Charles N. Haskell
Encyclopedia
Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and statesman who served as the first Governor of Oklahoma
. Haskell played a crucial role in drafting the Oklahoma Constitution
as well as Oklahoma
's statehood and admission into the United States as the 46th state in 1907. Haskell is also remembered as a prominent resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma
and helped to bring the city to prominence throughout Oklahoma.
in 1860, Haskell was the son of a cooper
who died when the boy was three years old. He learned to work hard to gain what he wanted. At the age of 10, he started working as a farm boy for a farmer named Miller in Putnam County, Ohio
, where he lived and worked for eight years as he grew into adulthood. Miller was a school teacher, but as the young Haskell had to work, he had little time to attend school. Mrs. Miller taught him at home and Haskell earned a teaching certificate at age 17.
He became a practicing attorney at age 20 without having academic training in the field. In his work as an attorney, Haskell became one of the most successful lawyers in Ottawa
, the county seat, as well as one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Party
in northwestern Ohio
. In 1888, Haskell started work as a general contractor
; for the next 16 years, his business career gave him an understanding of American industrialism.
Haskell remarried in 1889, to Lillian Gallup. They also had three children together: Frances, Joe and Jane.
With the Land Run of 1889
and the passage of the Organic Act
in 1890, Oklahoma Territory
was quickly coming onto the national scene. Seeing a chance to make it big, Haskell moved his family to Muskogee
, the capital of the Creek Nation, in March 1901. When he arrived, Haskell found Muskogee a dry, sleepy village of some 4,500 people. However immediately on his arrival, the town took new life, and business blocks were constructed, with Haskell building the first five-story business block in Oklahoma Territory.
Using his knowledge as a contractor, Haskell began building railroads and has the honor of having organized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of but a small few. It is said that he built and owned 14 brick buildings in the city. Through his influence, Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Haskell often told others that he hoped Muskogee would become the “Queen City of the Southwest.”
His success brought him much political clout in the politics of Indian Territory
and the attention of the Creek Nation. During this time, the Native American nations in Indian Territory were talking of creating a state and joining the Union under the name of the State of Sequoyah. Haskell was selected as the official representative of the Creeks to the conventions, in the position of vice-president for the Five Civilized Tribes
, held in Eufaula, Oklahoma
in 1902 and Muskogee in 1905. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent, save two: Haskell and William H. Murray
. Even though the attempt to create the state was blocked by US President
Theodore Roosevelt
, Haskell wrote a large portion of the proposed state’s constitution. Though publicly, Haskell worked for a separate state for Indian Territory, privately, he was thrilled to see the Sequoyah state defeated. Haskell believed it would force the Indian leaders to join in statehood with Oklahoma Territory
.
The United States Congress
and President Roosevelt agreed that Oklahoma and Indian Territories could only enter the Union as one state, the State of Oklahoma. In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Haskell was elected as the delegate from the seventy-sixth district (including Muskogee) by the largest majority of any delegate in the entire new state. Traveling to Guthrie
and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would meet William H. Murray
from the Muskogee convention and Robert L. Williams
. Because of their meetings at both conventions, Haskell would gain a friendship with Murray that would last until the end of his life.
With many of the men at the Guthrie convention having served at the earlier Muskogee convention, many of the ideas proposed for the new constitution were based upon the Sequoyah constitution. Haskell owned the New State Tribune, and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated into the document. While William H. Murray served as the convention's President, all recognized Haskell’s power within the body. A local newspaper during the time, the Guthrie Report, called Haskell “the power behind the throne.”
Haskell was present at every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the session. Among the things he advocated were provisions that affected both territories’ labor problems and avocation
for representatives of organized labor. Haskell also drafted a report drawing up county boundaries, led the crusade for state prohibition
, introduced Jim Crow laws
and successfully kept female suffrage
out of the Constitution.
At Tulsa on March 26, 1907, during the recess before the final adoption of the constitution by the convention, Haskell held a large Democratic Party banquet at the Brady Hotel
, attended by 500–600 of the leading Democrats of the new state. During this banquet, the first campaigns for governor were formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Haskell was presented by his friends with the honors of the Democratic gubernatorial candidacy. Among the other potential candidates were Thomas Doyle of Perry
and Lee Cruce
of Ardmore
.
Unfortunately for Haskell, the primaries for governor were set for June 8 and Doyle and Cruce had already been campaigning; Haskell had little time. During his campaign, Haskell made 88 speeches in 45 days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working in the school districts and securing support in every community. Once again Haskell’s hard working nature led him to win the Democratic nomination. Haskell's victory in the primaries was carried by a more than 4,000-vote majority. He immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the Republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz
, who was nominated by the Republican caucus at Tulsa.
Frantz, the current territorial governor, a former Rough Rider, a friend of President Roosevelt, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, was the strongest candidate the Republican party could have presented to face Haskell. Haskell challenged his opponent to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.
During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft
and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan
. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Taft’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Haskell won the gubernatorial race on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voted approved the Oklahoma Constitution
into law.
After Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution, a Republican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, "You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the Republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years." Haskell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he replied, "Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?"
On November 16, 1907, five minutes after it was known that Oklahoma had officially become a state, the oath of office
was administered to Governor Haskell by Leslie G. Niblack, editor of the Guthrie Leader, who had qualified as a notary public especially for this purpose. The ceremony took place privately in Haskell's hotel apartments in the presence of his immediate family, Robert Latham Owen, United States Senator-elect, and Thomas Owen of Muskogee, Haskell's former political manager. Haskell’s inaugural address at Guthrie, delivered on the south steps of the Carnegie Library, quickly lifted him into national prominence.
Haskell’s old friends William H. Murray
and Robert L. Williams
also came into power with the state’s founding; with Murray as the state’s first Speaker of the House
and Williams appointed, by Haskell, as the first Chief Justice of Oklahoma
. Haskell quickly became the idea of executive power
through his handling of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Through his powerful personality and keen understanding of the office he had helped to create, Governor Haskell would weld the powers granted to him as Governor in such a manner that he is still remembered as being Oklahoma's greatest chief executive.
During the state’s First Legislature, Governor Haskell delivered a message creating a commission charged with sending a message to the U.S. Congress: amending the Federal Constitution to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people. Though after he left office, his efforts, as well as the works of the Progressive-era leaders, provided for the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
in 1912.
Though Guthrie was the official capital of the State, Haskell set up his administration from Oklahoma City
. Oklahoma City quickly grew in industry and prominence, with a booming population of 64,000, shadowing the Capitol located just miles from the growing city. Haskell personally led the move to change the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. First, he moved the official home of the Great Seal of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Constitution. Slowly, all government functions moved to the Oklahoma City area.
In the Legislature’s first session, under Haskell’s leadership, Oklahoma adopted laws regulating banking in the state, reformed the old territorial prison system, and protected the public from exploitative railroads, public utilities, trusts and monopolies. Haskell also initiated a law insuring deposits in case of a bank failure, a landmark piece of legislation in the nation. Haskell also rigidly enforced prohibition through the Alcohol Control Act. Though following progressive dogma at every turn, such as the introduction of child labor laws, factory inspection codes, safety codes for mines, health and sanitary laws, and employer’s liability for workers, Haskell’s legislative schedule also included Jim Crow laws for Oklahoma. Haskell's other significant contributions while governor included establishing the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Oklahoma School for the Blind
, the Oklahoma College for Women and the Oklahoma State Department of Health
. In addition, he helped to create the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
in 1908.
Before Oklahoma became a state, all prisoners were imprisoned by Kansas officials. The Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
Kate Barnard
, Oklahoma's first female state official, visited the Kansas prisons and reported to Governor Haskell on the horrible conditions. In response, in 1908, Haskell pushed through the Legislature a bill that transferred 50 Oklahoma prisoners detained in the Kansas
penitentiary at Lansing
to McAlester, Oklahoma
. When the Oklahoma state militia
marched the prisoners down to McAlester, they found no prison. Under military supervision, the prisoners built Oklahoma State Peniteniary, the state's first correctional facility (which is still in use today). The militia housed the prisoners in a tent city and were authorized by Haskell to use lethal force against any prisoner that tried to escape.
A grandfather clause
was also enacted in the Legislature’s second session by the state’s Democratic leaders, effectively excluding all blacks from voting. Haskell would spend the remainder of his term enforcing prohibition, regulation of railroads and other trusts, and the moving of the state capital to Oklahoma City. Haskell’s dream came true on June 11, 1910, when Oklahoma City became the State’s official capital.
Throughout his term as Governor, Haskell remained free from corruption. Though he was the leader in the deliberations of the committee on county lines and county seats, when hundreds of towns had committees attending the sessions with heavy purses, he left these deliberations lean and poor, and by the time he retired from the Governor's office he had become utterly impoverished. In debate he ignored the graces of oratory and instead marshaled facts, arrayed statistics and piled up figures, using his cutting wit and grim humor to carry his point.
He possessed a deep insight into human psychology based on a reverence for public duty which is best demonstrated in his selection of the first judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He declared that, though he deemed knowledge of the law of vast importance in a court dealing with the liberties of the citizens, rising above and far beyond this was the requirement that the court should be composed of men of the noblest human impulses and a rich and abiding sympathy of heart.
At the end of his term as Governor in 1911, Haskell stepped down from the Governorship, happy to see his 1907 Democratic primary challenger Lee Cruce
inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma. In 1912, Haskell unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Democrat Robert Latham Owen in a hard-fought primary for Owen's Senate seat.
At each convention and in his speeches and in numerous articles appearing in the public press he disclosed an intimate understanding of the big money masters of America and ruthlessly exposed many of their venal practices and their corrupt usage of the public funds in their own interest to the detriment of the people.
. Like Thomas Jefferson
and John Adams
before him, Haskell’s last conscious thought occurred on the Fourth of July. Haskell slipped from consciousness and later died the next day, July 5, in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City at the age of 73. He would be buried in Muskogee, the city he adopted and loved so much, at Green Hill Cemetery.
Throughout his administration as Governor, Haskell’s practical mind, intuitive knowledge of the law and his insight into what the law should be enabled him to discern the underlying principles of any issue. Though firmly a Democrat, Haskell found the middle ground and usually brought the belligerent partisan forces and rival interests into friendly agreement.
Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma
, and Charles N. Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
are named in honor his honor. Haskell County, Oklahoma
is also named for him.
In 2007, Oklahoma celebrated 100 years of statehood. Many descendants of Charles Nathaniel Haskell were in attendance.
Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and statesman who served as the first Governor of Oklahoma
. Haskell played a crucial role in drafting the Oklahoma Constitution
as well as Oklahoma
's statehood and admission into the United States as the 46th state in 1907. Haskell is also remembered as a prominent resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma
and helped to bring the city to prominence throughout Oklahoma.
in 1860, Haskell was the son of a cooper
who died when the boy was three years old. He learned to work hard to gain what he wanted. At the age of 10, he started working as a farm boy for a farmer named Miller in Putnam County, Ohio
, where he lived and worked for eight years as he grew into adulthood. Miller was a school teacher, but as the young Haskell had to work, he had little time to attend school. Mrs. Miller taught him at home and Haskell earned a teaching certificate at age 17.
He became a practicing attorney at age 20 without having academic training in the field. In his work as an attorney, Haskell became one of the most successful lawyers in Ottawa
, the county seat, as well as one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Party
in northwestern Ohio
. In 1888, Haskell started work as a general contractor
; for the next 16 years, his business career gave him an understanding of American industrialism.
Haskell remarried in 1889, to Lillian Gallup. They also had three children together: Frances, Joe and Jane.
With the Land Run of 1889
and the passage of the Organic Act
in 1890, Oklahoma Territory
was quickly coming onto the national scene. Seeing a chance to make it big, Haskell moved his family to Muskogee
, the capital of the Creek Nation, in March 1901. When he arrived, Haskell found Muskogee a dry, sleepy village of some 4,500 people. However immediately on his arrival, the town took new life, and business blocks were constructed, with Haskell building the first five-story business block in Oklahoma Territory.
Using his knowledge as a contractor, Haskell began building railroads and has the honor of having organized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of but a small few. It is said that he built and owned 14 brick buildings in the city. Through his influence, Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Haskell often told others that he hoped Muskogee would become the “Queen City of the Southwest.”
His success brought him much political clout in the politics of Indian Territory
and the attention of the Creek Nation. During this time, the Native American nations in Indian Territory were talking of creating a state and joining the Union under the name of the State of Sequoyah. Haskell was selected as the official representative of the Creeks to the conventions, in the position of vice-president for the Five Civilized Tribes
, held in Eufaula, Oklahoma
in 1902 and Muskogee in 1905. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent, save two: Haskell and William H. Murray
. Even though the attempt to create the state was blocked by US President
Theodore Roosevelt
, Haskell wrote a large portion of the proposed state’s constitution. Though publicly, Haskell worked for a separate state for Indian Territory, privately, he was thrilled to see the Sequoyah state defeated. Haskell believed it would force the Indian leaders to join in statehood with Oklahoma Territory
.
The United States Congress
and President Roosevelt agreed that Oklahoma and Indian Territories could only enter the Union as one state, the State of Oklahoma. In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Haskell was elected as the delegate from the seventy-sixth district (including Muskogee) by the largest majority of any delegate in the entire new state. Traveling to Guthrie
and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would meet William H. Murray
from the Muskogee convention and Robert L. Williams
. Because of their meetings at both conventions, Haskell would gain a friendship with Murray that would last until the end of his life.
With many of the men at the Guthrie convention having served at the earlier Muskogee convention, many of the ideas proposed for the new constitution were based upon the Sequoyah constitution. Haskell owned the New State Tribune, and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated into the document. While William H. Murray served as the convention's President, all recognized Haskell’s power within the body. A local newspaper during the time, the Guthrie Report, called Haskell “the power behind the throne.”
Haskell was present at every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the session. Among the things he advocated were provisions that affected both territories’ labor problems and avocation
for representatives of organized labor. Haskell also drafted a report drawing up county boundaries, led the crusade for state prohibition
, introduced Jim Crow laws
and successfully kept female suffrage
out of the Constitution.
At Tulsa on March 26, 1907, during the recess before the final adoption of the constitution by the convention, Haskell held a large Democratic Party banquet at the Brady Hotel
, attended by 500–600 of the leading Democrats of the new state. During this banquet, the first campaigns for governor were formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Haskell was presented by his friends with the honors of the Democratic gubernatorial candidacy. Among the other potential candidates were Thomas Doyle of Perry
and Lee Cruce
of Ardmore
.
Unfortunately for Haskell, the primaries for governor were set for June 8 and Doyle and Cruce had already been campaigning; Haskell had little time. During his campaign, Haskell made 88 speeches in 45 days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working in the school districts and securing support in every community. Once again Haskell’s hard working nature led him to win the Democratic nomination. Haskell's victory in the primaries was carried by a more than 4,000-vote majority. He immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the Republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz
, who was nominated by the Republican caucus at Tulsa.
Frantz, the current territorial governor, a former Rough Rider, a friend of President Roosevelt, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, was the strongest candidate the Republican party could have presented to face Haskell. Haskell challenged his opponent to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.
During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft
and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan
. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Taft’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Haskell won the gubernatorial race on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voted approved the Oklahoma Constitution
into law.
After Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution, a Republican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, "You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the Republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years." Haskell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he replied, "Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?"
On November 16, 1907, five minutes after it was known that Oklahoma had officially become a state, the oath of office
was administered to Governor Haskell by Leslie G. Niblack, editor of the Guthrie Leader, who had qualified as a notary public especially for this purpose. The ceremony took place privately in Haskell's hotel apartments in the presence of his immediate family, Robert Latham Owen, United States Senator-elect, and Thomas Owen of Muskogee, Haskell's former political manager. Haskell’s inaugural address at Guthrie, delivered on the south steps of the Carnegie Library, quickly lifted him into national prominence.
Haskell’s old friends William H. Murray
and Robert L. Williams
also came into power with the state’s founding; with Murray as the state’s first Speaker of the House
and Williams appointed, by Haskell, as the first Chief Justice of Oklahoma
. Haskell quickly became the idea of executive power
through his handling of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Through his powerful personality and keen understanding of the office he had helped to create, Governor Haskell would weld the powers granted to him as Governor in such a manner that he is still remembered as being Oklahoma's greatest chief executive.
During the state’s First Legislature, Governor Haskell delivered a message creating a commission charged with sending a message to the U.S. Congress: amending the Federal Constitution to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people. Though after he left office, his efforts, as well as the works of the Progressive-era leaders, provided for the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
in 1912.
Though Guthrie was the official capital of the State, Haskell set up his administration from Oklahoma City
. Oklahoma City quickly grew in industry and prominence, with a booming population of 64,000, shadowing the Capitol located just miles from the growing city. Haskell personally led the move to change the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. First, he moved the official home of the Great Seal of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Constitution. Slowly, all government functions moved to the Oklahoma City area.
In the Legislature’s first session, under Haskell’s leadership, Oklahoma adopted laws regulating banking in the state, reformed the old territorial prison system, and protected the public from exploitative railroads, public utilities, trusts and monopolies. Haskell also initiated a law insuring deposits in case of a bank failure, a landmark piece of legislation in the nation. Haskell also rigidly enforced prohibition through the Alcohol Control Act. Though following progressive dogma at every turn, such as the introduction of child labor laws, factory inspection codes, safety codes for mines, health and sanitary laws, and employer’s liability for workers, Haskell’s legislative schedule also included Jim Crow laws for Oklahoma. Haskell's other significant contributions while governor included establishing the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Oklahoma School for the Blind
, the Oklahoma College for Women and the Oklahoma State Department of Health
. In addition, he helped to create the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
in 1908.
Before Oklahoma became a state, all prisoners were imprisoned by Kansas officials. The Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
Kate Barnard
, Oklahoma's first female state official, visited the Kansas prisons and reported to Governor Haskell on the horrible conditions. In response, in 1908, Haskell pushed through the Legislature a bill that transferred 50 Oklahoma prisoners detained in the Kansas
penitentiary at Lansing
to McAlester, Oklahoma
. When the Oklahoma state militia
marched the prisoners down to McAlester, they found no prison. Under military supervision, the prisoners built Oklahoma State Peniteniary, the state's first correctional facility (which is still in use today). The militia housed the prisoners in a tent city and were authorized by Haskell to use lethal force against any prisoner that tried to escape.
A grandfather clause
was also enacted in the Legislature’s second session by the state’s Democratic leaders, effectively excluding all blacks from voting. Haskell would spend the remainder of his term enforcing prohibition, regulation of railroads and other trusts, and the moving of the state capital to Oklahoma City. Haskell’s dream came true on June 11, 1910, when Oklahoma City became the State’s official capital.
Throughout his term as Governor, Haskell remained free from corruption. Though he was the leader in the deliberations of the committee on county lines and county seats, when hundreds of towns had committees attending the sessions with heavy purses, he left these deliberations lean and poor, and by the time he retired from the Governor's office he had become utterly impoverished. In debate he ignored the graces of oratory and instead marshaled facts, arrayed statistics and piled up figures, using his cutting wit and grim humor to carry his point.
He possessed a deep insight into human psychology based on a reverence for public duty which is best demonstrated in his selection of the first judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He declared that, though he deemed knowledge of the law of vast importance in a court dealing with the liberties of the citizens, rising above and far beyond this was the requirement that the court should be composed of men of the noblest human impulses and a rich and abiding sympathy of heart.
At the end of his term as Governor in 1911, Haskell stepped down from the Governorship, happy to see his 1907 Democratic primary challenger Lee Cruce
inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma. In 1912, Haskell unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Democrat Robert Latham Owen in a hard-fought primary for Owen's Senate seat.
At each convention and in his speeches and in numerous articles appearing in the public press he disclosed an intimate understanding of the big money masters of America and ruthlessly exposed many of their venal practices and their corrupt usage of the public funds in their own interest to the detriment of the people.
. Like Thomas Jefferson
and John Adams
before him, Haskell’s last conscious thought occurred on the Fourth of July. Haskell slipped from consciousness and later died the next day, July 5, in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City at the age of 73. He would be buried in Muskogee, the city he adopted and loved so much, at Green Hill Cemetery.
Throughout his administration as Governor, Haskell’s practical mind, intuitive knowledge of the law and his insight into what the law should be enabled him to discern the underlying principles of any issue. Though firmly a Democrat, Haskell found the middle ground and usually brought the belligerent partisan forces and rival interests into friendly agreement.
Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma
, and Charles N. Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
are named in honor his honor. Haskell County, Oklahoma
is also named for him.
In 2007, Oklahoma celebrated 100 years of statehood. Many descendants of Charles Nathaniel Haskell were in attendance.
Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and statesman who served as the first Governor of Oklahoma
. Haskell played a crucial role in drafting the Oklahoma Constitution
as well as Oklahoma
's statehood and admission into the United States as the 46th state in 1907. Haskell is also remembered as a prominent resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma
and helped to bring the city to prominence throughout Oklahoma.
in 1860, Haskell was the son of a cooper
who died when the boy was three years old. He learned to work hard to gain what he wanted. At the age of 10, he started working as a farm boy for a farmer named Miller in Putnam County, Ohio
, where he lived and worked for eight years as he grew into adulthood. Miller was a school teacher, but as the young Haskell had to work, he had little time to attend school. Mrs. Miller taught him at home and Haskell earned a teaching certificate at age 17.
He became a practicing attorney at age 20 without having academic training in the field. In his work as an attorney, Haskell became one of the most successful lawyers in Ottawa
, the county seat, as well as one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Party
in northwestern Ohio
. In 1888, Haskell started work as a general contractor
; for the next 16 years, his business career gave him an understanding of American industrialism.
Haskell remarried in 1889, to Lillian Gallup. They also had three children together: Frances, Joe and Jane.
With the Land Run of 1889
and the passage of the Organic Act
in 1890, Oklahoma Territory
was quickly coming onto the national scene. Seeing a chance to make it big, Haskell moved his family to Muskogee
, the capital of the Creek Nation, in March 1901. When he arrived, Haskell found Muskogee a dry, sleepy village of some 4,500 people. However immediately on his arrival, the town took new life, and business blocks were constructed, with Haskell building the first five-story business block in Oklahoma Territory.
Using his knowledge as a contractor, Haskell began building railroads and has the honor of having organized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of but a small few. It is said that he built and owned 14 brick buildings in the city. Through his influence, Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Haskell often told others that he hoped Muskogee would become the “Queen City of the Southwest.”
His success brought him much political clout in the politics of Indian Territory
and the attention of the Creek Nation. During this time, the Native American nations in Indian Territory were talking of creating a state and joining the Union under the name of the State of Sequoyah. Haskell was selected as the official representative of the Creeks to the conventions, in the position of vice-president for the Five Civilized Tribes
, held in Eufaula, Oklahoma
in 1902 and Muskogee in 1905. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent, save two: Haskell and William H. Murray
. Even though the attempt to create the state was blocked by US President
Theodore Roosevelt
, Haskell wrote a large portion of the proposed state’s constitution. Though publicly, Haskell worked for a separate state for Indian Territory, privately, he was thrilled to see the Sequoyah state defeated. Haskell believed it would force the Indian leaders to join in statehood with Oklahoma Territory
.
The United States Congress
and President Roosevelt agreed that Oklahoma and Indian Territories could only enter the Union as one state, the State of Oklahoma. In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Haskell was elected as the delegate from the seventy-sixth district (including Muskogee) by the largest majority of any delegate in the entire new state. Traveling to Guthrie
and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would meet William H. Murray
from the Muskogee convention and Robert L. Williams
. Because of their meetings at both conventions, Haskell would gain a friendship with Murray that would last until the end of his life.
With many of the men at the Guthrie convention having served at the earlier Muskogee convention, many of the ideas proposed for the new constitution were based upon the Sequoyah constitution. Haskell owned the New State Tribune, and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated into the document. While William H. Murray served as the convention's President, all recognized Haskell’s power within the body. A local newspaper during the time, the Guthrie Report, called Haskell “the power behind the throne.”
Haskell was present at every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the session. Among the things he advocated were provisions that affected both territories’ labor problems and avocation
for representatives of organized labor. Haskell also drafted a report drawing up county boundaries, led the crusade for state prohibition
, introduced Jim Crow laws
and successfully kept female suffrage
out of the Constitution.
At Tulsa on March 26, 1907, during the recess before the final adoption of the constitution by the convention, Haskell held a large Democratic Party banquet at the Brady Hotel
, attended by 500–600 of the leading Democrats of the new state. During this banquet, the first campaigns for governor were formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Haskell was presented by his friends with the honors of the Democratic gubernatorial candidacy. Among the other potential candidates were Thomas Doyle of Perry
and Lee Cruce
of Ardmore
.
Unfortunately for Haskell, the primaries for governor were set for June 8 and Doyle and Cruce had already been campaigning; Haskell had little time. During his campaign, Haskell made 88 speeches in 45 days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working in the school districts and securing support in every community. Once again Haskell’s hard working nature led him to win the Democratic nomination. Haskell's victory in the primaries was carried by a more than 4,000-vote majority. He immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the Republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz
, who was nominated by the Republican caucus at Tulsa.
Frantz, the current territorial governor, a former Rough Rider, a friend of President Roosevelt, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, was the strongest candidate the Republican party could have presented to face Haskell. Haskell challenged his opponent to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.
During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft
and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan
. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Taft’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Haskell won the gubernatorial race on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voted approved the Oklahoma Constitution
into law.
After Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution, a Republican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, "You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the Republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years." Haskell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he replied, "Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?"
On November 16, 1907, five minutes after it was known that Oklahoma had officially become a state, the oath of office
was administered to Governor Haskell by Leslie G. Niblack, editor of the Guthrie Leader, who had qualified as a notary public especially for this purpose. The ceremony took place privately in Haskell's hotel apartments in the presence of his immediate family, Robert Latham Owen, United States Senator-elect, and Thomas Owen of Muskogee, Haskell's former political manager. Haskell’s inaugural address at Guthrie, delivered on the south steps of the Carnegie Library, quickly lifted him into national prominence.
Haskell’s old friends William H. Murray
and Robert L. Williams
also came into power with the state’s founding; with Murray as the state’s first Speaker of the House
and Williams appointed, by Haskell, as the first Chief Justice of Oklahoma
. Haskell quickly became the idea of executive power
through his handling of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Through his powerful personality and keen understanding of the office he had helped to create, Governor Haskell would weld the powers granted to him as Governor in such a manner that he is still remembered as being Oklahoma's greatest chief executive.
During the state’s First Legislature, Governor Haskell delivered a message creating a commission charged with sending a message to the U.S. Congress: amending the Federal Constitution to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people. Though after he left office, his efforts, as well as the works of the Progressive-era leaders, provided for the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
in 1912.
Though Guthrie was the official capital of the State, Haskell set up his administration from Oklahoma City
. Oklahoma City quickly grew in industry and prominence, with a booming population of 64,000, shadowing the Capitol located just miles from the growing city. Haskell personally led the move to change the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. First, he moved the official home of the Great Seal of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Constitution. Slowly, all government functions moved to the Oklahoma City area.
In the Legislature’s first session, under Haskell’s leadership, Oklahoma adopted laws regulating banking in the state, reformed the old territorial prison system, and protected the public from exploitative railroads, public utilities, trusts and monopolies. Haskell also initiated a law insuring deposits in case of a bank failure, a landmark piece of legislation in the nation. Haskell also rigidly enforced prohibition through the Alcohol Control Act. Though following progressive dogma at every turn, such as the introduction of child labor laws, factory inspection codes, safety codes for mines, health and sanitary laws, and employer’s liability for workers, Haskell’s legislative schedule also included Jim Crow laws for Oklahoma. Haskell's other significant contributions while governor included establishing the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Oklahoma School for the Blind
, the Oklahoma College for Women and the Oklahoma State Department of Health
. In addition, he helped to create the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
in 1908.
Before Oklahoma became a state, all prisoners were imprisoned by Kansas officials. The Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
Kate Barnard
, Oklahoma's first female state official, visited the Kansas prisons and reported to Governor Haskell on the horrible conditions. In response, in 1908, Haskell pushed through the Legislature a bill that transferred 50 Oklahoma prisoners detained in the Kansas
penitentiary at Lansing
to McAlester, Oklahoma
. When the Oklahoma state militia
marched the prisoners down to McAlester, they found no prison. Under military supervision, the prisoners built Oklahoma State Peniteniary, the state's first correctional facility (which is still in use today). The militia housed the prisoners in a tent city and were authorized by Haskell to use lethal force against any prisoner that tried to escape.
A grandfather clause
was also enacted in the Legislature’s second session by the state’s Democratic leaders, effectively excluding all blacks from voting. Haskell would spend the remainder of his term enforcing prohibition, regulation of railroads and other trusts, and the moving of the state capital to Oklahoma City. Haskell’s dream came true on June 11, 1910, when Oklahoma City became the State’s official capital.
Throughout his term as Governor, Haskell remained free from corruption. Though he was the leader in the deliberations of the committee on county lines and county seats, when hundreds of towns had committees attending the sessions with heavy purses, he left these deliberations lean and poor, and by the time he retired from the Governor's office he had become utterly impoverished. In debate he ignored the graces of oratory and instead marshaled facts, arrayed statistics and piled up figures, using his cutting wit and grim humor to carry his point.
He possessed a deep insight into human psychology based on a reverence for public duty which is best demonstrated in his selection of the first judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He declared that, though he deemed knowledge of the law of vast importance in a court dealing with the liberties of the citizens, rising above and far beyond this was the requirement that the court should be composed of men of the noblest human impulses and a rich and abiding sympathy of heart.
At the end of his term as Governor in 1911, Haskell stepped down from the Governorship, happy to see his 1907 Democratic primary challenger Lee Cruce
inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma. In 1912, Haskell unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Democrat Robert Latham Owen in a hard-fought primary for Owen's Senate seat.
At each convention and in his speeches and in numerous articles appearing in the public press he disclosed an intimate understanding of the big money masters of America and ruthlessly exposed many of their venal practices and their corrupt usage of the public funds in their own interest to the detriment of the people.
. Like Thomas Jefferson
and John Adams
before him, Haskell’s last conscious thought occurred on the Fourth of July. Haskell slipped from consciousness and later died the next day, July 5, in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City at the age of 73. He would be buried in Muskogee, the city he adopted and loved so much, at Green Hill Cemetery.
Throughout his administration as Governor, Haskell’s practical mind, intuitive knowledge of the law and his insight into what the law should be enabled him to discern the underlying principles of any issue. Though firmly a Democrat, Haskell found the middle ground and usually brought the belligerent partisan forces and rival interests into friendly agreement.
Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma
, and Charles N. Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
are named in honor his honor. Haskell County, Oklahoma
is also named for him.
In 2007, Oklahoma celebrated 100 years of statehood. Many descendants of Charles Nathaniel Haskell were in attendance.
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...
. Haskell played a crucial role in drafting the Oklahoma Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
as well as Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
's statehood and admission into the United States as the 46th state in 1907. Haskell is also remembered as a prominent resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
and helped to bring the city to prominence throughout Oklahoma.
Early life and education
Born near Leipsic, OhioLeipsic, Ohio
Leipsic is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,236 at the 2000 census.-History:Leipsic was platted in 1857....
in 1860, Haskell was the son of a cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
who died when the boy was three years old. He learned to work hard to gain what he wanted. At the age of 10, he started working as a farm boy for a farmer named Miller in Putnam County, Ohio
Putnam County, Ohio
Putnam County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,499. The name is in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. Its county seat is...
, where he lived and worked for eight years as he grew into adulthood. Miller was a school teacher, but as the young Haskell had to work, he had little time to attend school. Mrs. Miller taught him at home and Haskell earned a teaching certificate at age 17.
Career
Haskell became a school teacher at age 18 and taught for three years in Putnam County. He "read the law" and on December 6, 1880, he passed the bar exam.He became a practicing attorney at age 20 without having academic training in the field. In his work as an attorney, Haskell became one of the most successful lawyers in Ottawa
Ottawa, Ohio
Ottawa is a village in and the county seat of Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,460 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1792 Major Alexander Truman, his servant William Lynch and guide/interpreter William Smalley were sent by George Washington on a peace mission...
, the county seat, as well as one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in northwestern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. In 1888, Haskell started work as a general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
; for the next 16 years, his business career gave him an understanding of American industrialism.
Marriage and family
Haskell married Lucie Pomeroy, daughter of a prominent Ottawa family, on October 11, 1881. After they had three children together, she died in March 1888. Their children were Norman, who became a Muskogee lawyer; Murray, a bank cashier; and Lucie.Haskell remarried in 1889, to Lillian Gallup. They also had three children together: Frances, Joe and Jane.
Move to Muskogee
Land Run of 1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
and the passage of the Organic Act
Organic Act
An Organic Act, in United States law, is an Act of the United States Congress that establishes a territory of the United States or an agency to manage certain federal lands. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, enacted by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 in order to create the...
in 1890, Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
was quickly coming onto the national scene. Seeing a chance to make it big, Haskell moved his family to Muskogee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, the capital of the Creek Nation, in March 1901. When he arrived, Haskell found Muskogee a dry, sleepy village of some 4,500 people. However immediately on his arrival, the town took new life, and business blocks were constructed, with Haskell building the first five-story business block in Oklahoma Territory.
Using his knowledge as a contractor, Haskell began building railroads and has the honor of having organized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of but a small few. It is said that he built and owned 14 brick buildings in the city. Through his influence, Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Haskell often told others that he hoped Muskogee would become the “Queen City of the Southwest.”
His success brought him much political clout in the politics of Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and the attention of the Creek Nation. During this time, the Native American nations in Indian Territory were talking of creating a state and joining the Union under the name of the State of Sequoyah. Haskell was selected as the official representative of the Creeks to the conventions, in the position of vice-president for the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
, held in Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,639 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McIntosh County.-Geography:Eufaula is located at ....
in 1902 and Muskogee in 1905. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent, save two: Haskell and William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
. Even though the attempt to create the state was blocked by US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Haskell wrote a large portion of the proposed state’s constitution. Though publicly, Haskell worked for a separate state for Indian Territory, privately, he was thrilled to see the Sequoyah state defeated. Haskell believed it would force the Indian leaders to join in statehood with Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
.
The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and President Roosevelt agreed that Oklahoma and Indian Territories could only enter the Union as one state, the State of Oklahoma. In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Haskell was elected as the delegate from the seventy-sixth district (including Muskogee) by the largest majority of any delegate in the entire new state. Traveling to Guthrie
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would meet William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
from the Muskogee convention and Robert L. Williams
Robert L. Williams
Robert Lee Williams was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the third Governor of Oklahoma. Williams would also play a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution...
. Because of their meetings at both conventions, Haskell would gain a friendship with Murray that would last until the end of his life.
With many of the men at the Guthrie convention having served at the earlier Muskogee convention, many of the ideas proposed for the new constitution were based upon the Sequoyah constitution. Haskell owned the New State Tribune, and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated into the document. While William H. Murray served as the convention's President, all recognized Haskell’s power within the body. A local newspaper during the time, the Guthrie Report, called Haskell “the power behind the throne.”
Haskell was present at every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the session. Among the things he advocated were provisions that affected both territories’ labor problems and avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
for representatives of organized labor. Haskell also drafted a report drawing up county boundaries, led the crusade for state prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, introduced Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
and successfully kept female suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
out of the Constitution.
Campaign for Governor
Brady Hotel (Tulsa)
The original Brady Hotel, a three-story wood frame building, was built in 1903 at Archer and North Main in Tulsa, Oklahoma by W. Tate Brady. It was the first hotel in Tulsa with baths, conveniently located to the Frisco railroad depot, and very popular among the oil men attracted by the new oil...
, attended by 500–600 of the leading Democrats of the new state. During this banquet, the first campaigns for governor were formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Haskell was presented by his friends with the honors of the Democratic gubernatorial candidacy. Among the other potential candidates were Thomas Doyle of Perry
Perry, Oklahoma
Perry is a city in Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,126. It is the county seat of Noble County.-19th century:...
and Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce was the second Governor of Oklahoma. Running against Charles N. Haskell in 1907 in the Democratic primaries, Lee would not receive the party's nomination for Oklahoma's first Governor...
of Ardmore
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
.
Unfortunately for Haskell, the primaries for governor were set for June 8 and Doyle and Cruce had already been campaigning; Haskell had little time. During his campaign, Haskell made 88 speeches in 45 days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working in the school districts and securing support in every community. Once again Haskell’s hard working nature led him to win the Democratic nomination. Haskell's victory in the primaries was carried by a more than 4,000-vote majority. He immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the Republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz
Frank Frantz
Frank Frantz was an American Rough Rider and politician who served as the seventh and final Governor of Oklahoma Territory. Frantz ran on the Republican ticket to serve as the first Governor of Oklahoma. Frantz lost the election to Democrat Charles N. Haskell.-Early life:On May 7, 1872, Frank...
, who was nominated by the Republican caucus at Tulsa.
Frantz, the current territorial governor, a former Rough Rider, a friend of President Roosevelt, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, was the strongest candidate the Republican party could have presented to face Haskell. Haskell challenged his opponent to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.
During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Taft’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Haskell won the gubernatorial race on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voted approved the Oklahoma Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
into law.
After Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution, a Republican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, "You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the Republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years." Haskell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he replied, "Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?"
Governor of Oklahoma
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
was administered to Governor Haskell by Leslie G. Niblack, editor of the Guthrie Leader, who had qualified as a notary public especially for this purpose. The ceremony took place privately in Haskell's hotel apartments in the presence of his immediate family, Robert Latham Owen, United States Senator-elect, and Thomas Owen of Muskogee, Haskell's former political manager. Haskell’s inaugural address at Guthrie, delivered on the south steps of the Carnegie Library, quickly lifted him into national prominence.
Haskell’s old friends William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
and Robert L. Williams
Robert L. Williams
Robert Lee Williams was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the third Governor of Oklahoma. Williams would also play a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution...
also came into power with the state’s founding; with Murray as the state’s first Speaker of the House
Oklahoma Legislature
The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the biennial meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma. It is bicameral, comprising the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate, with all members elected directly by the people. The House of Representatives has 101...
and Williams appointed, by Haskell, as the first Chief Justice of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and leads the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma....
. Haskell quickly became the idea of executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
through his handling of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Through his powerful personality and keen understanding of the office he had helped to create, Governor Haskell would weld the powers granted to him as Governor in such a manner that he is still remembered as being Oklahoma's greatest chief executive.
During the state’s First Legislature, Governor Haskell delivered a message creating a commission charged with sending a message to the U.S. Congress: amending the Federal Constitution to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people. Though after he left office, his efforts, as well as the works of the Progressive-era leaders, provided for the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
in 1912.
Though Guthrie was the official capital of the State, Haskell set up his administration from Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
. Oklahoma City quickly grew in industry and prominence, with a booming population of 64,000, shadowing the Capitol located just miles from the growing city. Haskell personally led the move to change the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. First, he moved the official home of the Great Seal of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Constitution. Slowly, all government functions moved to the Oklahoma City area.
In the Legislature’s first session, under Haskell’s leadership, Oklahoma adopted laws regulating banking in the state, reformed the old territorial prison system, and protected the public from exploitative railroads, public utilities, trusts and monopolies. Haskell also initiated a law insuring deposits in case of a bank failure, a landmark piece of legislation in the nation. Haskell also rigidly enforced prohibition through the Alcohol Control Act. Though following progressive dogma at every turn, such as the introduction of child labor laws, factory inspection codes, safety codes for mines, health and sanitary laws, and employer’s liability for workers, Haskell’s legislative schedule also included Jim Crow laws for Oklahoma. Haskell's other significant contributions while governor included establishing the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind, more commonly known as Parkview School, is located in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Since the early 1900s the school's primary mission has been to provide specialized education to students who are identified as being blind or visually impaired...
, the Oklahoma College for Women and the Oklahoma State Department of Health
Oklahoma State Department of Health
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Health. The Department is responsible for protecting the health of all Oklahomans and providing other essential human services...
. In addition, he helped to create the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government....
in 1908.
Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
The Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections is a now defunct elective executive officer of the state of Oklahoma.The office was established by the Oklahoma Constitution in 1907. The office was disestablished by the constitutional amendment State Question 50 to the Constitution. It was...
Kate Barnard
Kate Barnard
Catherine Ann "Kate" Barnard was the first woman to be elected as a state official in Oklahoma, and the United States in 1907...
, Oklahoma's first female state official, visited the Kansas prisons and reported to Governor Haskell on the horrible conditions. In response, in 1908, Haskell pushed through the Legislature a bill that transferred 50 Oklahoma prisoners detained in the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
penitentiary at Lansing
Lansing, Kansas
Lansing is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Leavenworth County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,265...
to McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 17,783 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pittsburg County. It is currently the largest city in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, followed by Durant....
. When the Oklahoma state militia
Oklahoma National Guard
The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Department of the Military, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army and Air National Guard components. The Governor of Oklahoma is Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National...
marched the prisoners down to McAlester, they found no prison. Under military supervision, the prisoners built Oklahoma State Peniteniary, the state's first correctional facility (which is still in use today). The militia housed the prisoners in a tent city and were authorized by Haskell to use lethal force against any prisoner that tried to escape.
A grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
was also enacted in the Legislature’s second session by the state’s Democratic leaders, effectively excluding all blacks from voting. Haskell would spend the remainder of his term enforcing prohibition, regulation of railroads and other trusts, and the moving of the state capital to Oklahoma City. Haskell’s dream came true on June 11, 1910, when Oklahoma City became the State’s official capital.
Throughout his term as Governor, Haskell remained free from corruption. Though he was the leader in the deliberations of the committee on county lines and county seats, when hundreds of towns had committees attending the sessions with heavy purses, he left these deliberations lean and poor, and by the time he retired from the Governor's office he had become utterly impoverished. In debate he ignored the graces of oratory and instead marshaled facts, arrayed statistics and piled up figures, using his cutting wit and grim humor to carry his point.
He possessed a deep insight into human psychology based on a reverence for public duty which is best demonstrated in his selection of the first judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He declared that, though he deemed knowledge of the law of vast importance in a court dealing with the liberties of the citizens, rising above and far beyond this was the requirement that the court should be composed of men of the noblest human impulses and a rich and abiding sympathy of heart.
At the end of his term as Governor in 1911, Haskell stepped down from the Governorship, happy to see his 1907 Democratic primary challenger Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce was the second Governor of Oklahoma. Running against Charles N. Haskell in 1907 in the Democratic primaries, Lee would not receive the party's nomination for Oklahoma's first Governor...
inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma. In 1912, Haskell unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Democrat Robert Latham Owen in a hard-fought primary for Owen's Senate seat.
National politics
Not only a powerful figure in Oklahoma politics, Haskell’s progressive roots and populist nature granted him considerable national clout. In 1908 Haskell headed the Oklahoma delegation to the National Democratic Convention at Denver and for a few months was Treasurer of the Democratic Campaign Committee. He was the spokesman for William Jennings Bryan in writing the platform of that Convention. In 1920 he again headed the Oklahoma delegation at the National Convention, which in that year met at San Francisco, and was committed to and faithfully labored for Oklahoma's United States Senator, Robert Latham Owen, for the nomination for President. Haskell would serve in this post two more times: a third in 1928 to the National Democratic Convention at Houston, and a fourth time in 1932 to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago.At each convention and in his speeches and in numerous articles appearing in the public press he disclosed an intimate understanding of the big money masters of America and ruthlessly exposed many of their venal practices and their corrupt usage of the public funds in their own interest to the detriment of the people.
Later life and legacy
Though out of office, Haskell never left the politics of Oklahoma far from his mind. He entered the oil business following his exit from the Governorship, a profession he would stay in until the end of his life and would earn him a considerable fortune. In 1933, Haskell suffered a major stroke, from which he would never recover. Three months later Haskell would die from pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Like Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
before him, Haskell’s last conscious thought occurred on the Fourth of July. Haskell slipped from consciousness and later died the next day, July 5, in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City at the age of 73. He would be buried in Muskogee, the city he adopted and loved so much, at Green Hill Cemetery.
Throughout his administration as Governor, Haskell’s practical mind, intuitive knowledge of the law and his insight into what the law should be enabled him to discern the underlying principles of any issue. Though firmly a Democrat, Haskell found the middle ground and usually brought the belligerent partisan forces and rival interests into friendly agreement.
Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
, and Charles N. Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County but also with a small section of the city in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 US Census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents...
are named in honor his honor. Haskell County, Oklahoma
Haskell County, Oklahoma
Haskell County is a county located in the southeast quadrant of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 11,792. Its county seat is Stigler. The county is named in honor of Charles N. Haskell, who was the first governor of Oklahoma....
is also named for him.
In 2007, Oklahoma celebrated 100 years of statehood. Many descendants of Charles Nathaniel Haskell were in attendance.
State of the State Speeches
- First State of the State
- Second State of the State
- Third State of the State
- Fourth and final State of the State
Sources
- History of Oklahoma
- Short biography of Charles N Haskell
- Family of Haskell
- Address of Haskell from the Chronicles of Oklahoma
- Tribute to Haskell from the Chronicles of Oklahoma
External links
Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and statesman who served as the first Governor of Oklahoma
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...
. Haskell played a crucial role in drafting the Oklahoma Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
as well as Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
's statehood and admission into the United States as the 46th state in 1907. Haskell is also remembered as a prominent resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
and helped to bring the city to prominence throughout Oklahoma.
Early life and education
Born near Leipsic, OhioLeipsic, Ohio
Leipsic is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,236 at the 2000 census.-History:Leipsic was platted in 1857....
in 1860, Haskell was the son of a cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
who died when the boy was three years old. He learned to work hard to gain what he wanted. At the age of 10, he started working as a farm boy for a farmer named Miller in Putnam County, Ohio
Putnam County, Ohio
Putnam County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,499. The name is in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. Its county seat is...
, where he lived and worked for eight years as he grew into adulthood. Miller was a school teacher, but as the young Haskell had to work, he had little time to attend school. Mrs. Miller taught him at home and Haskell earned a teaching certificate at age 17.
Career
Haskell became a school teacher at age 18 and taught for three years in Putnam County. He "read the law" and on December 6, 1880, he passed the bar exam.He became a practicing attorney at age 20 without having academic training in the field. In his work as an attorney, Haskell became one of the most successful lawyers in Ottawa
Ottawa, Ohio
Ottawa is a village in and the county seat of Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,460 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1792 Major Alexander Truman, his servant William Lynch and guide/interpreter William Smalley were sent by George Washington on a peace mission...
, the county seat, as well as one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in northwestern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. In 1888, Haskell started work as a general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
; for the next 16 years, his business career gave him an understanding of American industrialism.
Marriage and family
Haskell married Lucie Pomeroy, daughter of a prominent Ottawa family, on October 11, 1881. After they had three children together, she died in March 1888. Their children were Norman, who became a Muskogee lawyer; Murray, a bank cashier; and Lucie.Haskell remarried in 1889, to Lillian Gallup. They also had three children together: Frances, Joe and Jane.
Move to Muskogee
Land Run of 1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
and the passage of the Organic Act
Organic Act
An Organic Act, in United States law, is an Act of the United States Congress that establishes a territory of the United States or an agency to manage certain federal lands. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, enacted by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 in order to create the...
in 1890, Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
was quickly coming onto the national scene. Seeing a chance to make it big, Haskell moved his family to Muskogee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, the capital of the Creek Nation, in March 1901. When he arrived, Haskell found Muskogee a dry, sleepy village of some 4,500 people. However immediately on his arrival, the town took new life, and business blocks were constructed, with Haskell building the first five-story business block in Oklahoma Territory.
Using his knowledge as a contractor, Haskell began building railroads and has the honor of having organized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of but a small few. It is said that he built and owned 14 brick buildings in the city. Through his influence, Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Haskell often told others that he hoped Muskogee would become the “Queen City of the Southwest.”
His success brought him much political clout in the politics of Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and the attention of the Creek Nation. During this time, the Native American nations in Indian Territory were talking of creating a state and joining the Union under the name of the State of Sequoyah. Haskell was selected as the official representative of the Creeks to the conventions, in the position of vice-president for the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
, held in Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,639 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McIntosh County.-Geography:Eufaula is located at ....
in 1902 and Muskogee in 1905. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent, save two: Haskell and William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
. Even though the attempt to create the state was blocked by US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Haskell wrote a large portion of the proposed state’s constitution. Though publicly, Haskell worked for a separate state for Indian Territory, privately, he was thrilled to see the Sequoyah state defeated. Haskell believed it would force the Indian leaders to join in statehood with Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
.
The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and President Roosevelt agreed that Oklahoma and Indian Territories could only enter the Union as one state, the State of Oklahoma. In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Haskell was elected as the delegate from the seventy-sixth district (including Muskogee) by the largest majority of any delegate in the entire new state. Traveling to Guthrie
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would meet William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
from the Muskogee convention and Robert L. Williams
Robert L. Williams
Robert Lee Williams was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the third Governor of Oklahoma. Williams would also play a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution...
. Because of their meetings at both conventions, Haskell would gain a friendship with Murray that would last until the end of his life.
With many of the men at the Guthrie convention having served at the earlier Muskogee convention, many of the ideas proposed for the new constitution were based upon the Sequoyah constitution. Haskell owned the New State Tribune, and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated into the document. While William H. Murray served as the convention's President, all recognized Haskell’s power within the body. A local newspaper during the time, the Guthrie Report, called Haskell “the power behind the throne.”
Haskell was present at every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the session. Among the things he advocated were provisions that affected both territories’ labor problems and avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
for representatives of organized labor. Haskell also drafted a report drawing up county boundaries, led the crusade for state prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, introduced Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
and successfully kept female suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
out of the Constitution.
Campaign for Governor
Brady Hotel (Tulsa)
The original Brady Hotel, a three-story wood frame building, was built in 1903 at Archer and North Main in Tulsa, Oklahoma by W. Tate Brady. It was the first hotel in Tulsa with baths, conveniently located to the Frisco railroad depot, and very popular among the oil men attracted by the new oil...
, attended by 500–600 of the leading Democrats of the new state. During this banquet, the first campaigns for governor were formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Haskell was presented by his friends with the honors of the Democratic gubernatorial candidacy. Among the other potential candidates were Thomas Doyle of Perry
Perry, Oklahoma
Perry is a city in Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,126. It is the county seat of Noble County.-19th century:...
and Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce was the second Governor of Oklahoma. Running against Charles N. Haskell in 1907 in the Democratic primaries, Lee would not receive the party's nomination for Oklahoma's first Governor...
of Ardmore
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
.
Unfortunately for Haskell, the primaries for governor were set for June 8 and Doyle and Cruce had already been campaigning; Haskell had little time. During his campaign, Haskell made 88 speeches in 45 days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working in the school districts and securing support in every community. Once again Haskell’s hard working nature led him to win the Democratic nomination. Haskell's victory in the primaries was carried by a more than 4,000-vote majority. He immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the Republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz
Frank Frantz
Frank Frantz was an American Rough Rider and politician who served as the seventh and final Governor of Oklahoma Territory. Frantz ran on the Republican ticket to serve as the first Governor of Oklahoma. Frantz lost the election to Democrat Charles N. Haskell.-Early life:On May 7, 1872, Frank...
, who was nominated by the Republican caucus at Tulsa.
Frantz, the current territorial governor, a former Rough Rider, a friend of President Roosevelt, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, was the strongest candidate the Republican party could have presented to face Haskell. Haskell challenged his opponent to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.
During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Taft’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Haskell won the gubernatorial race on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voted approved the Oklahoma Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
into law.
After Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution, a Republican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, "You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the Republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years." Haskell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he replied, "Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?"
Governor of Oklahoma
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
was administered to Governor Haskell by Leslie G. Niblack, editor of the Guthrie Leader, who had qualified as a notary public especially for this purpose. The ceremony took place privately in Haskell's hotel apartments in the presence of his immediate family, Robert Latham Owen, United States Senator-elect, and Thomas Owen of Muskogee, Haskell's former political manager. Haskell’s inaugural address at Guthrie, delivered on the south steps of the Carnegie Library, quickly lifted him into national prominence.
Haskell’s old friends William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
and Robert L. Williams
Robert L. Williams
Robert Lee Williams was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the third Governor of Oklahoma. Williams would also play a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution...
also came into power with the state’s founding; with Murray as the state’s first Speaker of the House
Oklahoma Legislature
The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the biennial meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma. It is bicameral, comprising the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate, with all members elected directly by the people. The House of Representatives has 101...
and Williams appointed, by Haskell, as the first Chief Justice of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and leads the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma....
. Haskell quickly became the idea of executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
through his handling of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Through his powerful personality and keen understanding of the office he had helped to create, Governor Haskell would weld the powers granted to him as Governor in such a manner that he is still remembered as being Oklahoma's greatest chief executive.
During the state’s First Legislature, Governor Haskell delivered a message creating a commission charged with sending a message to the U.S. Congress: amending the Federal Constitution to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people. Though after he left office, his efforts, as well as the works of the Progressive-era leaders, provided for the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
in 1912.
Though Guthrie was the official capital of the State, Haskell set up his administration from Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
. Oklahoma City quickly grew in industry and prominence, with a booming population of 64,000, shadowing the Capitol located just miles from the growing city. Haskell personally led the move to change the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. First, he moved the official home of the Great Seal of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Constitution. Slowly, all government functions moved to the Oklahoma City area.
In the Legislature’s first session, under Haskell’s leadership, Oklahoma adopted laws regulating banking in the state, reformed the old territorial prison system, and protected the public from exploitative railroads, public utilities, trusts and monopolies. Haskell also initiated a law insuring deposits in case of a bank failure, a landmark piece of legislation in the nation. Haskell also rigidly enforced prohibition through the Alcohol Control Act. Though following progressive dogma at every turn, such as the introduction of child labor laws, factory inspection codes, safety codes for mines, health and sanitary laws, and employer’s liability for workers, Haskell’s legislative schedule also included Jim Crow laws for Oklahoma. Haskell's other significant contributions while governor included establishing the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind, more commonly known as Parkview School, is located in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Since the early 1900s the school's primary mission has been to provide specialized education to students who are identified as being blind or visually impaired...
, the Oklahoma College for Women and the Oklahoma State Department of Health
Oklahoma State Department of Health
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Health. The Department is responsible for protecting the health of all Oklahomans and providing other essential human services...
. In addition, he helped to create the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government....
in 1908.
Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
The Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections is a now defunct elective executive officer of the state of Oklahoma.The office was established by the Oklahoma Constitution in 1907. The office was disestablished by the constitutional amendment State Question 50 to the Constitution. It was...
Kate Barnard
Kate Barnard
Catherine Ann "Kate" Barnard was the first woman to be elected as a state official in Oklahoma, and the United States in 1907...
, Oklahoma's first female state official, visited the Kansas prisons and reported to Governor Haskell on the horrible conditions. In response, in 1908, Haskell pushed through the Legislature a bill that transferred 50 Oklahoma prisoners detained in the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
penitentiary at Lansing
Lansing, Kansas
Lansing is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Leavenworth County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,265...
to McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 17,783 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pittsburg County. It is currently the largest city in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, followed by Durant....
. When the Oklahoma state militia
Oklahoma National Guard
The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Department of the Military, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army and Air National Guard components. The Governor of Oklahoma is Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National...
marched the prisoners down to McAlester, they found no prison. Under military supervision, the prisoners built Oklahoma State Peniteniary, the state's first correctional facility (which is still in use today). The militia housed the prisoners in a tent city and were authorized by Haskell to use lethal force against any prisoner that tried to escape.
A grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
was also enacted in the Legislature’s second session by the state’s Democratic leaders, effectively excluding all blacks from voting. Haskell would spend the remainder of his term enforcing prohibition, regulation of railroads and other trusts, and the moving of the state capital to Oklahoma City. Haskell’s dream came true on June 11, 1910, when Oklahoma City became the State’s official capital.
Throughout his term as Governor, Haskell remained free from corruption. Though he was the leader in the deliberations of the committee on county lines and county seats, when hundreds of towns had committees attending the sessions with heavy purses, he left these deliberations lean and poor, and by the time he retired from the Governor's office he had become utterly impoverished. In debate he ignored the graces of oratory and instead marshaled facts, arrayed statistics and piled up figures, using his cutting wit and grim humor to carry his point.
He possessed a deep insight into human psychology based on a reverence for public duty which is best demonstrated in his selection of the first judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He declared that, though he deemed knowledge of the law of vast importance in a court dealing with the liberties of the citizens, rising above and far beyond this was the requirement that the court should be composed of men of the noblest human impulses and a rich and abiding sympathy of heart.
At the end of his term as Governor in 1911, Haskell stepped down from the Governorship, happy to see his 1907 Democratic primary challenger Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce was the second Governor of Oklahoma. Running against Charles N. Haskell in 1907 in the Democratic primaries, Lee would not receive the party's nomination for Oklahoma's first Governor...
inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma. In 1912, Haskell unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Democrat Robert Latham Owen in a hard-fought primary for Owen's Senate seat.
National politics
Not only a powerful figure in Oklahoma politics, Haskell’s progressive roots and populist nature granted him considerable national clout. In 1908 Haskell headed the Oklahoma delegation to the National Democratic Convention at Denver and for a few months was Treasurer of the Democratic Campaign Committee. He was the spokesman for William Jennings Bryan in writing the platform of that Convention. In 1920 he again headed the Oklahoma delegation at the National Convention, which in that year met at San Francisco, and was committed to and faithfully labored for Oklahoma's United States Senator, Robert Latham Owen, for the nomination for President. Haskell would serve in this post two more times: a third in 1928 to the National Democratic Convention at Houston, and a fourth time in 1932 to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago.At each convention and in his speeches and in numerous articles appearing in the public press he disclosed an intimate understanding of the big money masters of America and ruthlessly exposed many of their venal practices and their corrupt usage of the public funds in their own interest to the detriment of the people.
Later life and legacy
Though out of office, Haskell never left the politics of Oklahoma far from his mind. He entered the oil business following his exit from the Governorship, a profession he would stay in until the end of his life and would earn him a considerable fortune. In 1933, Haskell suffered a major stroke, from which he would never recover. Three months later Haskell would die from pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Like Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
before him, Haskell’s last conscious thought occurred on the Fourth of July. Haskell slipped from consciousness and later died the next day, July 5, in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City at the age of 73. He would be buried in Muskogee, the city he adopted and loved so much, at Green Hill Cemetery.
Throughout his administration as Governor, Haskell’s practical mind, intuitive knowledge of the law and his insight into what the law should be enabled him to discern the underlying principles of any issue. Though firmly a Democrat, Haskell found the middle ground and usually brought the belligerent partisan forces and rival interests into friendly agreement.
Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
, and Charles N. Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County but also with a small section of the city in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 US Census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents...
are named in honor his honor. Haskell County, Oklahoma
Haskell County, Oklahoma
Haskell County is a county located in the southeast quadrant of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 11,792. Its county seat is Stigler. The county is named in honor of Charles N. Haskell, who was the first governor of Oklahoma....
is also named for him.
In 2007, Oklahoma celebrated 100 years of statehood. Many descendants of Charles Nathaniel Haskell were in attendance.
State of the State Speeches
- First State of the State
- Second State of the State
- Third State of the State
- Fourth and final State of the State
Sources
- History of Oklahoma
- Short biography of Charles N Haskell
- Family of Haskell
- Address of Haskell from the Chronicles of Oklahoma
- Tribute to Haskell from the Chronicles of Oklahoma
External links
Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and statesman who served as the first Governor of Oklahoma
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...
. Haskell played a crucial role in drafting the Oklahoma Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
as well as Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
's statehood and admission into the United States as the 46th state in 1907. Haskell is also remembered as a prominent resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
and helped to bring the city to prominence throughout Oklahoma.
Early life and education
Born near Leipsic, OhioLeipsic, Ohio
Leipsic is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,236 at the 2000 census.-History:Leipsic was platted in 1857....
in 1860, Haskell was the son of a cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
who died when the boy was three years old. He learned to work hard to gain what he wanted. At the age of 10, he started working as a farm boy for a farmer named Miller in Putnam County, Ohio
Putnam County, Ohio
Putnam County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,499. The name is in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. Its county seat is...
, where he lived and worked for eight years as he grew into adulthood. Miller was a school teacher, but as the young Haskell had to work, he had little time to attend school. Mrs. Miller taught him at home and Haskell earned a teaching certificate at age 17.
Career
Haskell became a school teacher at age 18 and taught for three years in Putnam County. He "read the law" and on December 6, 1880, he passed the bar exam.He became a practicing attorney at age 20 without having academic training in the field. In his work as an attorney, Haskell became one of the most successful lawyers in Ottawa
Ottawa, Ohio
Ottawa is a village in and the county seat of Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,460 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1792 Major Alexander Truman, his servant William Lynch and guide/interpreter William Smalley were sent by George Washington on a peace mission...
, the county seat, as well as one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in northwestern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. In 1888, Haskell started work as a general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
; for the next 16 years, his business career gave him an understanding of American industrialism.
Marriage and family
Haskell married Lucie Pomeroy, daughter of a prominent Ottawa family, on October 11, 1881. After they had three children together, she died in March 1888. Their children were Norman, who became a Muskogee lawyer; Murray, a bank cashier; and Lucie.Haskell remarried in 1889, to Lillian Gallup. They also had three children together: Frances, Joe and Jane.
Move to Muskogee
Land Run of 1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
and the passage of the Organic Act
Organic Act
An Organic Act, in United States law, is an Act of the United States Congress that establishes a territory of the United States or an agency to manage certain federal lands. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, enacted by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 in order to create the...
in 1890, Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
was quickly coming onto the national scene. Seeing a chance to make it big, Haskell moved his family to Muskogee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, the capital of the Creek Nation, in March 1901. When he arrived, Haskell found Muskogee a dry, sleepy village of some 4,500 people. However immediately on his arrival, the town took new life, and business blocks were constructed, with Haskell building the first five-story business block in Oklahoma Territory.
Using his knowledge as a contractor, Haskell began building railroads and has the honor of having organized and built all the railroads running into that city with the exception of but a small few. It is said that he built and owned 14 brick buildings in the city. Through his influence, Muskogee grew to be a center of business and industry with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Haskell often told others that he hoped Muskogee would become the “Queen City of the Southwest.”
His success brought him much political clout in the politics of Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and the attention of the Creek Nation. During this time, the Native American nations in Indian Territory were talking of creating a state and joining the Union under the name of the State of Sequoyah. Haskell was selected as the official representative of the Creeks to the conventions, in the position of vice-president for the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
, held in Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,639 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McIntosh County.-Geography:Eufaula is located at ....
in 1902 and Muskogee in 1905. Of the six delegates at the Muskogee convention, all were of Native American descent, save two: Haskell and William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
. Even though the attempt to create the state was blocked by US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Haskell wrote a large portion of the proposed state’s constitution. Though publicly, Haskell worked for a separate state for Indian Territory, privately, he was thrilled to see the Sequoyah state defeated. Haskell believed it would force the Indian leaders to join in statehood with Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
.
The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and President Roosevelt agreed that Oklahoma and Indian Territories could only enter the Union as one state, the State of Oklahoma. In response to Congress’s passage of the Enabling Act in 1906, Haskell was elected as the delegate from the seventy-sixth district (including Muskogee) by the largest majority of any delegate in the entire new state. Traveling to Guthrie
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
and the Oklahoma Constitutional convention on November 20, 1906, Haskell would meet William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
from the Muskogee convention and Robert L. Williams
Robert L. Williams
Robert Lee Williams was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the third Governor of Oklahoma. Williams would also play a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution...
. Because of their meetings at both conventions, Haskell would gain a friendship with Murray that would last until the end of his life.
With many of the men at the Guthrie convention having served at the earlier Muskogee convention, many of the ideas proposed for the new constitution were based upon the Sequoyah constitution. Haskell owned the New State Tribune, and through its editorial columns advocated certain specific propositions for the new constitution, most of which he eventually saw, in substance if not in form, incorporated into the document. While William H. Murray served as the convention's President, all recognized Haskell’s power within the body. A local newspaper during the time, the Guthrie Report, called Haskell “the power behind the throne.”
Haskell was present at every roll-call and voted on every proposition during the session. Among the things he advocated were provisions that affected both territories’ labor problems and avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
for representatives of organized labor. Haskell also drafted a report drawing up county boundaries, led the crusade for state prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, introduced Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
and successfully kept female suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
out of the Constitution.
Campaign for Governor
Brady Hotel (Tulsa)
The original Brady Hotel, a three-story wood frame building, was built in 1903 at Archer and North Main in Tulsa, Oklahoma by W. Tate Brady. It was the first hotel in Tulsa with baths, conveniently located to the Frisco railroad depot, and very popular among the oil men attracted by the new oil...
, attended by 500–600 of the leading Democrats of the new state. During this banquet, the first campaigns for governor were formally inaugurated. It was during the course of that evening that Haskell was presented by his friends with the honors of the Democratic gubernatorial candidacy. Among the other potential candidates were Thomas Doyle of Perry
Perry, Oklahoma
Perry is a city in Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,126. It is the county seat of Noble County.-19th century:...
and Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce was the second Governor of Oklahoma. Running against Charles N. Haskell in 1907 in the Democratic primaries, Lee would not receive the party's nomination for Oklahoma's first Governor...
of Ardmore
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
.
Unfortunately for Haskell, the primaries for governor were set for June 8 and Doyle and Cruce had already been campaigning; Haskell had little time. During his campaign, Haskell made 88 speeches in 45 days, and reached nearly every county, while the lieutenants of the respective candidates were vigorously working in the school districts and securing support in every community. Once again Haskell’s hard working nature led him to win the Democratic nomination. Haskell's victory in the primaries was carried by a more than 4,000-vote majority. He immediately confronted a new opponent in the opposite party, the Republican territorial governor, Frank Frantz
Frank Frantz
Frank Frantz was an American Rough Rider and politician who served as the seventh and final Governor of Oklahoma Territory. Frantz ran on the Republican ticket to serve as the first Governor of Oklahoma. Frantz lost the election to Democrat Charles N. Haskell.-Early life:On May 7, 1872, Frank...
, who was nominated by the Republican caucus at Tulsa.
Frantz, the current territorial governor, a former Rough Rider, a friend of President Roosevelt, and with the federal prestige and support backing him, was the strongest candidate the Republican party could have presented to face Haskell. Haskell challenged his opponent to joint public discussions throughout the state, and every problem concerned with the administration of the new state came up and was debated during the campaign.
During the course of the campaign, two nationally prominent figures spoke at various locations: Republican presidential nominee William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
. Unfortunately for the Republicans, Taft’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s proposed constitution and his advice that the people vote against it caused the voters to react in favor of the Democrats. Haskell won the gubernatorial race on September 17, 1907. On the same day, the voted approved the Oklahoma Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
into law.
After Haskell's election and the approval of the constitution, a Republican approached the governor-elect and is reported to have said, "You have so written the constitution and carried on this fight in a way that the Republicans can't get anything in the state for fifty years." Haskell's eyes had a twinkle in them when he replied, "Well, that's soon enough, isn't it?"
Governor of Oklahoma
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
was administered to Governor Haskell by Leslie G. Niblack, editor of the Guthrie Leader, who had qualified as a notary public especially for this purpose. The ceremony took place privately in Haskell's hotel apartments in the presence of his immediate family, Robert Latham Owen, United States Senator-elect, and Thomas Owen of Muskogee, Haskell's former political manager. Haskell’s inaugural address at Guthrie, delivered on the south steps of the Carnegie Library, quickly lifted him into national prominence.
Haskell’s old friends William H. Murray
William H. Murray
William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...
and Robert L. Williams
Robert L. Williams
Robert Lee Williams was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the third Governor of Oklahoma. Williams would also play a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution...
also came into power with the state’s founding; with Murray as the state’s first Speaker of the House
Oklahoma Legislature
The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the biennial meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma. It is bicameral, comprising the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate, with all members elected directly by the people. The House of Representatives has 101...
and Williams appointed, by Haskell, as the first Chief Justice of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and leads the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma....
. Haskell quickly became the idea of executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
through his handling of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Through his powerful personality and keen understanding of the office he had helped to create, Governor Haskell would weld the powers granted to him as Governor in such a manner that he is still remembered as being Oklahoma's greatest chief executive.
During the state’s First Legislature, Governor Haskell delivered a message creating a commission charged with sending a message to the U.S. Congress: amending the Federal Constitution to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people. Though after he left office, his efforts, as well as the works of the Progressive-era leaders, provided for the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
in 1912.
Though Guthrie was the official capital of the State, Haskell set up his administration from Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
. Oklahoma City quickly grew in industry and prominence, with a booming population of 64,000, shadowing the Capitol located just miles from the growing city. Haskell personally led the move to change the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. First, he moved the official home of the Great Seal of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Constitution. Slowly, all government functions moved to the Oklahoma City area.
In the Legislature’s first session, under Haskell’s leadership, Oklahoma adopted laws regulating banking in the state, reformed the old territorial prison system, and protected the public from exploitative railroads, public utilities, trusts and monopolies. Haskell also initiated a law insuring deposits in case of a bank failure, a landmark piece of legislation in the nation. Haskell also rigidly enforced prohibition through the Alcohol Control Act. Though following progressive dogma at every turn, such as the introduction of child labor laws, factory inspection codes, safety codes for mines, health and sanitary laws, and employer’s liability for workers, Haskell’s legislative schedule also included Jim Crow laws for Oklahoma. Haskell's other significant contributions while governor included establishing the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind
Oklahoma School for the Blind, more commonly known as Parkview School, is located in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Since the early 1900s the school's primary mission has been to provide specialized education to students who are identified as being blind or visually impaired...
, the Oklahoma College for Women and the Oklahoma State Department of Health
Oklahoma State Department of Health
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Health. The Department is responsible for protecting the health of all Oklahomans and providing other essential human services...
. In addition, he helped to create the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government....
in 1908.
Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
The Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections is a now defunct elective executive officer of the state of Oklahoma.The office was established by the Oklahoma Constitution in 1907. The office was disestablished by the constitutional amendment State Question 50 to the Constitution. It was...
Kate Barnard
Kate Barnard
Catherine Ann "Kate" Barnard was the first woman to be elected as a state official in Oklahoma, and the United States in 1907...
, Oklahoma's first female state official, visited the Kansas prisons and reported to Governor Haskell on the horrible conditions. In response, in 1908, Haskell pushed through the Legislature a bill that transferred 50 Oklahoma prisoners detained in the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
penitentiary at Lansing
Lansing, Kansas
Lansing is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Leavenworth County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,265...
to McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 17,783 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pittsburg County. It is currently the largest city in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, followed by Durant....
. When the Oklahoma state militia
Oklahoma National Guard
The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Department of the Military, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army and Air National Guard components. The Governor of Oklahoma is Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National...
marched the prisoners down to McAlester, they found no prison. Under military supervision, the prisoners built Oklahoma State Peniteniary, the state's first correctional facility (which is still in use today). The militia housed the prisoners in a tent city and were authorized by Haskell to use lethal force against any prisoner that tried to escape.
A grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
was also enacted in the Legislature’s second session by the state’s Democratic leaders, effectively excluding all blacks from voting. Haskell would spend the remainder of his term enforcing prohibition, regulation of railroads and other trusts, and the moving of the state capital to Oklahoma City. Haskell’s dream came true on June 11, 1910, when Oklahoma City became the State’s official capital.
Throughout his term as Governor, Haskell remained free from corruption. Though he was the leader in the deliberations of the committee on county lines and county seats, when hundreds of towns had committees attending the sessions with heavy purses, he left these deliberations lean and poor, and by the time he retired from the Governor's office he had become utterly impoverished. In debate he ignored the graces of oratory and instead marshaled facts, arrayed statistics and piled up figures, using his cutting wit and grim humor to carry his point.
He possessed a deep insight into human psychology based on a reverence for public duty which is best demonstrated in his selection of the first judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He declared that, though he deemed knowledge of the law of vast importance in a court dealing with the liberties of the citizens, rising above and far beyond this was the requirement that the court should be composed of men of the noblest human impulses and a rich and abiding sympathy of heart.
At the end of his term as Governor in 1911, Haskell stepped down from the Governorship, happy to see his 1907 Democratic primary challenger Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce was the second Governor of Oklahoma. Running against Charles N. Haskell in 1907 in the Democratic primaries, Lee would not receive the party's nomination for Oklahoma's first Governor...
inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma. In 1912, Haskell unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Democrat Robert Latham Owen in a hard-fought primary for Owen's Senate seat.
National politics
Not only a powerful figure in Oklahoma politics, Haskell’s progressive roots and populist nature granted him considerable national clout. In 1908 Haskell headed the Oklahoma delegation to the National Democratic Convention at Denver and for a few months was Treasurer of the Democratic Campaign Committee. He was the spokesman for William Jennings Bryan in writing the platform of that Convention. In 1920 he again headed the Oklahoma delegation at the National Convention, which in that year met at San Francisco, and was committed to and faithfully labored for Oklahoma's United States Senator, Robert Latham Owen, for the nomination for President. Haskell would serve in this post two more times: a third in 1928 to the National Democratic Convention at Houston, and a fourth time in 1932 to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago.At each convention and in his speeches and in numerous articles appearing in the public press he disclosed an intimate understanding of the big money masters of America and ruthlessly exposed many of their venal practices and their corrupt usage of the public funds in their own interest to the detriment of the people.
Later life and legacy
Though out of office, Haskell never left the politics of Oklahoma far from his mind. He entered the oil business following his exit from the Governorship, a profession he would stay in until the end of his life and would earn him a considerable fortune. In 1933, Haskell suffered a major stroke, from which he would never recover. Three months later Haskell would die from pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Like Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
before him, Haskell’s last conscious thought occurred on the Fourth of July. Haskell slipped from consciousness and later died the next day, July 5, in the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City at the age of 73. He would be buried in Muskogee, the city he adopted and loved so much, at Green Hill Cemetery.
Throughout his administration as Governor, Haskell’s practical mind, intuitive knowledge of the law and his insight into what the law should be enabled him to discern the underlying principles of any issue. Though firmly a Democrat, Haskell found the middle ground and usually brought the belligerent partisan forces and rival interests into friendly agreement.
Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
, and Charles N. Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County but also with a small section of the city in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 US Census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents...
are named in honor his honor. Haskell County, Oklahoma
Haskell County, Oklahoma
Haskell County is a county located in the southeast quadrant of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 11,792. Its county seat is Stigler. The county is named in honor of Charles N. Haskell, who was the first governor of Oklahoma....
is also named for him.
In 2007, Oklahoma celebrated 100 years of statehood. Many descendants of Charles Nathaniel Haskell were in attendance.
State of the State Speeches
- First State of the State
- Second State of the State
- Third State of the State
- Fourth and final State of the State
Sources
- History of Oklahoma
- Short biography of Charles N Haskell
- Family of Haskell
- Address of Haskell from the Chronicles of Oklahoma
- Tribute to Haskell from the Chronicles of Oklahoma