James B. A. Robertson - Governor of Oklahoma

Governor of Oklahoma

Robertson was inaugurated on January 13, 1919, as Oklahoma's fourth governor. He was very soon faced with two national issues: nationwide prohibition and women's suffrage.

• Under Governor Haskell, Oklahoma had already adopted a firm policy against alcohol. Robertson worked to build on Haskell's policies, leading Oklahoma to overwhelmingly ratify the Eighteenth Amendment, which was added to the United States Constitution on January 16, 1919.
• Written with progressivism in mind, Oklahoma’s constitution enshrined the right to vote for all races and both women and men. Robertson had to do little convincing for Oklahoma to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, which became part of the national Constitution on August 18, 1920.

Among Robertson's accomplishments was the creation of the office of Oklahoma Commissioner of Pensions. He also established cooperative marketing agencies to serve the state’s farmers, who had been hit hard by agricultural overproduction caused by the needs of World War I. Robertson also ushered a bill through the legislature providing for the addition of over 1,300 miles of paved roads, more than had been paved in all three previous administrations.

Partly using his experience as a teacher, Robertson also focused on improving Oklahoma’s school system. First, he worked to change how colleges operated in Oklahoma. Before his administration, colleges had been supervised by the State Board of Education under the State School Superintendent. Under Robertson, the governor's power over colleges increased with the creation of a Board of State Regents, its members appointed by the governor, to oversee all institutions of higher education. In his budgets, Robertson also funded improvements in teacher certification, higher standards for school performance and accreditation, consolidation of many rural schools, and institution of a subsidized textbook program. He also wanted more money for schools with apparent inadequacies, but this measure was rejected by the legislature.

Robertson also had setbacks. His administration's work on Oklahoma’s highways was a vast improvement to what the state had had but was nowhere near what was needed. He failed to get voter support for $50 million in necessary highway improvements. The Bank Guaranty Program Governor Haskell had instituted collapsed following Oklahoma’s recession in 1920, resulting in the closure of many state banks. Although the Socialist Party was no longer a political threat, it advocated strikes. In 1919, telephone workers struck in Drumright, Oklahoma, and eastern Oklahoma experienced a massive strike of coal miners. Governor Robertson, in his position as Commander-in-Chief, declared martial law in these regions.

Robertson’s administration saw the worst race relations in Oklahoma’s history. To help confront this issue, Robertson created a commission on racial relations composed of both white and black members. This did little to stem the effects of racism. The most infamous case of racism occurred in 1921, when the city of Tulsa experienced a race riot unparalleled in Oklahoma before or since. During the 16 hours of rioting, over 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, an estimated 10,000 were left homeless, 35 city blocks with 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire, and $1.8 million in property damage (nearly $17 million after adjustment for inflation). Robertson finally regained control by once again declaring martial law and sending in the Oklahoma National Guard to police the area and end the chaos. The riot affected Oklahoma for generations to come, promoting nativism, creating fear of the radical left, and allowing the growth of the Ku Klux Klan for the first time in Oklahoma.

To make matters worse politically, under Robertson’s guard the Democrats lost complete control of the Oklahoma Legislature. Following the 1920 midterm elections, the Republicans gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Also, the U.S. presidency shifted from Democrat Woodrow Wilson to Republican Warren G. Harding. Oklahoma also lost its Democratic U.S. senator, Thomas Gore, who was replaced by John W. Harreld, the first Republican from Oklahoma to serve in the United States Senate. Robertson was left with a divided legislature, and he could not steer the legislature to pass his proposed policies for the remaining two years of his term.

Scandals would haunt Robertson’s remaining time as governor. Disputes between the Republican House and Democratic Senate resulted in the House’s investigation of the executive branch, most notably Governor Robertson himself. Many Democratic leaders were impeached, among them Lieutenant Governor Martin E. Trapp. As in the case of Governor Lee Cruce before him, the House came within only one vote of impeaching Robertson.

Harder times were still ahead for Robertson when in 1921 the House adjourned without voting on appropriation bills. This forced Robertson to operate the government on deficit spending until he called a special session of the legislature to resolve the issue. Robertson also faced considerable opposition from the Republican Corporation Commissioner Campbell Russell, who exposed what the Republicans believed to be a scandal in Robertson’s handling of pardons and paroles.

With the inauguration of John C. Walton as the fifth governor, Robertson left office on January 8, 1923.