William Bliss Pine (December 30, 1877August 25, 1942) was an American businessman who served as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, he moved to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and finally

, where he became a prominent businessman and oil producer. As a senator, he was economically conservative, but considered progressive in his agricultural positions. With the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he and many other Republican politicians were turned out of office.

Early life and career

Born in

Bluffs, Illinois Bluffs is a village in Scott County, Illinois, United States. The population was 715 at the 2010 census. It was briefly (1969–1971) the location of the WJJY TV Mast, the tallest structure (1,610 feet tall - 491 m) built to that date in Illinoi ...

, Pine graduated from a high school in Naples, Illinois in 1896 and taught school for three years while selling harvesters during the summer.Hanneman, Carolyn G.,
Pine, William Bliss
"
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
' (accessed March 5, 2015). He became a traveling salesman with the D. M. Osborne Company, which took him to

Neosho County, Kansas Neosho County (standard abbreviation: NO) is a county located in Southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 15,904. The county seat is Erie. History Early history For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America ...

, where he got caught up in oil fever. He moved to Chanute, Kansas and was employed in the oil producing business; he moved to Oklahoma in 1904 and continued in the oil industry. In 1909 he located in

Okmulgee, Oklahoma Okmulgee is a city in, and the county seat of, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The name is from the Mvskoke word ''okimulgee,'' which means "boiling waters".Bamburg, Maxine"Okmulgee,"''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed June 16 ...

where he eventually became extensively engaged in the production of oil. Pine married his high school sweetheart, Laura M. Hamilton in 1912. He became one of the state's leading independent oil producers and a prominent Okmulgee businessman.

Political career

Pine was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1925, to March 4, 1931; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1930, after which he resumed his former business pursuits. Called a "regular Republican" for his positions on the economy, the senator sided with the "Progressive" part of his party on matters related to agriculture and foreign affairs. He supported protective legislation for the petroleum industry and fought to bring federal road projects to Oklahoma. In 1924, William Shelly Rogers, the Cyclops of the

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Klan, travelled to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

to pledge the votes of the Klan to Pines' Senate bid. At the time, many Klansmen identified with the policies of the

Southern Democrats Southern Democrats, historically sometimes known colloquially as Dixiecrats, are members of the U.S. History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States. Southern Democrats were generally mu ...

and crossed party lines for the first time. ''The Indian Journal'' charged him as a "Republican Klansman." The

virtually destroyed the Republican Party in Oklahoma, one of the reasons Pine was not reelected.Gaddie, Ronald Keith,
Republican Party
"
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
' (accessed March 3, 2015). He was an unsuccessful candidate for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1934.

Death

Pine died in Okmulgee in 1942; at the time of his death, he was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. Interment was in Okmulgee Cemetery.

Bibliography

Inline references

General references

William B. Pine Collection
at the Carl Albert Center

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pine, William 1877 births 1942 deaths People from Scott County, Illinois American people of English descent Republican Party United States senators from Oklahoma Oklahoma Republicans Pine family