Harvey Parnell
Encyclopedia
Harvey Parnell was the 29th Governor of Arkansas
from 1928 to 1933.
Harvey Parnell was born in Orlando in Cleveland County, Arkansas. Parnell attended public schools and graduated from Warren High School in Warren, Arkansas
. After graduating he worked as a bookkeeper and store clerk, and took up farming in Chicot County, Arkansas
.
Parnell was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from 1919 to 1921. He was elected to the Arkansas Senate and served from 1923 to 1925.
In 1927 he assumed the post of Lieutenant Governor and the next year was elevated to the office of governor when John Ellis Martineau
resigned from office to become a Federal judge. Parnell won election to the office in his own right in 1928 and was reelected to a second term in 1930.
The Parnell administration focused on establishing a state highway fund, creating a Bureau of Commerce and Industry, upgrading the school system. Henderson State Teachers College
was also created during his administration. Parnell himself was a consistent supporter of women's suffrage
and appointed Hattie Caraway
to the United States Senate
. Caraway would later win election for the office and become the first woman elected to the Senate.
The state's citizens blamed the incumbent Parnell for their situation as the Great Depression
began and he left office in 1933 and returned to farming. He later worked for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
.
Harvey Parnell died in Little Rock, Arkansas
. He is buried at the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Little Rock.
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
from 1928 to 1933.
Harvey Parnell was born in Orlando in Cleveland County, Arkansas. Parnell attended public schools and graduated from Warren High School in Warren, Arkansas
Warren, Arkansas
Warren is a city in and the county seat of Bradley County, Arkansas, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated population in 2006 was 6,219....
. After graduating he worked as a bookkeeper and store clerk, and took up farming in Chicot County, Arkansas
Chicot County, Arkansas
Chicot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population is 11,800. The county seat is Lake Village. Chicot County is Arkansas's tenth county, formed on October 25, 1823, and named after Point Chicot on the Mississippi River.Landmarks around the county include...
.
Parnell was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
from 1919 to 1921. He was elected to the Arkansas Senate and served from 1923 to 1925.
In 1927 he assumed the post of Lieutenant Governor and the next year was elevated to the office of governor when John Ellis Martineau
John Ellis Martineau
John Ellis Martineau was the 28th Governor of Arkansas, U.S., from 1927 to 1928.John Ellis Martineau was born in Clay County, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1896 and obtained his law degree there in 1899...
resigned from office to become a Federal judge. Parnell won election to the office in his own right in 1928 and was reelected to a second term in 1930.
The Parnell administration focused on establishing a state highway fund, creating a Bureau of Commerce and Industry, upgrading the school system. Henderson State Teachers College
Henderson State University
Henderson State University, founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, is a four-year public liberal arts university located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, United States. It is Arkansas's only member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges...
was also created during his administration. Parnell himself was a consistent supporter of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and appointed Hattie Caraway
Hattie Caraway
Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway was the first woman elected to serve as a United States Senator. Senator Caraway represented Arkansas.-Biography:...
to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Caraway would later win election for the office and become the first woman elected to the Senate.
The state's citizens blamed the incumbent Parnell for their situation as the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
began and he left office in 1933 and returned to farming. He later worked for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...
.
Harvey Parnell died in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. He is buried at the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Little Rock.
External links
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Harvey Parnell