Oklahoma Statehood, November 16, 1907
Housed in the historical records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at the Center for Legislative Archives are many documents that illuminate Congress's role in the statehood process. Below is a selection of the wide-variety of congressional records that document Oklahoma's unique path to statehood.
On September 17, 1907 the people of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories voted favorably on statehood. The vote was certified and delivered to the President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt and on November 16, 1907, Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation 780 admitting Oklahoma as the forty-sixth state. In his annual message on December 3, 1907—just a few weeks later—President Roosevelt announced to Congress, "Oklahoma has become a state, standing on full equity with her elder sisters, and her future is assured by her great natural resources."
Read select pages from House Document 1, 60th Congress, President Theodore Roosevelt's Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1907. The full Seventh Annual Message is available online from the American Presidency Project.
Survey Map of Oklahoma and Indian Territory showing Distances, Municipal Towns, and Post Offices, published by George Cram, 1902. Most of the land that is now Oklahoma was acquired by the U.S. in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. In the 1830s, the United States used the land to relocate Indian tribes and the Indian Territory was formed from the land set aside by the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834. The Indian Territory originally extended beyond present-day Oklahoma, but the size was gradually reduced over the course of the 19th century. In 1889 Congress authorized the opening of land seized from the Indian Territory for homestead settlement, and a year later Congress passed an act that officially created the Oklahoma Territory. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
President Benjamin Harrison's Nomination of George Washington Steele to be the Governor of the Oklahoma Territory, May 8, 1890. Congress holds the power to make all the needful laws in the territories, including the establishment of the territory and territorial government. In 1890 Congress created the Oklahoma Territory and confirmed George Washington Steele as the first Territorial Governor. RG 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives.
First page of the Joint Statehood Convention, Oklahoma City, January 20, 1906. Although the Oklahoma and Indian Territories had sufficient population to be admitted as separate states, Congress insisted that the territories would only be granted statehood as a single, combined state. As a result, delegates representing the citizens of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories met in Oklahoma City for a joint statehood convention. They outlined their reasons for statehood and drafted a petition to Congress which was presented on March 7, 1906. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
H.R. 12707, a Bill to Enable the People of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories to Form a State Constitution and State Government, January 20, 1906. The Oklahoma statehood bill, as originally introduced to the House, also included the admission of New Mexico and Arizona as one state. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
Cover of pamphlet Souvenirs of Tulsa, Indian Territory, March 20, 1905. This pamphlet is part of the bill file for H.R. 12707, Oklahoma's statehood bill. It, along with a multitude of other documentation, was submitted to Congress as evidence that Oklahoma was ready for statehood. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
General View of Tulsa, page from the pamphlet Souvenirs of Tulsa, Indian Territory, March 20, 1905. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
High School, page from the pamphlet Souvenirs of Tulsa, Indian Territory, March 20, 1905. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
Main Street, page from the pamphlet Souvenirs of Tulsa, Indian Territory, March 20, 1905. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
Telegram from T.H. Marlin of the Indian Territory to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Joseph Cannon, March 13, 1906. The House bundled the New Mexico and Arizona statehood with Oklahoma statehood, which made for an immensely controversial bill. Speaker Cannon (R-IL) pushed the contentious bill through the House. The Senate, however, amended the bill to omit New Mexico and Arizona statehood. Speaker Cannon, despite an avalanche of telegrams from the residents of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories, remained determined to resist the Senate's amendments. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
Letter from Edwin Meeker of the Oklahoma Territory to Representative Henry Burd Cassel (R-PA) Regarding the Senate's Amendment to the Oklahoma Statehood Bill, March 13, 1906. On March 9, 1906, the Senate voted to admit Oklahoma and the Indian Territory as one state and struck all references to New Mexico and Arizona that were in the original House bill. When it became apparent the House was going to fight the Senate amendments, telegrams and letters from residents of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories flooded into Washington, D.C. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
First page of the Engrossed Version of H.R. 12707, An Act to Enable the People of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories to Form a State Constitution and State Government, June 16, 1906. On June 16, 1906, after months of political wrangling, Congress finally passed an Act enabling the people of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories to form a state constitution and state government and to be admitted into the Union on equal footing with the existing states. Congress included a compromise measure that allowed the voters of the Arizona Territory and New Mexico Territory to decide if the territories should be admitted into the union as one state. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
Endorsement page of the Engrossed Version of H.R. 12707, An Act to Enable the People of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories to Form a State Constitution and State Government, June 16, 1906. The endorsement for H.R. 12707 illustrates the long, complicated process the bill underwent from January to June, 1906. RG 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives.
For more information about Oklahoma's history please visit:
- The Oklahoma Historical Society: http://www.okhistory.org/
- The University of Oklahoma, Carl Albert Center: https://www.ou.edu/carlalbertcenter/congressional-collection