1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City by Michael J. Hightower

Abstract

Reviewed by: 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City by Michael J. Hightower Julie Hufstetler 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City. By Michael J. Hightower. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2018. ix + 312 pp. Notes, bibliography, index. $24.95, paper. In the compelling text 1889: The Boomer Movement, The Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City, author Michael J. Hightower contextualizes Great Plains history within Gilded Age American politics to argue that the foundation story of Oklahoma Proper served as a representation of the inequality often experienced during the Gilded Age. A self-proclaimed "social historian with a view of history that percolates up from the churn of everyday life," Hightower utilizes newspapers, memoirs, oral testimonies and interviews, and personal letters to create a timeline of the settling of the Oklahoma frontier (xi). Hightower divides his book into three parts: (1) Indian Territory to 1885, (2) The Run, and (3) City Building. Part 1 serves as a prequel to the story and examines Indian Territory and the politics surrounding westward expansion and the reservation system. Hightower introduces the famed "boomer" David Lewis Payne. He also describes how the boomer came to represent a struggle against a seemingly corrupt government intent on denying the land that the boomers believed to be rightfully theirs. In part 2, Hightower continues his examination of this boomer versus government power dynamic by alternating the chapters between Washington, DC, and the frontier. The "Oklahoma question" raged in Congress and represented Gilded Age controversies: "relations with the Indians; the chasm between the haves and have-nots; the corrupting effects of Big Money in an age of oversized and largely unregulated corporations; and the definition and disposition of public lands" (125). The eventual opening of the territory culminated in a disorganized run for public land on April 22, 1889. In part 3, Hightower chronicles the settlement of Oklahoma City. Continuing the theme of power dynamics within the Gilded [End Page 173] Age, Hightower delineates the various internal controversies that developed within the power vacuum created by Congress's reluctance to officially designate Oklahoma a US territory. Hightower's analysis of how Oklahoma's foundation story symbolized Gilded Age American politics is enmeshed in a fascinating narrative of frontier settlement life. His outstanding storytelling ability generates an entertaining yet thought-provoking book. Each chapter provides ample evidence that the Oklahoma frontier typified Gilded Age America. Perhaps the most compelling example is found in the descriptions of the 1889 Land Run and the ensuing chaos (chapter 9, "Everybody at Sea"). Beneath the resilient optimism that accompanied the excitement of settling a new territory was a seedy underbelly of corruption and greed that would surface as surveyors began their work of dividing the public lands. In the preface, Hightower challenges the reader to forsake any preconceived notions of Oklahoma's foundation story and to "brace for a shocking tale" (xiv). Hightower's book certainly lives up to this bold claim, and this reviewer highly recommends it for anyone who enjoys an enthralling historical narrative. Julie Hufstetler History and Political Science Oklahoma Wesleyan University Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln