James B. A. Robertson

James Brooks Ayers Robertson ( born March 15, 1871 Keokuk County, Iowa, † March 7, 1938 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ) was an American politician and from 1919 to 1923, the fourth Governor of the State of Oklahoma.

Early years and political rise

James Robertson attended the local schools of his home. He then became a teacher himself. In 1893 he moved from Iowa in the Oklahoma Territory. There, too, he first worked as a teacher. In addition, he studied law and in 1898 he was admitted as a lawyer.

Between 1900 and 1902 Robertson was district attorney in Lincoln County. He then worked as a lawyer. He was a member of the Democratic Party and a delegate to the national conventions in 1908 and 1920. Between 1909 and 1910 he was a judge in the 10th Judicial District of Oklahoma. In 1914 he applied unsuccessfully for the governorship. Four years later, he finally managed to get elected as the new governor of his state, where he prevailed with 54:43 percent of the vote to Republican Horace G. McKeever.

Governor of Oklahoma

Robertson took up his new post on 13 January 1919. During his tenure, the expansion of the road network was advanced. At that time came 1300 miles of new highways. During this time, the 18th and 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, enshrined the Prohibition Act and the women's suffrage law. At that time the Ku Klux Klan also grew stronger in Oklahoma again. In Tulsa, there were race riots and a strike of miners in the coal mining was the governor reflected with the help of the National Guard. In 1922, Robertson was accused of corruption, but acquitted by a court.

Further CV

After the end of his governorship, he worked as a lawyer again. In 1930 he applied again unsuccessfully for the governorship. In 1932 he was one of the electors of Franklin D. Roosevelt and 1935-1938 he was a consultant of a government commission of the State of Oklahoma. James Robertson died in March 1938. He was married twice and had two children.

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