Carl Albert Center Congressional Archives

We Know We Belong to the Land - A Hundred Years of Oklahoma and the Congress

War and American Ascendance

Above: In the spring of 1942, former Senator William B. Pine was the Republican candidate chosen to run against incumbent Josh Lee. Six weeks after the primary, Pine died. Republicans then chose anti-New Deal Democrat Edward H. Moore (R-OK, 1943-1948) as their candidate. Ultimately the victor in the election, Moore supported all purely military legislation, opposed all spending for public improvements, and supported programs favorable to the oil industry. (Courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)

Even before Pearl Harbor, Congress and Franklin D. Roosevelt prepared for the seeming inevitability of another world conflict. Although Congress had confirmed the nation’s isolationism with the Neutrality Act of 1935, it did not stop such measures as the Naval Expansion Act of 1938 or the Lend-Lease Act. Congress labored not only for war needs but also planned for the postwar. The 1944 G.I. Bill prepared returning veterans for their reentry into civilian life. Congressional resolutions in 1943 resulted in the birth of the United Nations.

Above: The Oklahoma delegation in the early 1940s. From the left are Victor Wickersham (D-OK, 1941-1946, 1949-1956, 1961-1964), Ross Rizley (D-OK, 1941-1948), Mike Monroney, Wesley E. Disney, Paul Stewart (D-OK, 1943-1946), Lyle Boren, Elmer Thomas, Jack Nichols, Jed Johnson Sr., and Edward H. Moore.

The Democratic Party retained its preeminent role in state politics but did not enjoy the 1930s pervasive sway over elective office. Even as Oklahoma voters continued to revere FDR and regularly helped to return him to the White House, the domestic aspects of the New Deal did not engender the same devotion. New Deal Senator Josh Lee went down to defeat in 1942 at the hands of the Republican candidate Edward H. Moore, an anti-New Deal Democrat who had succeeded to the nomination after the death of W. B. Pine. Interestingly, Moore retained his registration in the Democratic Party. The Republican vote of 1942 resulted in part from a record low Democratic turnout. Two years later the First District joined the traditionally Republican Eighth District, which had returned to the fold in 1940. The two House seats and one Senate seat represented the Republican pinnacle for two decades to come.

Cover of bulletin "How We Can Lick the Axis and Reduce Taxes"

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