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William H. Murray
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1869 births
   
1956 deaths
   
people from the sherman-denison, texas, area
   
governors of oklahoma
   
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William Henry David "Alfalfa Bill" Murray ( 1869 – 1956 ) was a United States Democratic Party politician representing Oklahoma .

Murray, born in Texas , was a schoolteacher and newspaper editor before moving to Oklahoma and becoming a successful attorney. He was an important force behind the Sequoyah State Convention and later the Oklahoma constitutional convention and the push for Oklahoma statehood, which happened in 1907 . Murray then served as the first speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, in which he worked to put in place Jim Crow laws and school segregation. Murray also fought against much of Kate Barnard 's work as Commissioner of Charities and Corrections.

Murray was elected to the United States House Of Representatives as Oklahoma's only member in 1912. He was reelected in 1914 as the congressman for the fourth district, but was defeated for re-election in 1916. He then temporarily retired from politics and started an agricultural commune in Bolivia . By 1929 it had failed. He went back to Oklahoma and immediately returned to politics.

Murray was elected Governor Of Oklahoma in 1930 and served as governor from 1931 until 1935. He was also a favorite son candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, using the platform "bread, butter, bacon and beans", but received only one delegate at the Democratic National Convention outside of Oklahoma. As governor he supported state government intervention to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression and at first supported the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt . However, like many Oklahoma politicians, he later turned against it. He was particularly interested in issues relating to agriculture and farmers.

After his retirement as governor, he became a radical Racist and Conspiracy Theorist . He wrote several books which seemed to indicate his support for Fascism .

His son, Johnston Murray , was also a Democratic politician and governor of Oklahoma.

In 1972, the Oklahoma legislature changed the name of Murray State College of Agriculture and Applied Science to Murray State College --in honor of the former governor. The Community College is located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma .

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