Oklahoma - The Sooner State
Motto: Labor conquers all things
Capital/Largest City: Oklahoma City
Leaders
Governor Brad Henry (D)
Senator Tom Coburn (R)
Senator James Inhofe (R)
1. John Sullivan (R)
2. Dan Boren (D)
3. Frank D. Lucas (R)
4. Tom Cole (R)
5. Mary Fallin (R)
2. Dan Boren (D)
3. Frank D. Lucas (R)
4. Tom Cole (R)
5. Mary Fallin (R)
Prayer Points
*Declare revival comes to the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Oklahoma.
*Declare the people of Oklahoma are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Oklahoma walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Oklahoma.
*Declare protection over the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Oklahoma.
*Declare Christians in Oklahoma get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Oklahoma.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Oklahoma.
*Declare the people of Oklahoma are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Oklahoma walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Oklahoma.
*Declare protection over the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Oklahoma.
*Declare Christians in Oklahoma get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Oklahoma.
Set aside as Indian Territory in 1834, the region was divided into Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory on May 2, 1890. The two were combined to make a new state, Oklahoma, on Nov. 16, 1907.
On April 22, 1889, the first day homesteading was permitted, 50,000 people swarmed into the area. Those who tried to beat the noon starting gun were called “Sooners,” hence the state's nickname.
Oil made Oklahoma a rich state, but natural-gas production has now surpassed it. Oil refining, meat packing, food processing, and machinery manufacturing (especially construction and oil equipment) are important industries. Minerals produced in Oklahoma include helium, gypsum, zinc, cement, coal, copper, and silver.
Oklahoma's rich plains produce bumper yields of wheat, as well as large crops of sorghum, hay, cotton, and peanuts. More than half of Oklahoma's annual farm receipts are contributed by livestock products, including cattle, dairy products, swine, and broilers. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108260.html)
On April 22, 1889, the first day homesteading was permitted, 50,000 people swarmed into the area. Those who tried to beat the noon starting gun were called “Sooners,” hence the state's nickname.
Oil made Oklahoma a rich state, but natural-gas production has now surpassed it. Oil refining, meat packing, food processing, and machinery manufacturing (especially construction and oil equipment) are important industries. Minerals produced in Oklahoma include helium, gypsum, zinc, cement, coal, copper, and silver.
Oklahoma's rich plains produce bumper yields of wheat, as well as large crops of sorghum, hay, cotton, and peanuts. More than half of Oklahoma's annual farm receipts are contributed by livestock products, including cattle, dairy products, swine, and broilers. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108260.html)
Major land runs, including the Land Run of 1889, were held for settlers on the hour that certain territories were opened to settlement. Usually, land was allocated to settlers on a first come, first served basis. Those who broke the rules by crossing the border into the territory before it was allowed were said to have been crossing the border sooner, leading to the term sooners, which eventually became the state's official nickname.
Delegations to make the territory into a state began near the turn of the 20th century, when the Curius Act abolished all tribal jurisdiction in Indian Territory. Attempts to create an all-Indian state named Oklahoma, and a later attempt to create an all-Indian state named Sequoyah failed, but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention, which took place two years later. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma was established as the 46th state in the Union.
The new state became a focal point for the emerging oil industry, as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth. Tulsa eventually became known as the "Oil Capital of the World" for most of the 20th century, and oil investments fueled much of the state's early economy. In 1927, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the "Father of Route 66", began a campaign to create U.S. Route 66. Using an existing stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66, Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66, based in his hometown of Tulsa.
In the early 20th century, despite Jim Crow Laws and a statewide presence of the Ku Klux Klan, Tulsa was home to one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States, but was the site of the Tulsa Race Riot in 1921. One of the costliest acts of racial violence in American history, sixteen hours of rioting resulted in 35 city blocks destroyed, $1.8 million in property damage, and a death toll estimated to be as high as 300 people. By the late 1920s, the Ku Klux Clan was reduced to negligible influence within the state.
During the 1930s, parts of the state began feeling the consequences of poor farming practices, drought, and high winds. Known as the Dust Bowl, areas of Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall and abnormally high temperatures, sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of the western United States. Over a twenty-year period ending in 1950, the state saw its only historical decline in population, dropping 6.9 percent. In response, dramatic efforts in soil and water conservation led to massive flood control systems and dams, creating hundreds of reservoirs and man-made lakes. By the 1960s, more than 200 man-made lakes had been created, the most in the nation.
In 1995, Oklahoma City became the scene of one of the worst acts of terrorism ever committed in American history. The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols detonated an explosive outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killed 168 people, including 19 children. Timothy McVeigh was later sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection, while his partner, Terry Nichols, was convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder and received life in prison without the possibility of parole. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)
Delegations to make the territory into a state began near the turn of the 20th century, when the Curius Act abolished all tribal jurisdiction in Indian Territory. Attempts to create an all-Indian state named Oklahoma, and a later attempt to create an all-Indian state named Sequoyah failed, but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention, which took place two years later. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma was established as the 46th state in the Union.
The new state became a focal point for the emerging oil industry, as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth. Tulsa eventually became known as the "Oil Capital of the World" for most of the 20th century, and oil investments fueled much of the state's early economy. In 1927, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the "Father of Route 66", began a campaign to create U.S. Route 66. Using an existing stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66, Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66, based in his hometown of Tulsa.
In the early 20th century, despite Jim Crow Laws and a statewide presence of the Ku Klux Klan, Tulsa was home to one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States, but was the site of the Tulsa Race Riot in 1921. One of the costliest acts of racial violence in American history, sixteen hours of rioting resulted in 35 city blocks destroyed, $1.8 million in property damage, and a death toll estimated to be as high as 300 people. By the late 1920s, the Ku Klux Clan was reduced to negligible influence within the state.
During the 1930s, parts of the state began feeling the consequences of poor farming practices, drought, and high winds. Known as the Dust Bowl, areas of Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall and abnormally high temperatures, sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of the western United States. Over a twenty-year period ending in 1950, the state saw its only historical decline in population, dropping 6.9 percent. In response, dramatic efforts in soil and water conservation led to massive flood control systems and dams, creating hundreds of reservoirs and man-made lakes. By the 1960s, more than 200 man-made lakes had been created, the most in the nation.
In 1995, Oklahoma City became the scene of one of the worst acts of terrorism ever committed in American history. The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols detonated an explosive outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killed 168 people, including 19 children. Timothy McVeigh was later sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection, while his partner, Terry Nichols, was convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder and received life in prison without the possibility of parole. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)
Politics
Oklahoma has a voter demographic weighted towards the Democratic Party as of 2007. Though there are 11.6 percent more registered Democrats in Oklahoma than registered Republicans, the state has voted for a Republican in every presidential election from 1968 forward, and in 2004, George W. Bush carried every county in the state and 65.6 percent of the statewide vote. Three third parties have substantial influence in state politics: Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Green Party of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Constitution Party. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)
Religion
Oklahoma is part of a geographical region characterized by widespread beliefs in Biblical Christianity and Evangelical Protestantism known as the "Bible Belt". Spanning the Southeastern United States, the area is known for politically and socially conservative views. Tulsa, the state's second largest city, home to Oral Roberts University, is considered an apex of the region and is known as one of the "buckles of the Bible Belt". According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of Oklahoma's religious adherents — 85 percent — are Christian, accounting for about 80 percent of the population. The percentage of Oklahomans affiliated with Catholicism is half of the national average, while the percentage affiliated with Evangelical Protestantism is more than twice the national average — tied with Arkansas for the largest percentage of any state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)
Oklahoma is part of a geographical region characterized by widespread beliefs in Biblical Christianity and Evangelical Protestantism known as the "Bible Belt". Spanning the Southeastern United States, the area is known for politically and socially conservative views. Tulsa, the state's second largest city, home to Oral Roberts University, is considered an apex of the region and is known as one of the "buckles of the Bible Belt". According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of Oklahoma's religious adherents — 85 percent — are Christian, accounting for about 80 percent of the population. The percentage of Oklahomans affiliated with Catholicism is half of the national average, while the percentage affiliated with Evangelical Protestantism is more than twice the national average — tied with Arkansas for the largest percentage of any state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)
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