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Joseph T. Robinson Letter

 Collection
Identifier: MC 1796

Scope and Content Note

Materials include one item of correspondence.

Joseph T. Robinson wrote a letter to Will McKelvey while he was in Cabot, Lonoke County, Arkansas December 6, 1890. Within the letter, Robinson explains to McKelvey that he had accepted a teaching position nine miles from his home with a salary of $45 per month. Robinson indicates in his letter that he has intentions to apply for the “Peabody” and had requested from McKelvey any information concerning the “Peabody” examination. In addition, Robinson reminisces with his friend about their time they shared at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Dates

  • 1890

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Joseph Taylor Robinson was born on August 26, 1872, in Lonoke County, Arkansas to James Madison Robinson and Matilda Jane Swaim. In his childhood, Robinson helped chop cotton and tended to his father’s apple orchard. During his teenage years and with fewer than forty-six months of formal education, Robinson made a reputation as a public speaker, winning contests in subjects such as politics and religion. At seventeen, he became licensed to teach first grade in county schools. After teaching for two years, Robinson enrolled at that University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He attended college for one year until his father’s death in 1892, when he returned to Lonoke County, Arkansas where he studied law with Thomas C. Trimble.

The year 1894 marked the beginning of Robinson’s political career when he defeated the Populist candidate for state representative and became the youngest member of the General Assembly at the age of twenty-two. In 1902, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he held for a decade. Robinson supported progressive legislation to reform government and big business and voted for the graduated income-tax and women suffrage amendments. In 1912, Robinson was elected Governor of Arkansas, but resigned on March 8, 1913 to take the recently deceased Jeff Davis’s Senate seat. Robinson was reelected to four more Senate terms.

In 1928, he was nominated for Vice President on the Democratic ticket with Al Smith of New York, but Herbert Hoover was elected President. After the 1932 election, with the Democrats in control of the federal government, Robinson became the Majority Leader of the Senate under Franklin Roosevelt. In 1933, he guided the Emergency Banking Act through the Senate and introduced and pushed for passage of the Civilian Conservation Corp, the Federal Emergency Relief Act, the Work Relief Act, the Home Owners Loan Act, and the Railroad Coordination Act. Robinson died of a heart attack on July 14, 1937, while working for Roosevelt’s “court-packing” proposal.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Arrangement of the Papers

Letter is located in one folder

Acquisition Information

The Joseph T. Robinson Letter was donated to the Special Collections Department, University of Arkansas Libraries, on June 16, 2008 by Richard and Sondra McKelvey of Clarksville, Arkansas.

Related Collections

Joseph T. Robinson Papers (MS R563)

Joseph T. Robinson Papers Supplement 1 (MS R563)

Joseph T. Robinson Papers Supplement 2 (MC 1193)

Processing Information

Processed by Krista Jones; completed in July 2009

Creator

Source

Title
Joseph T. Robinson Letter
Status
Completed
Author
Krista Jones
Date
2009
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444