Harris, Fred (1930—)

Fred Harris, the “New Populist” U.S. senator, served from 1964 to 1972. He was born in the western Oklahoma small town of Walters on November 13, 1930. From a young age Harris worked in the wheat and cotton harvests. Those experiences taught him the value of hard work and the plight of share croppers.

Hard working and ambitious, Harris was a Future Farmers of America state champion in high school. He graduated college Phi Beta Kappa and finished first in his University of Oklahoma law school class of 1954. At age 25, Harris was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate, where he served for 8 years. Even as he was winning his first local campaign, Harris expressed ambition for the U.S. Senate.

Harris established a reputation as ...