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Oklahoma Politics and the New DealIn 1930, Oklahoma’s voters chose William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray as governor. They hoped that he could do something to help them cope with the depression. He convinced the legislature to give $600,000 to pay for seeds for farmers and for the purchase of emergency commodities including food for the hungry. He declared martial law in the oil fields and closed them until prices started going up. Then he allowed the wells to pump, but the oilmen had a strict quota to limit production. He negotiated with Texas and Kansas for a common quota system. Because of Murray’s actions, the price of oil went up. When President Hoover created the Grain Stabilization Corporation and the Cotton Stabilization Corporation, Murray created parallel state boards, and he cooperated fully with the federal government. The price of cotton and grain also started going up. As a reform governor, Murray had his faults. In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) won the presidency on a promise of a "New Deal." He promised to help the people deal with the depression. Murray also sought the presidency and thought that Roosevelt had insulted him during the 1932 Democratic convention. Therefore, Murray refused to cooperate with the new president. Many of the New Deal reforms required a "cost share" on behalf of the state. Murray would not match the federal dollars. Consequently, Oklahoma was shut out of many programs. The New Deal had many different programs that created millions of jobs. But Oklahoma did not benefit fully because of Murray’s conflict with FDR.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was also important. It established a minimum hourly wage and maximum work hours per week. Most workers benefited except farm and domestic workers. The new law did not apply to them, but they were later brought into the system.
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