated $600,000 for emergency necessities. Through money collected from state employees, businessmen, and his own salary, Murray financed programs to feed Oklahoma's poor. No federal relief program had yet been instituted. Murray became a national leader for the victims of the Depression, and called for a national council for relief to be held at [[Memphis, Tennessee]] in June 1931.<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries">{{cite web |title=William H. Murray |url=http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/bios/murray.pdf |publisher=Oklahoma Department of Libraries |access-date=14 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009194750/http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/bios/murray.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2006}}</ref> During his tenure, he clashed with Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction John Vaughn over his proposed education reforms.{{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=391}} He ordered an investigation into [[William Bizzell]] alleging the [[University of Oklahoma]] suffered from "flagrant immorality and corruption. Bizzell was charged, but charges were later dropped.{{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=392}} He fired the presidents for [[Central State College]], [[Langston University]], [[Southeastern State College]], [[Northwestern State College]], [[Northeastern Oklahoma Junior College]], and [[Murray State College]].{{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=393}}
The [[government of Oklahoma]] faced failure, not only because of the massive deficit, but because many of Oklahoma's citizens could not pay their debts. To speed the collection of funds, at Murray's urging the Legislature created the Oklahoma Tax Commission. This three-member commission was responsible for the collection and administration of taxes, licenses and fees from all citizens. The new agency established safeguards against tax evasion and helped to stem the drain on the state's tax revenue.<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries" /> In 1933, he supported the abolition of Oklahoma's state [[property tax]], leaving that tax revenue for local governments.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wertz |first1=By Joe |title=Why Oklahoma Hates State Property Taxes |url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2011/10/19/why-oklahoma-hates-state-property-taxes/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=StateImpact Oklahoma |agency=[[NPR]] |date=October 19, 2011 |language=en}}</ref>
 
During "Alfalfa Bill" Murray's campaign for governor, he promised to crack down on corruption and favoritism for the rich, to abolish half the clerk jobs at the State House, to appoint no family members, to reduce the number of state-owned cars from 800 to 200, never to use convict labor to compete with commercial labor, and not to abuse the power of pardon. Once in office, he appointed wealthy patrons and 20 of his relatives to high office, purchased more cars, used prisoners to make ice for sale and clean the capitol building, and violated all the other promises. When the State Auditor pointed out that 1,050 new employees had been added to the state payroll, Murray simply said, "Just damned lies". For each abuse of power, Murray claimed a mandate from "the sovereign will of the people".{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=112-114}}
Due to the severity of the depression, Murray relied on the [[United States National Guard|Oklahoma National Guard]] to enforce the state's laws through the use of [[martial law]]. Murray did this in spite of [[Impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] threats from the [[Oklahoma Senate]].<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries" /> During his tenure as governor, Murray called out the Guard and charged them with duties ranging from policing ticket sales at [[University of Oklahoma]] football games to patrolling the oil fields.<ref>{{cite news |title=State's most colorful leader |url=https://www.news9.com/story/5e350c3de0c96e774b371f19/states-most-colorful-leader |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[KOTV-DT]] |date=December 4, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> He also used the national guard to enforce [[racial segregation|segregation]] and prevent Black families from moving into predominantly white neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stipek |first1=Joey |title=Oklahoma City neighborhoods: A brief history of … JFK neighborhood |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/oklahoma-city/2013/08/04/oklahoma-city-neighborhoods-a-brief-history-of-jfk-neighborhood/60893271007/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |date=August 4, 2013}}</ref>
 
The [[government of Oklahoma]] faced failure, not only because of the massive deficit, but because many of Oklahoma's citizens could not pay their debts. To speed the collection of funds, at Murray's urging the Legislature created the Oklahoma Tax Commission. This three-member commission was responsible for the collection and administration of taxes, licenses and fees from all citizens. The new agency established safeguards against tax evasion and helped to stem the drain on the state's tax revenue.<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries" /> In 1933, he supported the abolition of Oklahoma's state [[property tax]], leaving that tax revenue for local governments.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wertz |first1=Joe |title=Why Oklahoma Hates State Property Taxes |url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2011/10/19/why-oklahoma-hates-state-property-taxes/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=StateImpact Oklahoma |agency=[[NPR]] |date=October 19, 2011 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Due to the severity of the depression, Murray relied on the [[United States National Guard|Oklahoma National Guard]] to enforce the state's laws through the use of [[martial law]]. Murray did this in spite of [[Impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] threats from the [[Oklahoma Senate]].<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries" /> During his tenure as governor, Murray called out the Guard and charged them with duties ranging from policing ticket sales at [[University of Oklahoma]] football games to patrolling the oil fields.<ref>{{cite news |title=State's most colorful leader |url=https://www.news9.com/story/5e350c3de0c96e774b371f19/states-most-colorful-leader |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[KOTV-DT]] |date=December 4, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> He also used the national guard to enforce [[racial segregation|segregation]] and prevent Black families from moving into predominantly white neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stipek |first1=Joey |title=Oklahoma City neighborhoods: A brief history of ... JFK neighborhood |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/oklahoma-city/2013/08/04/oklahoma-city-neighborhoods-a-brief-history-of-jfk-neighborhood/60893271007/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |date=August 4, 2013}}</ref>
 
Murray also used the Guard during the [[Red River Bridge War|"Toll Bridge War"]] between Oklahoma and Texas.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaBill" /> A joint project to build a free bridge across the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] on [[US Route 75|U.S. Highway 75]] between [[Durant, Oklahoma]] and [[Denison, Texas]] turned into a major dispute when the [[Governor of Texas]] blocked traffic from entering his state on the new bridge.<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries" /> The Red River Bridge Company of Texas owned the original toll bridge and had a dispute over its purchase deal. Murray sent the Guard to reopen the bridge in July 1931. Texas had to retreat when lawyers determined that Oklahoma had jurisdiction over both banks of the river.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
 
Murray used the Guard to reduce oil production in the hopes of raising prices. Because of the vast quantity of newly opened wells in Texas and Oklahoma, oil prices had sunk below the costs of production.<ref name="Ok Dep. of Libraries" /> Murray and three other governors met in [[Fort Worth, Texas]] to demand lower production. When the Oklahoma producers did not comply, on August 4, 1931, Murray called out the Guard, declared martial law, and ordered that some 3,000 oil wells be shut down.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
 
By 1934, he was an anti-[[New Deal]]er.{{sfn|Schruben|1963|p=65}}
 
By the end of his administration in 1935, Murray had used the National Guard on 47 occasions and declared martial law more than 30 times. As the state constitution prevented governors from succeeding themselves in office, Murray could not run for reelection and left office on January 15, 1935.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
Line 134 ⟶ 140:
[[File:FDR in 1933.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Murray lost the Democratic nomination to [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] in 1932. He later rejected FDR's [[New Deal]].]]
 
In August 1931, Murray launched a campaign for the [[1932 United States presidential election]] in [[Okmulgee, Oklahoma]].{{Sfn|Luthin|1954|p=118}} His slogan was "Bread, butter, bacon, and beans.".<ref>{{cite news |title=Throwback Tulsa: Colorful ‘Alfalfa'Alfalfa Bill’Bill' fell short in presidential bid in 1932 |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/history/throwback-tulsa-colorful-alfalfa-bill-fell-short-in-presidential-bid-in-1932/collection_3942ea8c-041c-11eb-893a-bf07af9fd75a.html |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=Tulsa World |date=18 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref> He testified in front of the United States Congress in January 1932 on the effects of the [[Great Depression]] in Oklahoma and dominated the 1932 Oklahoma Democratic State Convention, earning the [[Oklahoma Democratic Party]]'s support for his campaign.{{Sfn|Luthin|1954|p=119}} He railed against [[Wall Street]] and demanded cash bonuses for veterans.{{Sfn|Luthin|1954|p=120}}
 
He campaigned against [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] claiming he suffered from [[syphilis]].<ref name="Savage-1">{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=William W. Jr. |title=History is clear: Alfalfa Bill Murray was a terrible bigot |url=https://nondoc.com/2020/06/18/alfalfa-bill-murray-was-a-terrible-bigot/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=NonDoc |date=June 18, 2020}}</ref> [[Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], the former [[governor of Louisiana]] and [[U.S. senator]], recalled visiting Murray in his hotel room at the [[1932 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Chicago]]:
 
<blockquote>"Alfalfa Bill" was very gracious ...… While we talked at length, he dwelt upon the virtue in the possible candidacies of everybody except [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and himself, even suggesting me as a candidate. He understood the [[favorite son]] game. I soon saw that I was fencing with a past master in politics. Had I listened to him very long, he would have been at work to make a favorite son candidate out of me. I was then moving Heaven and earth to keep down other favorite son candidates. ...… Favorite son moves were the most dangerous things we had to fight. ...…<ref>[[Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], ''Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long'' ([[New Orleans]]: National Book Club, Inc., 1933), pp. 304–305.</ref></blockquote>
He was introduced at the [[1932 Democratic National Convention]] by [[Henry S. Johnston]] and received little support outside the Oklahoma delegation.{{Sfn|Luthin|1954|p=120}}
 
===1938 gubernatorial and 1942 senate campaigns===
In 1938, Murray ran for governor, and lost in the Democratic primary.{{sfn|Henry|1985|p=14}} Later that year, he tried to run for the [[United States Senate]] as an [[Independent (politics)|Independent]], but his nominating petitions were rejected. In 1940, he ran again for the United States House of Representatives against [[William C. Rogers]] on isolationism and ana new old age pension without tax increases.{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=124}} In 1942, he ran for the Senate again and lost in the Democratic primary.<ref>{{cite web |title=William Henry Murray |url=https://www.nga.org/governor/william-henry-murray/ |website=National Governors Association |access-date=14 April 2024 |date=10 January 2011}}</ref>
 
==Later life and death==
Line 160 ⟶ 166:
* [[Lake Murray (Oklahoma)|Lake Murray]] is named in his honor.<ref name="Savage-1" />
* [[Lake Murray State Park]] is named in his honor.<ref name="Lackmeyer-1" />
* The Alfalfa Bill Century Bike Ride is an annual fundraiser in [[Johnston County, Oklahoma|Johnston County]].<ref name="Lackmeyer-1" />
* The William H. Murray bridge, more commonly known as Pony Bridge, is officially named after Murray.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Culver |first1=Galen |title=The longest bridge on Rt. 66 is in the last stages of a 2-year rebuild |url=https://kfor.com/news/great-state/the-longest-bridge-on-rt-66-is-in-the-last-stages-of-a-2-year-rebuild/ |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[KFOR-TV]] |date=26 January 2024}}</ref>
 
=== Removal of honors ===
In June 2020, Murray Hall and North Murray Hall at [[Oklahoma State University]] were "un-named" and a search for new names began.<ref>{{cite web |title=OSU/A&M Board of Regents Approves Removal of Murray’sMurray's Name from Campus |url=https://news.okstate.edu/articles/communications/2020/board-of-regents-approves-removal-of-murray-name.html |website=news.okstate.edu |publisher=[[Oklahoma State University]] |access-date=14 April 2024 |language=en |date=26 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Simmons |first1=Beau |title=Oklahoma State removes Murray's name from buildings |url=https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/oklahoma-state-removes-murrays-name-from-buildings/article_cfce6c26-b24e-11ea-97a3-ef941d0428ef.html |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=Stillwater News Press |date=19 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
 
===Antisemitism and racism===
In the 21st century, Murray's legacy has drawn criticism from historians, such as William Savage Jr, because he supported [[Racism in the United States|racist]] and [[Antisemitism in the United States|antisemitic]] policies, and because he published [[segregationist]] books.<ref name="Savage-1" /> He supported the passage of the first [[Jim Crow laws]] in Oklahoma and he advocated the deportation of [[Jewish people]] to [[Madagascar]].<ref name="Korth-1">{{cite news |last1=Korth |first1=Robby |title="Alfalfa Bill" Murray Had A Big Impact On Oklahoma. He Was Also A Virulent Racist. |url=https://www.kosu.org/politics/2020-07-30/alfalfa-bill-murray-had-a-big-impact-on-oklahoma-he-was-also-a-virulent-racist |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[KOSU]] |date=30 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
 
==Electoral history==
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1910 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary results<ref name="1907-1912Results">{{cite web |title=1907-1912 results |pages=13 & 17 |url=https://www.ok.gov/elections/documents/1907-1912_RESULTS.pdf |access-date=May 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725155307/https://www.ok.gov/elections/documents/1907-1912_RESULTS.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Lee Cruce]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 54,262
| percentage = 43.8
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 40,166
| percentage = 32.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Leslie P. Ross]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 26,792
| percentage = 21.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Brant Kirk
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,514
| percentage = 2.0
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 123,734
| percentage= 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1912 U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma's at-large districts Democratic primary<ref name="1907-1912Results" />
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 39,140
| percentage = 12.0%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Joseph B. Thompson]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 31,887
| percentage = 9.7%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Claude Weaver]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 26,923
| percentage = 8.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Fred P. Branson]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 22,182
| percentage = 6.8%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William M. Franklin
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 21,427
| percentage = 6.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Leslie P. Ross]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 20,288
| percentage = 6.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[James B. A. Robertson]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 18,252
| percentage = 5.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Moman Pruiett
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 15,650
| percentage = 4.8%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[R. E. Echols]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 13,556
| percentage = 4.1%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Frank Adams
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 12,320
| percentage = 3.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = N. B. Hays
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 11,804
| percentage = 3.6%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = J. Y. Callahan
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 10,215
| percentage = 3.1%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Leslie G. Niblack
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 9,601
| percentage = 2.9%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William T. Field
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 8,965
| percentage = 2.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = B. V. Cummins
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 7,281
| percentage = 2.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = George Bowman
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 6,264
| percentage = 1.9%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = W. J. Campbell
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 6,215
| percentage = 1.9%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Patrick James Goulding]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 6,009
| percentage = 1.8%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Robert Lee Adderton
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 5,351
| percentage = 1.6%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Jack G. Harley
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 5,096
| percentage = 1.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = O. Brown
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,792
| percentage = 1.4%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Charles Adler
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,518
| percentage = 1.3%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = M. F. Eggerman
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,189
| percentage = 1.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = D. R. Carpenter
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,077
| percentage = 1.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ben Bouldin
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 3,645
| percentage = 1.1%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = W. F. Gilmer
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,515
| percentage = 0.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Augustus E. Ivey
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,905
| percentage = 0.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William W. Janes
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,897
| percentage = 0.5%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 325,964
| percentage= 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change | title=1912 U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma's at-large districts general election<ref name="1907-1912Results" />}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = William H. Murray
|votes = 121,202
|percentage = 16.2%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Claude Weaver]]
|votes = 121,186
|percentage = 16.2%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Joseph B. Thompson]]
|votes = 120,346
|percentage = 16.1%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Alvin D. Allen
|votes = 87,409
|percentage = 11.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = James L. Brown
|votes = 87,264
|percentage = 11.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Emory D. Brownlee
|votes = 86,092
|percentage = 11.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Socialist Party of America
|candidate = [[Oscar Ameringer]]
|votes = 41,229
|percentage = 5.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Socialist Party of America
|candidate = J. T. Cumbie
|votes = 41,070
|percentage = 5.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Socialist Party of America
|candidate = J. Luther Langston
|votes = 41,020
|percentage = 5.5%
}}
 
{{Election box gain with party link|
|winner = Democratic Party (United States)
|swing = N/A
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1918 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary results<ref name="1918-1920 results">{{cite web |title=1918-1920 results |url=https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/election-results/results-prior-to-1980/1918-1920-results.pdf |publisher=Oklahoma State Election Board |pages=1, 6, 11}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[James B. A. Robertson]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 48,568
| percentage = 45.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 24,283
| percentage = 22.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = W. L. Alexander
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 22,670
| percentage = 21.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Frank M. Gault
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,904
| percentage = 4.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[William A. Durant]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,164
| percentage = 3.8
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Frank P. Davis
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,030
| percentage = 1.8
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = J. O. McCollister
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,300
| percentage = 1.2
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 107,919
| percentage= 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1930 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary results<ref name="1928-1932 results">{{cite web |title=1928-1932 results |url=https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/election-results/results-prior-to-1980/1928-1932-results.pdf |publisher=Oklahoma State Election Board |pages=9, 15, 18, 22}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 134,243
| percentage = 39.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Frank Buttram
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 69,501
| percentage = 20.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Everette B. Howard|E. B. Howard]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 50,671
| percentage = 14.8
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Martin E. Trapp|M. E. Trapp]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 38,641
| percentage = 11.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[A. S. J. Shaw]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 25,572
| percentage = 7.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Frank M. Bailey]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 15,832
| percentage = 4.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Jess L. Pullen
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 3,480
| percentage = 1.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = E. R. Powers
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,438
| percentage = 0.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = L. M. Overton
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,191
| percentage = 0.3
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 340,569
| percentage= 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1930 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary runoff results<ref name="1928-1932 results" />
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 220,250
| percentage = 63.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Frank Buttram
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 69,501
| percentage = 36.3
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 346,088
| percentage= 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin | title=1930 Oklahoma gubernatorial election<ref name="1928-1932 results" />}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = William H. Murray
|votes = 301,921
|percentage = 59.0
|change = +4.0%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Ira A. Hill
|votes = 208,575
|percentage = 40.7
|change = -3.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent (politician)
|candidate = B. G. Bingham
|votes = 537
|percentage = 0.1
|change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent (politician)
|candidate = John Franing
|votes = 287
|percentage = 0.0
|change = -0.4%
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
|winner = Democratic Party (United States)
|loser = Republican Party (United States)
|swing = +4.0%
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1938 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary results<ref name="1934-1938 results">{{cite web |title=1934-1938 results |url=https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/election-results/results-prior-to-1980/1934-1938-results.pdf |publisher=Oklahoma State Election Board |pages=46, 53, 55, 56}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Leon C. Phillips]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 179,139
| percentage = 30.1
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[William S. Key]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 176,034
| percentage = 29.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 148,395
| percentage = 24.9
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Jack C. Walton]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 45,760
| percentage = 7.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ira M. Finley
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 37,107
| percentage = 6.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William M. Edwards
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,557
| percentage = 0.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = John W. Davis
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,205
| percentage = 0.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = J. M. Cole
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,410
| percentage = 0.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = T. W. Bickel
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,088
| percentage = 0.1
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 593,695
| percentage= 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 1942 United States Senate election in Oklahoma Democratic primary<ref name="1940-1944">{{cite web |url=https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/documents/a0001/1940-1944-results.pdf|title=1940-1944 results |publisher=Oklahoma State Election Board|access-date=June 17, 2021}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Joshua B. Lee]] (inc.)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 188,279
| percentage = 53.31%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Orel Busby]]
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 96,647
| percentage = 27.36%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Murray
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 36,925
| percentage = 10.45%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Wilbur Wright
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 7,799
| percentage = 2.21%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Dan Nelson
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 5,428
| percentage = 1.54%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Paul V. Beck
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 5,014
| percentage = 1.42%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Mark Long
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 4,707
| percentage = 1.33%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = George H. Brasler
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 3,200
| percentage = 0.91%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Lily Allen Lasley
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,855
| percentage = 0.81%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Clay Woodrow England
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 2,328
| percentage = 0.66%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 353,182
| percentage= 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
==Works==
* ''The Finished Scholar (1941){{sfn|McKellips|2000|p=494}}
* ''Memoirs of Alfalfa Bill Murray and the True History of Oklahoma'', three volume work (1945)<ref name="Savage-1" />
* ''Murray's Essays on Pocahontas and Pushmataha'' (1924){{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=103}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Murray's essays on Pocahontas and Pushmataha, historical and biographical, with copious notes on Oklahoma history; |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/24011165/ |website=loc.gov |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=16 April 2024}}</ref>
* ''The Negro's Place in the Call of Race''<ref name="Savage-1" />
* ''Palestine''{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=125}}
* ''Rights of Americans''{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=125}}
* ''Uncle Sam Needs a Doctor''<ref>[https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchArg=uncle+sam+needs+a+doctor&searchCode=GKEY%5E*&searchType=0&recCount=25&sk=en_US Uncle Sam Needs a Doctor] ''loc.gov.'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress%7CLibrary Library of Congress] Retrieved November 30, 2024.</ref>
* ''Uncle Sam needs a Dictator''{{sfn|Luthin|1954|p=125}}
 
===State of the State speeches===
Line 181 ⟶ 764:
* [http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/addresses/murray1933.pdf Second State of the State Speech] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009194738/http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/addresses/murray1933.pdf |date=October 9, 2006 }}
* [http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/addresses/murray1935.pdf Third State of the State Speech] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009194800/http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/addresses/murray1935.pdf |date=October 9, 2006 }}
 
== Notes ==
{{Notelist|group=note}}
 
==References==
Line 188 ⟶ 774:
* {{cite journal |last1=Bachhofer |first1=Aaron II |title=Oklahoma's Exiles: William H. Murray and Friends in the Bolivian Chaco, 1924-1929 |journal=Chronicles of Oklahoma |date=Winter 1996 |volume=74 |pages=398–425 |url=https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2031800/m1/3/ |access-date=16 April 2024}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bryant |first1=Keith L. Jr. |title="Alfalfa Bill" Murray: The Formative Years in Texas |journal=East Texas Historical Journal |date=1965 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=103–118 |url=https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=ethj |access-date=14 April 2024}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Darcy |first1=R. |title=Constructing Segregation: Race Politics in the Territorial Legislature, 1890-1907 |journal=[[Chronicles of Oklahoma]] |date=Autumn 2008 |volume=86 |issue=3 |pages=260–289 |url=https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2006474/m2/1/high_res_d/3_260_ff_Darcy_Constructing_Segregation_MSS.pdf |access-date=7 October 2024}}
* {{cite news |last1=Henry |first1=Robert H. |title=Alfalfa Bill Murray |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/oktoday/1980s/1985/oktdv35n4.pdf |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=Oklahoma Today |publisher=[[Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation]] |date=July–August 1985 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303153411/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/oktoday/1980s/1985/oktdv35n4.pdf |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |pages=11–15}}
* {{cite book | title=American Demagogues: Twentieth Century| url=https://archive.org/details/americandemagogu0000luth| url-access=registration| publisher=Beacon Press |last=Luthin |first=Reinhard H. | author-link=Reinhard H. Luthin | year=1954 | chapter= Ch. 5: William H. Murray: 'Alfalfa Bill' of Oklahoma|oclc=1098334|asin=B0007DN37C|lccn= 54-8428}}{{s-start}}
* {{cite journal |last1=McKellips |first1=Karen |title=Inside the School Yard Gate: "Alfalfa Bill" Murray and Education in Oklahoma |journal=[[Chronicles of Oklahoma]] |date=Winter 2000 |volume=78 |issue=4 |pages=484–499 |url=https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2016820/m2/1/high_res_d/2000-v78-n04_a05.pdf |access-date=7 October 2024}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Schruben |first1=Francis W. |title=The Return of "Alfalfa Bill" Murray |journal=[[Chronicles of Oklahoma]] |date=Spring 1963 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=38–65 |url=https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2123842/m2/1/high_res_d/1963-v41-n01_a04.pdf |access-date=7 October 2024}}
 
==External links==
* [https://arc.ou.edu/repositories/3/resources/49 William H. Murray Collection], [[Carl Albert Center]], Oklahoma University
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~oknowata/murray.htm "William H. Murray"], Sooner State Genealogy
{{Portalbar|Biography|Oklahoma|Law|Politics|Conservatism}}
Line 244 ⟶ 833:
[[Category:People from Tishomingo, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas]]
[[Category:Antisemitism in the United States]]
[[Category:American conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:American white supremacistssegregationists]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Bolivia]]
[[Category:Texas lawyers]]
Line 255 ⟶ 845:
[[Category:Candidates in the 1910 United States elections]]
[[Category:Members of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention]]
[[Category:Dixiecrats]]
[[Category:Old Right (United States)]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Murray"