ELON COLLEGE – At first glance, Oklahoma seems an unlikely state to have supported one of the largest socialist movements in the country. Yet that was the case during the first two decades of this century.
Jim Bissett, associate professor of history, chronicles the Oklahoma socialist movement in his new book, “Agrarian Socialism in America, Marx, Jefferson and Jesus in the Oklahoma Countryside, 1904-1920.” The 272-page book was published by the University of Oklahoma Press.
From 1900 to 1920, socialist elected officials held the balance of political power in dozens of American cities and even served in the U.S. Congress, Bissett writes in his book. “Through these years of socialist relevance, the state of Oklahoma supported the most vigorous, ambitious and fascinating socialist movement of all.”
Bissett cites several reasons, including economic conditions and the socialists’ involvement in earlier movements, for the party’s success in electing officials.
“The Socialist Party got most of its support from the farmers,” Bissett said. “These were people who had moved to the state from other places. They were looking for a better life, but it was a period when farmers were losing ground. They worked hard and had almost nothing to show for it. They blamed the system for the failures. These farmers were very smart and sophisticated.”
The party also tailored its message to appeal to Oklahomans because its leaders knew that socialism would not succeed as long as it remained an alien doctrine. Party leaders used evangelical Protestant traditions, the Jeffersonian emphasis on the common man and Karl Marx’s indictment of capitalism in their message, Bissett said.
“The Marxist message of class conflict blended easily with the Jeffersonian promise of yeoman democracy to produce an especially volatile mix that became even more compelling when instilled with the moral authority of Christianity,” Bissett writes in the book.
The party’s opposition to World War I led to its demise, Bissett said. “They were repressed out of existence. Many members were jailed and others left the state.”
Today, Oklahoma politics are conservative and reflect none of the agrarian socialism beliefs that were so popular earlier this century, Bissett said.
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