Joseph Taylor Robinson
Encyclopedia
Joseph Taylor Robinson (August 26, 1872 – July 14, 1937) was an American politician from Arkansas
, of the Democratic
Party. He was a state representative, U.S. Representative
, 23rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S. Senator
, Senate Majority Leader, and candidate for Vice President.
, Robinson attended the University of Arkansas
and studied law at the University of Virginia
.
In 1894 Robinson was elected to the Arkansas Legislature
and served one term. Robinson was elected to the United States House of Representatives
in 1902 from the Sixth District of Arkansas, and was re-elected to four subsequent terms, serving until 1913.
In 1912 he was elected Governor of Arkansas. He resigned his Congressional seat on January 14, 1913 and took office as governor on January 15. In the meantime, however, Senator Jefferson Davis
died on January 3. Davis had been re-elected to a new term beginning March 3, 1913. That term was now open. On January 27, only 12 days after Robinson took office as governor, the legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate for that term.
Because this second election was required after Davis died, Robinson became the very last Senator elected by a state legislature rather than by direct popular vote. The Seventeenth Amendment
, which required direct election, took effect on April 8, 1913. All the other Senators elected to terms starting in 1913 had been elected earlier. Senator James H. Brady
of Idaho
was elected to fill a vacancy on January 24; he was next to last.
Robinson resigned as governor on March 10, 1913. Though he served as governor for only 55 days, he worked to provide funds to complete the new state capitol building, create a labor statistics board, adopt an official state flag, and create a highway commission.
He staunchly supported the policies of President Woodrow Wilson
even as other Democrats faltered. He championed the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act and worked to enact bills to regulate railroads and other key industries. He led the Senate to arm merchant ships and voted to declare war on Germany. He also led the unsuccessful effort in the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
Robinson was regarded as a progressive in Woodrow Wilson's image. Robinson gained influence in the Senate and later served as Chairman of the 1920 Democratic National Convention. Robinson was re-elected to the Senate in 1918, 1924, 1930, and 1936. In 1923, the Senate Democrat floor leader Oscar Underwood, who served as the Senate Minority Leader, resigned due to illness. Senior Democratic Senator was expected to take Underwood's place, but withdrew his name from consideration after Robinson challenged him for the position. By unanimous acclamation, Robinson became the Democratic leader, a position he would hold until his death in 1937.
As minority leader, Robinson took over the distribution of patronage appointments and reformed the committee assignment process, decreeing that no senator would hold the top Democratic position in more than one important committee. A Capitol Hill resident, he never strayed far from the Senate chamber, but kept a constant watch over the proceedings in order to capitalize on any dissension within the Republican ranks. Known as a "horse trader," he made deals on both sides of the aisle and helped facilitate negotiations with the era's GOP presidents.
Robinson had presidential aspirations of his own. In 1924, he was a minor contender for the Democratic nomination. A "favorite son" candidate, he drew the support of his Arkansas constituents and the southern conservative members of his party. That year, however, his performance on a golf course brought him more attention than his short-lived race for the presidency. At the Chevy Chase Country Club (a favorite haunt for Washington politicians), a fellow golfer asked to move ahead of the senator's slow-playing foursome. Robinson refused to extend the courtesy to the local surgeon. After a few angry words, he hit the doctor, knocking him to the ground. The club expelled Robinson from its membership, and the press gave him a new title; he was now the "pugilist" senator.
Robinson was the Democratic candidate for Vice President in 1928, as the running mate of Alfred E. Smith (see: U.S. presidential election, 1928). Early in 1928, Robinson clashed with Senator James Heflin, a Democrat from Alabama, who frequently inserted anti-Catholic sentiments into many of his speeches. When New York's Catholic governor, Alfred E. Smith, announced his candidacy for president, Heflin made Smith the target of his criticism. Robinson admonished his views, stating that religious affiliation had no bearing on a person's credentials for higher office. On one famous occasion, he declared, "I have heard [the senator] denounce the Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome and the cardinal and the bishop and the priest and the nun until I am sick and tired of it, as a Democrat." Helfin retorted, "The Senator from Arkansas can not remain leader of the Democrats and fight the Roman Catholics' battle every time the issue is raised in this body." Interpreting the remark as a challenge to his authority, Robinson held a vote of confidence to gauge his colleagues' loyalty. By a near unanimous vote (Heflin was absent), the senators pledged their support to their leader and his stance against bigotry.
After Smith lost to Republican candidate Herbert Hoover, Robinson emerged from the campaign a national figure, now known for the impassioned speeches he had made around the country on behalf of Smith and the Democratic platform. He continued to score victories as the Senate's minority leader, but his cooperative relationship with Hoover riled the members of his party. They understood that no other senator possessed Robinson's tenacity and influence, however, so they accepted his leadership, infuriating as it could be.
Robinson became Senate Majority Leader by a unanimous vote in 1933 when the Democrats became the majority. He was the first Democrat to serve as formally designated Majority Leader. He took his duties seriously, refusing to delegate his numerous responsibilities. Some Senators resented his autocratic style. In debate he could be terrifying. He would grow red in the face, pound his desk, gesture wildly, and stamp his feet.
Richard L. Riedel, a Senate press gallery attendant in the 1920s and 1930s, recalled, "When [Robinson] would go into one of his rages, it took little imagination to see fire and smoke rolling out of his mouth like some fierce dragon. Even when he kidded me, he spoke in loud gasps while puffing his cigar. Robinson could make Senators and everyone in his presence quake by the burning fire of his eyes, the baring of his teeth as he ground out the words, and the clenching of his mighty fists as he beat on the desk before him."
The press referred to him as "scrappy Joe", and he nearly came to blows with Senate colleagues Robert La Follette, Porter McCumber, Thomas Heflin, and Huey Long
. Once the United States entered World War I,
Robinson denounced those senators who opposed the war effort. After La Follette opposed it, Robinson questioned his patriotism on the Senate floor and La Follette almost got into a brawl with Robinson and had to be restrained. His response to a guard who questioned his credentials at the 1920 Democratic National Convention was a punch in the face. Despite this temper, he maintained strong friendships across party lines.
As Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal "marshal," he ensured the passage of countless bills relating to the Depression and social policy, his most impressive victory being the Emergency Banking Act, which he pushed through both houses of Congress in seven hours. In 1937 he supported Roosevelt's proposal to restructure the United States Supreme Court
(the "court-packing plan"). Robinson had a much more difficult time with the president's Court Reorganization Act, designed to add liberal justices to the Supreme Court. For weeks in 1937, he spoke, fought, and cajoled for the bill, but he could not stifle the criticism of scores of Republicans and Democrats. The constant strain showed on his face and in the stoop of his shoulders, and his friends began to worry about his health.
On July 14, just as the legislation seemed likely to split his party into two warring factions, Robinson's housekeeper found his pajama-clad body lying face down on his apartment floor. He had not given up the battle, but his heart had. Two days after Robinson's sudden death, stunned colleagues, friends, and family attended his funeral in the Senate chamber. His casket, blanketed with flowers, rested in the green-carpeted pit, the site of his greatest speeches. The Senate chaplain gave a brief sermon, and the Capitol Police escorted his body to a funeral train headed to Little Rock. Thousands of mourners traveled to the Arkansas capitol to witness Robinson's lying-in-state ceremony and to express their grief and their enormous admiration for the majority leader: the "fightingest" man in the U.S. Senate.
He is buried at the Roselawn Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas
. His home in Little Rock, the Joseph Taylor Robinson House
, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994.
Robinson is the namesake of Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas's primary National Guard
base; Robinson Center
in downtown Little Rock; and elementary, middle and high schools on the northwestern edge of Little Rock. Robinson's face appears on the front of the United States half dollar produced for the 1936 Arkansas Centennial; he was one of only four men to appear on a U.S. coin while living.
Robinson is mentioned in True Grit
, a historically informed novel by Arkansas writer Charles Portis
. In an aside that illustrates the complexities of Southern political allegiances during the relevant period, Portis's narrator Mattie Ross says: "[ Grover Cleveland
] brought a good deal of misery to the land in the Panic of ’93
but I am not ashamed to own that my family supported him and has stayed with the Democrats right on through, up to and including Governor Alfred Smith, and not only because of Joe Robinson."
!Year || || Democratic || PCT || || Challenger || Party || Pct
|-
|1902 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 89.3% || ||| W. H. Carpenter || Republican || 10.7%
|-
|1904 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 62.0% || ||| R. C. Thompson || Republican || 38.1%
|-
|1906 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 84.4% || ||| R. C. Thompson || Republican || 15.6%
|-
|1908 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || || || Unopposed || ||
|-
|1910 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 81.6% || ||| B. C. Thompson || Republican || 18.4%
|+ Arkansas Gubernatorial Election Results
!Year || || Democratic || PCT || || Challenger || Party || Pct
|-
|1912 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 64.7% || ||| Andrew I. Roland || Republican || 27.4%
|+ Arkansas U.S. Senatorial Election (Class 2) Results 1918 – 1936
!Year || || Democratic || PCT || || Challenger || Party || Pct
|-
|1918 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || || || Unopposed || ||
|-
|1924 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 73.5% || ||| Charles F. Cole || Republican || 26.5%
|-
|1930 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || || || Unopposed || ||
|-
|1936 || ||| James Taylor Robinson || 81.8% || ||| G.C. Ledbetter || Republican || 16.4%
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...
, of the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Party. He was a state representative, U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, 23rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S. Senator
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...
, Senate Majority Leader, and candidate for Vice President.
Early life
Born in Lonoke, ArkansasLonoke, Arkansas
Lonoke is the second most populous city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as its county seat. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,553...
, Robinson attended the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
and studied law at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
.
In 1894 Robinson was elected to the Arkansas Legislature
Arkansas General Assembly
The Arkansas General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 members. All 135 representatives and state senators...
and served one term. Robinson was elected to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1902 from the Sixth District of Arkansas, and was re-elected to four subsequent terms, serving until 1913.
In 1912 he was elected Governor of Arkansas. He resigned his Congressional seat on January 14, 1913 and took office as governor on January 15. In the meantime, however, Senator Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis (Arkansas governor)
Jefferson Davis , commonly known as Jeff Davis, was a Democratic United States Senator from Arkansas and also served as the 20th Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas.- Early life :...
died on January 3. Davis had been re-elected to a new term beginning March 3, 1913. That term was now open. On January 27, only 12 days after Robinson took office as governor, the legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate for that term.
Because this second election was required after Davis died, Robinson became the very last Senator elected by a state legislature rather than by direct popular vote. The Seventeenth Amendment
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
, which required direct election, took effect on April 8, 1913. All the other Senators elected to terms starting in 1913 had been elected earlier. Senator James H. Brady
James H. Brady
James Henry Brady was a U.S. politician from the Republican Party. He served as the eighth Governor of Idaho from 1909 to 1911 and a United States Senator representing Idaho from 1913 until his death.-Biography:...
of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
was elected to fill a vacancy on January 24; he was next to last.
Robinson resigned as governor on March 10, 1913. Though he served as governor for only 55 days, he worked to provide funds to complete the new state capitol building, create a labor statistics board, adopt an official state flag, and create a highway commission.
Senate career
From the outset, Robinson impressed other Senators with carefully crafted speeches. He mastered the Senate's complex rules and practices; he possessed tenacious loyalty to friends and party, a passion for detail, and a killer's instinct in debate. Wedded to his job, he arrived early each day, stayed late, and studied legislation at home.He staunchly supported the policies of President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
even as other Democrats faltered. He championed the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act and worked to enact bills to regulate railroads and other key industries. He led the Senate to arm merchant ships and voted to declare war on Germany. He also led the unsuccessful effort in the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
Robinson was regarded as a progressive in Woodrow Wilson's image. Robinson gained influence in the Senate and later served as Chairman of the 1920 Democratic National Convention. Robinson was re-elected to the Senate in 1918, 1924, 1930, and 1936. In 1923, the Senate Democrat floor leader Oscar Underwood, who served as the Senate Minority Leader, resigned due to illness. Senior Democratic Senator was expected to take Underwood's place, but withdrew his name from consideration after Robinson challenged him for the position. By unanimous acclamation, Robinson became the Democratic leader, a position he would hold until his death in 1937.
As minority leader, Robinson took over the distribution of patronage appointments and reformed the committee assignment process, decreeing that no senator would hold the top Democratic position in more than one important committee. A Capitol Hill resident, he never strayed far from the Senate chamber, but kept a constant watch over the proceedings in order to capitalize on any dissension within the Republican ranks. Known as a "horse trader," he made deals on both sides of the aisle and helped facilitate negotiations with the era's GOP presidents.
Robinson had presidential aspirations of his own. In 1924, he was a minor contender for the Democratic nomination. A "favorite son" candidate, he drew the support of his Arkansas constituents and the southern conservative members of his party. That year, however, his performance on a golf course brought him more attention than his short-lived race for the presidency. At the Chevy Chase Country Club (a favorite haunt for Washington politicians), a fellow golfer asked to move ahead of the senator's slow-playing foursome. Robinson refused to extend the courtesy to the local surgeon. After a few angry words, he hit the doctor, knocking him to the ground. The club expelled Robinson from its membership, and the press gave him a new title; he was now the "pugilist" senator.
Robinson was the Democratic candidate for Vice President in 1928, as the running mate of Alfred E. Smith (see: U.S. presidential election, 1928). Early in 1928, Robinson clashed with Senator James Heflin, a Democrat from Alabama, who frequently inserted anti-Catholic sentiments into many of his speeches. When New York's Catholic governor, Alfred E. Smith, announced his candidacy for president, Heflin made Smith the target of his criticism. Robinson admonished his views, stating that religious affiliation had no bearing on a person's credentials for higher office. On one famous occasion, he declared, "I have heard [the senator] denounce the Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome and the cardinal and the bishop and the priest and the nun until I am sick and tired of it, as a Democrat." Helfin retorted, "The Senator from Arkansas can not remain leader of the Democrats and fight the Roman Catholics' battle every time the issue is raised in this body." Interpreting the remark as a challenge to his authority, Robinson held a vote of confidence to gauge his colleagues' loyalty. By a near unanimous vote (Heflin was absent), the senators pledged their support to their leader and his stance against bigotry.
After Smith lost to Republican candidate Herbert Hoover, Robinson emerged from the campaign a national figure, now known for the impassioned speeches he had made around the country on behalf of Smith and the Democratic platform. He continued to score victories as the Senate's minority leader, but his cooperative relationship with Hoover riled the members of his party. They understood that no other senator possessed Robinson's tenacity and influence, however, so they accepted his leadership, infuriating as it could be.
Robinson became Senate Majority Leader by a unanimous vote in 1933 when the Democrats became the majority. He was the first Democrat to serve as formally designated Majority Leader. He took his duties seriously, refusing to delegate his numerous responsibilities. Some Senators resented his autocratic style. In debate he could be terrifying. He would grow red in the face, pound his desk, gesture wildly, and stamp his feet.
Richard L. Riedel, a Senate press gallery attendant in the 1920s and 1930s, recalled, "When [Robinson] would go into one of his rages, it took little imagination to see fire and smoke rolling out of his mouth like some fierce dragon. Even when he kidded me, he spoke in loud gasps while puffing his cigar. Robinson could make Senators and everyone in his presence quake by the burning fire of his eyes, the baring of his teeth as he ground out the words, and the clenching of his mighty fists as he beat on the desk before him."
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
. Once the United States entered World War I,
Robinson denounced those senators who opposed the war effort. After La Follette opposed it, Robinson questioned his patriotism on the Senate floor and La Follette almost got into a brawl with Robinson and had to be restrained. His response to a guard who questioned his credentials at the 1920 Democratic National Convention was a punch in the face. Despite this temper, he maintained strong friendships across party lines.
As Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal "marshal," he ensured the passage of countless bills relating to the Depression and social policy, his most impressive victory being the Emergency Banking Act, which he pushed through both houses of Congress in seven hours. In 1937 he supported Roosevelt's proposal to restructure the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
(the "court-packing plan"). Robinson had a much more difficult time with the president's Court Reorganization Act, designed to add liberal justices to the Supreme Court. For weeks in 1937, he spoke, fought, and cajoled for the bill, but he could not stifle the criticism of scores of Republicans and Democrats. The constant strain showed on his face and in the stoop of his shoulders, and his friends began to worry about his health.
On July 14, just as the legislation seemed likely to split his party into two warring factions, Robinson's housekeeper found his pajama-clad body lying face down on his apartment floor. He had not given up the battle, but his heart had. Two days after Robinson's sudden death, stunned colleagues, friends, and family attended his funeral in the Senate chamber. His casket, blanketed with flowers, rested in the green-carpeted pit, the site of his greatest speeches. The Senate chaplain gave a brief sermon, and the Capitol Police escorted his body to a funeral train headed to Little Rock. Thousands of mourners traveled to the Arkansas capitol to witness Robinson's lying-in-state ceremony and to express their grief and their enormous admiration for the majority leader: the "fightingest" man in the U.S. Senate.
He is buried at the Roselawn 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...
. His home in Little Rock, the Joseph Taylor Robinson House
Joseph Taylor Robinson House
Joseph Taylor Robinson House, in Little Rock, Arkansas was the home of Arkansas governor and U.S. Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson during 1930-1937, the period of his greatest influence.The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.,,...
, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994.
Robinson is the namesake of Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas's primary National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
base; Robinson Center
Robinson Center (Little Rock)
Robinson Center is the western portion of downtown Little Rock's Statehouse Plaza, including a 2,609-seat performance hall, an exhibition hall, and various meeting rooms....
in downtown Little Rock; and elementary, middle and high schools on the northwestern edge of Little Rock. Robinson's face appears on the front of the United States half dollar produced for the 1936 Arkansas Centennial; he was one of only four men to appear on a U.S. coin while living.
Robinson is mentioned in True Grit
True Grit (novel)
True Grit is a 1968 novel by Charles Portis that was first published as a 1968 serial in The Saturday Evening Post. The novel is told from the perspective of a woman named Mattie Ross who recounts the time when she was 14 years old and sought retribution for the murder of her father by a scoundrel...
, a historically informed novel by Arkansas writer Charles Portis
Charles Portis
Charles McColl Portis is an American author best known for his novels Norwood and the 1968 classic Western novel True Grit , both adapted as films. The latter also inspired a film sequel and made-for-TV movie sequel...
. In an aside that illustrates the complexities of Southern political allegiances during the relevant period, Portis's narrator Mattie Ross says: "[ Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
] brought a good deal of misery to the land in the Panic of ’93
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
but I am not ashamed to own that my family supported him and has stayed with the Democrats right on through, up to and including Governor Alfred Smith, and not only because of Joe Robinson."
Electoral history
|+ U.S. Congressional Election – Arkansas 6th District Results 1902 – 1910!Year || || Democratic || PCT || || Challenger || Party || Pct
|-
|1902 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 89.3% || ||| W. H. Carpenter || Republican || 10.7%
|-
|1904 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 62.0% || ||| R. C. Thompson || Republican || 38.1%
|-
|1906 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 84.4% || ||| R. C. Thompson || Republican || 15.6%
|-
|1908 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || || || Unopposed || ||
|-
|1910 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 81.6% || ||| B. C. Thompson || Republican || 18.4%
|+ Arkansas Gubernatorial Election Results
!Year || || Democratic || PCT || || Challenger || Party || Pct
|-
|1912 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 64.7% || ||| Andrew I. Roland || Republican || 27.4%
|+ Arkansas U.S. Senatorial Election (Class 2) Results 1918 – 1936
!Year || || Democratic || PCT || || Challenger || Party || Pct
|-
|1918 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || || || Unopposed || ||
|-
|1924 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || 73.5% || ||| Charles F. Cole || Republican || 26.5%
|-
|1930 || ||| Joseph Taylor Robinson || || || Unopposed || ||
|-
|1936 || ||| James Taylor Robinson || 81.8% || ||| G.C. Ledbetter || Republican || 16.4%
External links
- Joseph Taylor Robinson in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture