Copyright by Nevin Emil Neal 1959 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE A BIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH T. ROBINSON A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for th( degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY NEVIN EMIL NEAL Norman, Oklahoma 1958 A BIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH T. ROBINSWI AR^ V E D BY % ISSERTATION COMMITTEE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sincere appreciation is expressed to Dr. Gilbert C. Fite, Chairman, Department of History, Dr. VV. E. Livezey, Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Jim Reese, Depart­ ment of Economics, and to Dr. A. 3. Sears, Dr. A. K. Chris­ tian, and Or. iV. E. Holion, Department of History, for their patience in guiding this study. The author also wishes to acknowledge the valuable support of his wife, Frances, who has labored with him in this research. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................... iii Chapter I. EARLY YEARS, 1872 - 1900 ....................... 1 II. LAW- AND OTHER ACTIVITIES ................ 28 III. REPRESENTATIVE FRCM THE SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ...................................... 57 IV. HIS GOVERNORSHIP AND HIS NOMINATION-TO THE SENATE ........................................ 93 V. ROBINSON AND THE WILSON ADMINISTRATION ....... 125 VI. THE HARDING AND COOLIDGE ADMINISTRATIONS ..... 176 VII. NOMINATION FOR VICE PRESIDENT IN 1928 ........ 234 VIII. ARKANSAS CAf/PAIGN IN 1928 ...................... 273 IX. NATIONAL CAMPAIGN IN 1928 ...................... 284 X. ROBINSON AND THE HOOVER ADMINISTRATION ........ 332 XI. ROBINSON AND THE NEW DEAL ...................... 387 XII. ROBINSON AND THE SUPREME COURT ISSUE ........... 436 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ 473 IV A BIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH T. ROBINSON CHAPTER I EARLY YEARS, 1872 - 1900 O r July 14, 1937, the nation was shocked to learn of the death of one of its beloved and respected statesmen in Washington, D. 0., Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson of .Arkan­ sas. As Majority Leader of the Senate, Robinson died in the midst of the spirited battle over the controversial Supreme Court bill. This measure, providing for a maximum increase of six members in the Supreme Court and a general speed-up of the whole judicial process, had come without warning from the President himself. Bitter and heated arguments on the measure had torn the Senate for a period of five months. Senators felt the patronage lash of Roosevelt and Farley, who demanded their support of the bill, and the hostile atti­ tude of constituents who demanded its defeat. Senate Demo­ crats were further divided between their loyalty to Robinson as Senate leader and their own convictions as to the consti­ tutionality and advisability of the bill. So intense had the debate become that a week before 2 Robinson's death Doctor Royal S. Copeland, senator from New York, had rushed to the Majority Leader's side and said, "Joe, the cause isn't worth it. If you don't calm down, you'll die on this floor.But Robinson would not calm down, for his power as Democratic leader had been openly challenged, and he was determined to secure the enactment of this measure. Now in dramatic fashion, Robinson's death ended any possibility of the passage of the controversial measure. For four years this astute parliamentarian had held the unwieldy majority together and had guided through a mass of New Deal legislation including some measures he did not personally approve. Even the compromise draft of the Supreme Court bill was his own revision of Roosevelt's original meas­ ure which Robinson believed had no chance of passing the Senate. Yet, his loyalty to the President never wavered; his honesty was never doubted; and his sincerity was never questioned. As a key figure in the administrative program, he often spent the evening hours in study and the morning hours at a breakfast conference with President Roosevelt as they mapped out their legislative strategy. To the Democrat­ ic Party he was both "wheel horse" and "balance wheel." ^Ardmore Chronicle (Pennsylvania), editorial, July 16, 1937, Robinson Clippings. The Robinson collection consists of personal correspondence, scrap-books, and news­ paper clippings. This material is currently in the posses­ sion of tne author. 3 Metropolitan newspapers noted his passing as a tragic loss to the Roosevelt program. As a loyal Democrat, he de­ manded party regularity above personal convictions and served as a "sage and moderating influence" in shaping the adminis­ tration's plans. Several editors saw no Democrat of similar stature and considered his possible successors as pygmies in the shadow that he left. His balanced judgment and common sense inspired national confidence that he would not champion dangerous ism’s or wild theories. His granite determination, his fighting disposition, and his forthright stand on legis­ lative problems generated respect and affection throughout 2 the nation. Papers of lesser no.te spoke of his death as the most "severe blow" the New-Deal legislative program had yet sus­ tained. They pictured him as a broad-shouldered straight- shooter who "drew a,sharp line of demarcation" between right and wrong with no time to "sugarcoat his words." President Roosevelt called him a "pillar of strength" and likened his death to that of a soldier fallen in battle.^ In the years since his death, Robinson’s importance in the enactment of the New Deal legislation is being recog- Buffalo News. New York Times. Atlanta Constitution. Los Angeles Times. Philadelphia Evening Ledger. Houston Post. Fort Worth Star-Teleqram. St. Louis Star. July 15, 1937, ibid. 3peoria Star (Illinois), Lexington Herald (Kentucky). Pana Paladium (Illinois), July 15, 1937, ibid. 4 nized. With his death, the administration lost its strategic leader and pilot in the Senate. What was his appeal that elected him to office eleven consecutive times? What influences shaped the thoughts and convictions of this stalwart of the Democratic party as he grew up on the central plains of Arkansas? What home ideals made his character as sturdy as an oak? Lonoke, Robinson’s home town just twenty miles east of Little Rock, Arkansas, was a station stop in 1867 on the Reck Island Railroad. It derived its name from a solitary, stately red oak which stood on the edge of the prairie and served as a landmark on intersecting wagon roads. Its com­ mercial life developed around cotton and rice plantations, sawmills, hunting, and livestock. Today the town breathes and lives in an atmosphere of the past, still claiming Joe Robinson as its most distinguished citizen. Dr. James Madison Robinson (1816-1892), Joe Robin­ son’s father, was born in New York. He left home at an early age and never communicated with his parents. His only brother, a commissioned officer in the army, died in the Mexican War of 1846. Doctor Robinson lived in the states of Illinois, Alabama, and Louisiana, and probably crossed into Arkansas at Memphis by ox-cart in 1844. Eventually, he bought two sections of land and entered 680 acres of this amount under the provisions of the Swamp Selection Act of 1850.^ His farm was located seven and one-half miles north- w3-:t of Lonoke on the edge of the timbered lands along the old military road. Doctor Robinson’s life centered around his family, his religious activities, and his practice of medicine. He probably received his medical training in New Orleans, He visited his patients on horseback, covering a large portion of the northern part of Lonoke County, A cultured, well- educated man. Doctor Robinson was highly respected in his community, in spite of his domineering tendencies. His ap­ pearance, always distinguished, became more impressive in later years with the addition of a long, flowing white beard. His advocacy of prohibition and strict discipline met with approval, but his equally outspoken position on certain church doctrine brought difficulties. Originally a Quaker, he joined the nearby Pleasant Hill Southern Baptist Church, After several years his fellowship was withdrawn because he upheld the doctrine of Christian perfection, which was con­ trary to Baptist belief. Other local churches, however, in­ vited him to speak from their pulpits, and his interest in religion later resulted in his donation of five acres of his farm for a Methodist Church and cemetery at Concord, Robinson’s mother, Matilda Jane Swaim Robinson (1832- ^State Land Book, Lonoke Real Estate and Abstract Co., Lonoke, Arkansas, 6 1899) of Cherokee extraction,^ was born in Columbia, Tennes­ see. With her family she moved to Arkansas where she was married to Doctor Robinson on December 22, 1852.^ Her mother was a Caruthers from Salisbury in the Piedmont area of North Carolina.7 Mrs, Robinson, affectionately known as Aunt Jane, was a patient, mild-mannered woman. She reared nine of her eleven children to maturity, and also cared for six orphans. Not only did she feed and clothe this family of seventeen with the help of her daughters, but she also voluntarily plowed and worked with her children in the fields. Joseph Taylor Robinson (August 26, 1872-July 14, 1937), was the fourth son and the ninth child. The first Robinson home was built in traditional frontier fashion, the neighbors helping with the raising of the axe-hewn logs, forty-eight feet in length, fastened at the corners with wooden pegs. The roof was of post-oak clap­ boards, and the walls were chinked with mud; a breezeway divided the kitchen and dining room from the sleeping quar­ ters, Their second home, built further from the road, was 5 Sarah Catherine Robinson Scott stated that her mother (Mrs, Sallie Robinson Scott, a sister of Joe T, Rob­ inson) was about one-fourth Cherokee, and this Indian blood came from her mother's side of the family, ^Recorded in the Scott family Bible, Sallie Robinson Scott's home. North Little Rock, Arkansas, ^Robinson to Guidonia Robinson, December 14, 1931, Robinson Papers.