The Second Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

of the

government of Oklahoma The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and ...

, composed of the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

, during the only term of Governor Charles Haskell. State legislators elected in 1908 met in the Guthrie City Hall Building from January 5 to March 12, 1909.A Century to Remember
, Okhouse.gov. (accessed June 19, 2013) The state legislature also met in special session from January 20 to March 19, 1910. Oklahoma's first black state legislator, A.C. Hamlin, was among the new group of state legislators, but was limited to one term by a

Jim Crow law The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

passed by the legislature.

Dates of sessions

*Regular session: January 5-March 12, 1909 *Special session: January 20-March 19, 1910 Previous: 1st Legislature • Next: 3rd Legislature

Major legislation

*Legislation enacted on March 6, 1909, created the Southeastern Normal School, which would later become

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern, SE, or SOSU) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had an undergraduate enrollment of 4,824 in 2019. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an a ...

.Norris, L. David.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
,
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
, Oklahoma State University. (accessed July 19, 2013) Initially offering four years of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

, the school opened its doors to students on June 14, 1909.

Party composition

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

Lieutenant Governor George W. Bellamy continued to serve as the first President of the Senate, which gave him a tie-breaking vote and allowed him to serve as a presiding officer. J. C. Graham was elected as the second

President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate The President ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-r ...

, giving him the authority to organize the state senate and serve as a presiding officer.Oklahoma Almanac, 2005
Oklahoma Department of Libraries (accessed July 1, 2013)

House

Ben Wilson served as the second

Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions ...

. He hailed from a town known as Cereal, which today is known as Banner, Oklahoma. Benjamin F. Harrison, of Calvin, served as Speaker Pro Tempore.

Members

Senate

*Table based on list cross-referenced from three sources.

House of Representatives

*Table based on government database.Historic Members
, Okhouse.gov (accessed June 20, 2013)

References

External links

Second State of the StateThird State of the StateOklahoma LegislatureOklahoma House of RepresentativesOklahoma Senate
{{Oklahoma Legislatures Oklahoma legislative sessions 1909 in Oklahoma 1910 in Oklahoma 1909 U.S. legislative sessions 1910 U.S. legislative sessions