Homer Martin Adkins
Encyclopedia
Homer Martin Adkins was the 32nd Governor of Arkansas
. He was born near Jacksonville
in Pulaski County, Arkansas. In 1908, he attended Draughon's Business College and graduated from the Little Rock College of Pharmacy in 1911 as a licensed pharmacist
.
Adkins served in the United States Army
during World War I
as a Captain in the Medical Corps. Adkins served one term as sheriff of Pulaski County, Arkansas and was the collector of internal revenue for seven years beginning in 1933.
In 1940, he entered the political arena and was elected Governor of Arkansas. Looking to build a voting base based on his background as a Sunday School teacher and church employee, Adkins campaigned on a platform of reform and ending the practice of bootlegging
.
The Adkins administration presided over a doubling of the surplus in the state's treasury. His administration focused on highway construction and financing, electrification, worker's compensation.
After being re-elected in 1942, Adkins signed into law the following year a bill that would prevent anyone of Japanese descent from owning land in Arkansas. Looking for a new challenge, he was defeated in a run for the United States Senate two years later. In a three-person race involving incumbent Hattie Caraway
and J. William Fulbright
, Caraway finished last, with Fulbright later winning a runoff against Adkins.
In 1948, he played a key role in the U.S. Senate elections of Caraway and John E. Miller
, the latter coming in a special election. That same year, he was appointed as administrator of the Arkansas Employment Security Division which is responsible for worker's unemployment insurance and other worker's claims.
In 1954, he strongly supported Orval Eugene Faubus
in the gubernatorial general election
against Pratt C. Remmel
, the Republican
mayor
of Little Rock.
In 1956, he established a public-relations firm in Little Rock.
Homer Adkins died in 1964 in Malvern, Arkansas
and is buried at the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas
.
On the edge of his hometown of Jacksonville, a neighborhood elementary school today is named for Adkins. The school is slated to convert to a pre-kindergarten format beginning in the 2006-2007 school year.
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...
. He was born near Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Arkansas
Jacksonville is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, and a suburb of Little Rock. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 28,364. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in Pulaski County, Arkansas. In 1908, he attended Draughon's Business College and graduated from the Little Rock College of Pharmacy in 1911 as a licensed pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
.
Adkins served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a Captain in the Medical Corps. Adkins served one term as sheriff of Pulaski County, Arkansas and was the collector of internal revenue for seven years beginning in 1933.
In 1940, he entered the political arena and was elected Governor of Arkansas. Looking to build a voting base based on his background as a Sunday School teacher and church employee, Adkins campaigned on a platform of reform and ending the practice of bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
.
The Adkins administration presided over a doubling of the surplus in the state's treasury. His administration focused on highway construction and financing, electrification, worker's compensation.
After being re-elected in 1942, Adkins signed into law the following year a bill that would prevent anyone of Japanese descent from owning land in Arkansas. Looking for a new challenge, he was defeated in a run for the United States Senate two years later. In a three-person race involving incumbent 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:...
and J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
, Caraway finished last, with Fulbright later winning a runoff against Adkins.
In 1948, he played a key role in the U.S. Senate elections of Caraway and John E. Miller
John E. Miller
John Elvis Miller was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas who represented the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 until 1937, and in the United States Senate from 1937 until 1941....
, the latter coming in a special election. That same year, he was appointed as administrator of the Arkansas Employment Security Division which is responsible for worker's unemployment insurance and other worker's claims.
In 1954, he strongly supported Orval Eugene Faubus
Orval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
in the gubernatorial general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
against Pratt C. Remmel
Pratt C. Remmel
Pratt Cates Remmel, Sr. , was the only 20th century Republican elected on a partisan ballot to have served as mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas. He was elected to the first of two two-year terms in 1951, was reelected in 1953, and then defeated in 1955 by the Democrat Woodrow Wilson Mann, who like...
, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Little Rock.
In 1956, he established a public-relations firm in Little Rock.
Homer Adkins died in 1964 in Malvern, Arkansas
Malvern, Arkansas
Malvern is the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas. The city had a population of 10,318 at the time of the 2010 census and is also called the "Brick Capital of the World" because of the three Acme Brick plants in the area...
and is buried at the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery 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...
.
On the edge of his hometown of Jacksonville, a neighborhood elementary school today is named for Adkins. The school is slated to convert to a pre-kindergarten format beginning in the 2006-2007 school year.