Disney, Wesley E. (Wesley Ernest), U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 1st district (1931-1945); Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives (1919-1924), 1883-1961
Person
Biographical:
Wesley Ernest Disney, seven-term congressman from Oklahoma's First District, played a long and important role in Oklahoma politics. Reared and educated in Kansas, where he was born on October 31, 1883, Disney was admitted to the bar, and moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1908. While in Muskogee, Disney began his political career by becoming county attorney, and then went on to become a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. While in the State House (1919-1924) Disney, a Democrat, voted in favor of the 18th and 19th amendments and numerous progressive labor laws. He also assumed a leadership role in the impeachment proceedings against then Governor John C. "Jack" Walton. On the merit of his accomplishments he ran a successful campaign for the U.S. House in 1930. He remained in the House until 1944, at which time he commenced a long anticipated run for the Senate against incumbent Elmer Thomas. Disney, by this time an anti-New Deal Democrat, took on the Roosevelt-supporting Thomas, claiming that Thomas was backed by the "CIO goon squads." Disney lost in the primary and lived out his professional life as a lawyer in Washington, D.C. He died in 1961.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Wesley E. Disney Collection
Collection
Identifier: CAC-CC-013
Scope and Contents
The Disney Collection consists of 8 linear feet with the majority of the materials covering his tenure in office, 1931-1944. Most of the documents were originally housed in scrapbooks, including newspaper clippings. Of particular note is Disney’s column, “Washington Letter,” that he wrote for local newspapers. There are also lists that contain extensive data about his constituents. The materials cover a variety of topics including prohibition, the Grand River Dam, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the oil...