Learning Goals

1. Learning Goals • The students will understand Kerr McGee, Johnston Murray and Raymond Gary.

2. Johnston Murray, was sworn into office on January 8, 1951, by his eighty-one-year-old father, former Governor William H. Murray. Johnston Murray was born on July 21, 1902, at Emet, Chickasaw Nation His mother was one-eighth Chickasaw Indian, making Murray the first Oklahoma governor of Indian descent. Governor Johnston Murray

3. Raymond D. Gary, born on a farm between Madill and Kingston, was the first governor born in Oklahoma after statehood. He was born January 21, 1908. Governor Gary had campaigned on road building issues, Gary announced that he would build 2,500 miles of highways in Oklahoma. In 1956 the Federal-Aid Highway Act was passed by Congress, providing for an interstate highway system. Three such highways were scheduled to run through Oklahoma, all of them crossing Oklahoma City — Interstate 35 going north and south, Interstate 40 going east and west, and Interstate 44 going northeast and southwest. With the aid of the federal legislation, Gary not only achieved his goal, but exceeded it. By the end of his term, 3,500 miles of highways had been completed in the state. Governor Raymond Gary

4. Better Schools Amendment • The desegregation issue had reared its head during Roy J. Turner’s term of office and again during Johnston Murray’s term of office. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that all types of educational segregation were unconstitutional. Incoming Governor Gary made it clear that he intended to comply with the laws concerning segregation, and he set about to do so immediately. • The first step was a constitutional amendment which reorganized the funding of schools. The Better Schools Amendment, passed by the people in 1955, abolished separate funding systems for African American schools and white schools. • Although it did not disappear right away, Jim Crowism was on the way out. Governor Gary carried desegregation into the Capitol Building by integrating washrooms and drinking fountains.

5. In 1956 an Oklahoma oil company entered the international financial market when its stock appeared on the New York Stock Exchange. Kerr-McGee stock made its debut on February 23, and Robert S. Kerr bought the first 100 shares traded. By the end of the day, 5,300 shares had been sold. One of the most important changes was the hiring of a young geologist named Dean A. McGee in 1936. When James Anderson retired that year and sold his interest to Kerr, the new sole owner began looking for a key man to help run the company. Kerr’s main interest lay elsewhere, and his talent for hiring good people to work for him was certainly at its sharpest when he hired McGee. Dean A. McGee

6. In 1947 the company drilled the first successful offshore well out of sight of land. At 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, October 4, 1947, more than 10 miles from the nearest land, the small Oklahoma company hit oil with the first well drilled in open water, and at the amazingly shallow depth of 1,500 feet. By 1958, Kerr-McGee had grown large enough to be listed by Fortune magazine in “The 500 Largest Industrial Corporations” in the United States. On June 23, 2006, Kerr-McGee was merged into Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum. McGee cont.

7. Karen Silkwood • Lab Tech at Kerr McGee plant near Crescent died in one car accident. • Had accused company of deliberate carelessness and falsifying records of safety • Was going to OKC to meet with NYC reporter to blow the whistle on Kerr McGee • Some believe Kerr McGee was the ones that ran her off the road, others, including Kerr McGee and police believe she fell asleep while driving. • She was reportedly carrying papers that would prove the company’s guilt • Those papers were not found at her accident scene. Many believe Kerr McGee removed the papers before anyone else could get ahold of them.

8. 1.) Who is the first Oklahoma Governor of Indian descent? a.) Alfalfa Bill Murray b.) Johnston Murray c.) Robert Kerr 2.) Who was the first Oklahoma Governor to be born after statehood a.) Raymond Gary b.) Johnston Murray c.) Robert Kerr 3.) What three Interstates was the Governor in question 2 instrumental in getting built? 1-35, 1-40 and ________________ 4.) What court case made segregation in schools illegal? a.) Plessy vs. Ferguson b.) Roe vs. Wade c.) Brown vs. Board of Education 5.) What constitutional amendment ended separate funding systems for African American and White Schools? a.) Better Schools Amendment b.) Oklahoma State Schools Amendment c.) Federal anti Segregation Amendment 6. What type of profession had Dean McGee been involved in before he worked for Kerr McGee? a.) Paleontology b.) Geology c.) Radiology 7.) What accomplishment is unique to Kerr McGee? a.) They were the first company to successfully drill for oil offshore b.) They were the first company to create the elements for an atomic bomb c.) They were the first company to drill sideways under ground 8.) What was Karen Silkwood going to accuse Kerr McGee of? a.) Falsifying records of carelessness b.) Drilling offshore without licenses c.) Drilling sideways under ground and getting oil that was on land they hadn’t leased 9.) What was Silkwood going to do when she was run off the road? a.) Give her evidence to a NYC reporter b.) She was running from Kerr McGee who she thought was trying to kill her c.) She was running from her boyfriend who was abusive 10.) What do many people think happened to Silkwood in terms of why she ran off the road and died? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 22 Quiz