Lee Cruce

Lee Cruce (July 8, 1863 – January 16, 1933) was an American lawyer, banker and the second governor of Oklahoma. Losing to Charles N. Haskell in the 1907 Democratic primary election to serve as the first governor of Oklahoma, Cruce successfully campaigned to succeed Haskell to serve as the second governor of Oklahoma. As governor, Cruce was responsible for the establishment of the Oklahoma Department of Highways and the Oklahoma State Capitol. He worked hard to enforce prohibitions on alcohol and gambling, going so far as to use the state militia to stop horse racing. He was succeeded by Robert L. Williams.

Born in Kentucky, Cruce worked as a lawyer, a banker, and a municipal official before his election as governor. After finishing his term as governor, he worked in the private sector and made an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate. He died in 1933 in Los Angeles, California, and was buried in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Early life and move to Oklahoma Lee Cruce was born in the city of Marion, Kentucky, on July 8, 1863. He attended Marion Academy, and subsequently attended Vanderbilt University, receiving a law degree from the latter. Though he passed the Kentucky bar exam in 1888, he did not practice law until he joined his brother's law firm, Johnson, Cruce and Cruce at Ardmore in Indian Territory in 1891. Despite this, he did little to prevent lynchings of non-white people, explaining to the NAACP; There is a race prejudice that exists between the white and Negro races wherever the Negroes are found in large numbers ... Just this week the announcement comes as a shock to the people of Oklahoma that the Secretary of the Interior ... has appointed a Negro from Kansas to come to Oklahoma and take charge of the supervision of the Indian schools of this State. There is no race of people on earth that has more antipathy for the Negro race than the Indian race, and yet these people, numbering many of the best citizens of this State and nation, are to be humbled and their prejudices and passions are to be increased by having this outrage imposed upon them ... If your organization would interest itself to the extent of seeing that such outrages as this are not perpetrated against our people, there would be fewer lynchings in the South than at this time ...

Congressional reapportionments nearly resulted in the downfall of Cruce's administration. In 1912, Cruce vetoed a bill to reapportion the state into eight congressional districts designed to minimize Republican voting strength. This veto as well as the Governor's attempts to abolish some public institutions for economic reasons, led the legislature to investigate the executive branch. As a result, the State Auditor, State Insurance Commissioner, and State Printer were impeached. Cruce himself escaped removal in the Oklahoma House of Representatives by a single vote.

By the end of his term in 1915, the voters were, for the most part, ready for a change. Looking for a new governor, the voters looked to Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert L. Williams. Elected in 1914 following the end of his only term on the court, Williams became the third governor of Oklahoma.

Late life and legacy

After Cruce left office, he would continue his career as a lawyer and banker through Oklahoma. In 1930, Cruce was defeated in the primary for the United States Senate losing out to Thomas Gore, one of Oklahoma's first Senators. Cruce died January 16, 1933, in Los Angeles, California. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in his adopted hometown of Ardmore.

Electoral history