"Elmer Thomas (1876-1965) represented the people of Oklahoma in the state's first legislature and in Congress. This memoir, written shortly after he left the U.S. Senate in 1951 but never before published, chronicles his long career and offers a wealth of information on people and events that helped shape the development of the state and the course of American history." "When Oklahoma entered the Union in 1907, Thomas became one of Oklahoma's first state senators and was involved with financing the construction of public works. In Washington, he made it his business to understand the Federal Reserve System, and as the farm crisis of the 1920s worsened during the Great Depression, he consistently argued for inflating the currency to stimulate the economy - a struggle that became central to his career and that he eventually won." "Thomas's panoramic look at the issues of his time ranges from flood control dams and the forty-hour work week to America's preparedness for war in 1940 and the Marshall Plan. He provides a behind-the-scenes view of the Nurnberg War Crimes Trial. And he tells how he had to push funding for the atomic bomb project through Congress without disclosing its true nature."--Jacket.