15 Facts About Lee Cruce

Lee Cruce was an American lawyer, banker and the second governor of Oklahoma.

Lee Cruce worked hard to enforce prohibitions on alcohol and gambling, going so far as to use the state militia to stop horse racing.

Lee Cruce died in 1933 in Los Angeles, California, and was buried in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Lee Cruce was born in the city of Marion, Kentucky, on July 8,1863.

Lee Cruce attended Marion Academy, and subsequently attended Vanderbilt University, receiving a law degree from the latter.

In 1901, Lee Cruce was elected an alderman in the local government of Ardmore.

Lee Cruce then defeated his Republican opponent in the general election.

Lee Cruce was inaugurated as the second Governor of Oklahoma on January 9,1911.

Whereas the state's first governor exercised extensive executive control over the Oklahoma Legislature through his force of personality, Lee Cruce continually struggled for power against the state legislature throughout his term.

The most famous of these events occurred when Lee Cruce declared martial law in Tulsa to prevent a horserace from taking place.

Lee Cruce was an avid abolitionist when it came to the use of capital punishment throughout the state.

In 1912, Lee Cruce vetoed a bill to reapportion the state into eight congressional districts designed to minimize Republican voting strength.

Lee Cruce himself escaped removal in the Oklahoma House of Representatives by a single vote.

In 1930, Lee Cruce was defeated in the primary for the United States Senate losing out to Thomas Gore, one of Oklahoma's first Senators.

Lee Cruce is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in his adopted hometown of Ardmore.