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Victory in World War I was followed by a brief period of economic turbulence in the nation and the state.
The return to "normalcy" signaled prosperity for many urban Oklahomans, but increased agricultural production meant declining prices for most farm products.
Long hours and hard work could keep farmowning families solvent, but tenant farmers and sharecroppers found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
Aware of the difficulty in organizing a third party, representatives of farm and labor organizations, assisted by leaders of the now defunct Socialist Party, conspired to hijack the Democratic Party.

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Most elections were decided in the party's primary, in which the winner needed only a plurality, not a majority.
Given the number of candidates who usually registered in the gubernatorial primary, a well-organized minority could influence the party's selection.
Backing Oklahoma City mayor John C. Walton, the conspirators outmaneuvered Democratic Party leadership and won the nomination and general election in 1922.
The new governor promised "a party for all the people" and launched the most progressive administration since the state's first.
However, his political inexperience and reckless disregard of tradition and constitutional rights led to his impeachment and removal from office before the end of the year.
For the rest of the decade state government remained in the hands of the Old Guard of the Democratic Party, although the GOP showed signs of becoming a viable opposition.

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In the 1920s several developments revealed the darker side of Oklahoma character.
African Americans sent to fight overseas returned less willing to accept discrimination and lynch law.
Their attitude seemed to pose a threat to the status quo. In 1921 in Tulsa a race riot, fanned by newspaper editorials, destroyed the city's black Greenwood District and resulted in many deaths.
Although the exact number of lives lost will never be known, the episode left a scar that remained raw at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

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The superpatriotism of World War I rejuvenated the
Ku Klux Klan.
No longer aimed at just keeping African Americans in their place, the organization assigned itself the task of enforcing morality and maintaining the tenets of
"Americanism.
" With overwhelming middle-class support the Klan ignored the law and civil rights and instituted a reign of terror against those who failed to meet its definition of "100 percent Americanism."
Many who had challenged the authority of "the better element" found it advisable to take their beliefs elsewhere.
Eventually, Oklahomans recognized the Klan for the sinister threat to human decency it had always been, but the roots of intolerance remained deeply imbedded in the state.

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1.) What was a system where farmers would live on and work land that they did not own?
a.) Single crop farming
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6.) What group threatened, intimidated and sometimes were violent towards the African
Americans and people who did not show their
“Americanism”?
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• b.) Rent farming c.) Tenant farming
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7.) What district was destroyed during one of the largest Race Riots in Oklahoma history?
• 2.) Why did the prices of agricultural products start to decline?
• a.) The Greenwood District in Tulsa
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• a.) They were producing too much
• b.) The Latin American District of Tulsa b.) They were not producing enough
• c.) There were not enough farmers
• 8.) Showing your pride towards your country is considered a show of what?
3.) What party did the poor farmers turn to fight the Democrats?
a.) Federalist party
• b.) Socialist party
• c.) Democratic Party
• a.) Socialism
• b.) Patriotism
• c.) Federalism
4.) Name a major riot in Oklahoma that occurred due to racial tensions?
a.) The Guthrie Race Riot b.) The Oklahoma City Race Riot
• c.) The Tulsa Race Riot
• 9.) What governor was impeached and served the shortest term as Governor of Oklahoma due to his disregard for tradition and the constitution?
• a.) John C. Walton
• b.) Alfalfa Bill Murray
• c.) Charles Haskell
5.) What group re organized and defeated the
Democratic party for a short time right after World
War 1?
• a.) The Socialist party
• b.) The Federalist party
• c.) The Republican party
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• 10.) Currently, what party does Oklahoma support the most?
• a.) Democrats
• b.) Federalists c.) Republicans