Martin E. Trapp

Martin Edwin Trapp (* 18th April 1877 in Robinson , Brown County , Kansas , † 26 July 1951 in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and from 1923 to 1927, the sixth governor of the state of Oklahoma.

Early years and political advancement

Martin Trapp attended the local schools in his home country. In 1889 he moved with his family to Logan County , Oklahoma Territory . Since there were no corresponding schools there, he was first taught by a neighbor. He later attended Capitol City College in Guthrie until 1898 . He then studied law.

Between 1905 and 1906 Trapp was employed as a county clerk in Logan County. Between 1907 and 1911 he was an auditor for the state of Oklahoma. From 1914 he was the lieutenant governor of his state. He was re-elected to this office in 1918 and 1922. He was the deputy governors Robert L. Williams , James BA Robertson and Jack C. Walton .

Governor of Oklahoma

In the fall of 1923, Governor Walton was impeached. On October 23, he was initially suspended, whereupon Trapp initially only took over the office as acting governor. On November 19, Walton was removed from office and Martin Trapp had to end his term of office. One of his first official acts was to increase taxes to relieve the state budget. The road network was then further expanded with the help of the mineral oil tax. The governor made some changes to the administration and reformed the judiciary so that convicts could manufacture goods that were then sold. At that time, it also established its own forestry agency , an environmental protection commission and a State Bureau of Criminal Investigations . In order to weaken the Ku Klux Klan , a masking ban was issued for Oklahoma. Trapp also advocated stricter enforcement of the alcohol ban.

The court had to decide on the question of a possible re-election. According to the state constitution, a governor could not be directly re-elected. Trapp asserted that he had not completed a full term, as he had come to this post as Lieutenant Governor after the removal of his predecessor. The judges rejected this request and declared that Trapp was not allowed to run for re-election immediately. He left his office on January 10, 1927.

Another résumé

In 1930 Trapp applied unsuccessfully to return to the office of governor. He then worked as an investment advisor. Martin Trapp died in July 1951. He was married to Lula C. Strang, with whom he had one child.

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personal data
SURNAME	Trapp, Martin E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Trapp, Martin Edwin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	April 18, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH	Robinson , Kansas
DATE OF DEATH	July 26, 1951
Place of death	Oklahoma City , Oklahoma