Robert Lee Williams (December 20, 1868 – April 10, 1948) was an American lawyer, judge, and the third governor of Oklahoma. Williams played a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution and served as the first Oklahoma Supreme Court chief justice. He also served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. As Governor, Williams oversaw the state's response to the United States Supreme Court's ruling against Jim Crow laws and its involvement in World War I. He instituted the Oklahoma State Board of Affairs, which provided central purchasing services to state agencies. Due to his direct administrative role and concentration of power, Williams counteracted the loss of executive power under Governor Lee Cruce.
Robert L. Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | |
| In office March 31, 1939 – April 10, 1948 | |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | |
| In office April 21, 1937 – March 31, 1939 | |
| Appointed by | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | George Thomas McDermott |
| Succeeded by | Walter A. Huxman |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma | |
| In office January 7, 1919 – April 21, 1937 | |
| Appointed by | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Ralph E. Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Eugene Rice |
| 3rd Governor of Oklahoma | |
| In office January 11, 1915 – January 13, 1919 | |
| Lieutenant | Martin E. Trapp |
| Preceded by | Lee Cruce |
| Succeeded by | James B. A. Robertson |
| 1st Chief Justice of Oklahoma | |
| In office 1907–1909 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Matthew John Kane |
| Member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court | |
| In office 1907–1914 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Stillwell H. Russell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Lee Williams December 20, 1868 Brundidge, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | April 10, 1948 (aged 79) Durant, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Resting place | City Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Southern University (BA, MA) read law |
Early life and education
editWilliams was born on December 20, 1868, near Brundidge, Alabama.[1] Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1892 and a Master of Arts degree in 1894, both from the old Southern University[Note 1] in Greensboro, Alabama. One degree included a study of Methodist doctrines, entitling him to become a certified minister. He read law and passed the Alabama bar exam in 1891 at the age of 23 and began his practice in Troy, Alabama. At the age of 25, Williams, in 1893, moved to the Cherokee Outlet in the Indian Territory following its opening where he briefly practiced law in Orlando. After briefly moving back to Alabama, Williams returned to the Indian Territory in 1897 and settled in Durant.[2] He became increasingly involved in local politics and a driving force behind the Democratic Party in modern-day eastern Oklahoma in his role as the national committeeman from the Indian Territory.[citation needed]
Statehood convention delegate
editSelected to represent Durant and the surrounding area at the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, Williams traveled to Guthrie where he would meet two men that would have profound effects on both his and Oklahoma's future: Charles N. Haskell and William H. Murray.[citation needed] Through their labors, Oklahoma's Constitution was established and Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907.[citation needed] On that same day, Haskell was inaugurated as the first Governor of Oklahoma.[citation needed]
Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice
editThrough his friendship with Haskell and his own skill as an attorney, Williams was appointed by Haskell to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.[citation needed] Once on the Court, Williams was selected to serve as the Court's first chief justice.[citation needed] He was reappointed that post again in 1908 and would serve in that office until 1914, the only position he would hold on Oklahoma's highest court.[citation needed]
In 1914, before the end of Oklahoma's second governor's term, Governor Lee Cruce, Williams resigned from his position as chief justice in order to place his name in the Democratic primaries for Governor of Oklahoma.[citation needed] His fame as Chief Justice easily won him the Democratic nomination.[citation needed] Williams was fiercely conservative, possessed an assertive personality, and held a high sense of duty.[citation needed] Williams' Republican opponent was John Fields, the editor of a farm-related newspaper based in Oklahoma City.[citation needed] Williams faced a difficult fight for the governorship with Fields' paper granting him the majority of the farm-related voters' vote.[citation needed] Despite this Williams' popularity won him the victory by a narrow margin.[citation needed] He was inaugurated as the third Governor of Oklahoma on January 11, 1915.[citation needed]
Governor of Oklahoma
editOn January 1, 1917, Williams officially moved into the Oklahoma State Capitol before it was completed.[citation needed] On July 1 of that year the state officially took control of the building.[citation needed] The next year on March 18, 1918, the Oklahoma Legislature would hold its first meeting in its new permanent home.[citation needed] Despite the state's adoption of the building, it was not completed until 1919.[citation needed] Even upon its completion, it lacked a dome.[citation needed] In 2000, Governor Frank Keating proposed that a dome be added.[citation needed] The building was finally "completed" with the erection of the dome on November 16, 2002.[citation needed]
When Williams took office, Oklahoma was suffering terrible economic troubles. Hoping to save the state, he implemented policies that he believed would solve the problems and bring improvement. First, Williams proposed legislation levying new taxes while appropriations for state institutions were decreased in order to reduce the state's budget deficit.[3]
One of William's greatest advances in the state's economy came when he instituted the Oklahoma State Board of Affairs, which provided central purchasing services to state agencies.[3] The board's existence allowed for the consolidation of the purchasing of numerous state boards, agencies, and institutions.[3] Williams influenced Oklahoma's budget by making appointments and setting salaries.[3] Due to his direct administrative role and concentration of power, Williams would regain a measure of the executive power that Cruce's administration had lost.[3]
William's main mindset throughout his administration was reform. Through legislative action and program policy changes, Oklahoma instituted a highway construction bill, a state insurance bond, the office of pardon and parole, and a State fiscal agency.[3] Williams and state legislators amended the laws regarding the impeachment of state officials, provided for the aid of agriculture, created oil and gas divisions within the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, and changed the composition of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from six to nine justices.[3]
The Williams administration was marked by two events. The first was the landmark Supreme Court of the United States case Guinn v. United States in 1915.[3] When state officials enforced Oklahoma's Jim Crow laws, an appeal was made to the United States Supreme Court.[3] When the court ruled that laws that "serve no rational purpose other than to disadvantage the right of African-American citizens to vote violated the Fifteenth Amendment," many state officials were indicted and sentenced for violation of federal election laws.[3] This prompted Williams to call the state legislature into special session in 1916 to determine constitutional methods of black suffrage.[3] They enacted a constitutional amendment that asked voters to approve a literary test in Oklahoma as a voting requirement. The proposal, however, was rejected by voters, enabling many African-Americans the right to vote for the first time.[3]
The second major event in his gubernatorial term was when the United States was forced to deal with World War I in 1916.[3] The Great War would cast its shadow over the remainder of the governor's term.[3] Numerous domestic priorities were dropped in favor of the state's mobilization in preparation for war.[3] The Oklahoma military was swelled through local draft boards, the maximum food production was encouraged to feed United States allies, the promotion of fuel and food conservation was enacted, and Williams acted as a moderator between the pro-war and anti-war factions of the state.[3]
By the time January 13, 1919 rolled around, Williams was uninterested in running again.[citation needed] Oklahoma had elected to replace him with James B. A. Robertson, whom Williams had defeated in the 1914 Democratic primaries for governor.[citation needed]
Federal judicial service
edit
Williams was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on December 3, 1918, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma vacated by Judge Ralph E. Campbell. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 7, 1919, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 21, 1937, due to his elevation to the Tenth Circuit.[4]
Williams was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 25, 1937, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by Judge George Thomas McDermott. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 20, 1937, and received his commission on April 21, 1937. He assumed senior status on March 31, 1939. His service terminated on April 10, 1948, due to his death.[4]
Death
editWilliams died at his home in Durant, Oklahoma, on April 10, 1948, after a stay in Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman, Texas.[5] He is buried in City Cemetery in Durant.[6]
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert L. Williams | 132,588 | 57.0 | New | |
| Republican | W. H. Johnston | 99,728 | 42.9 | New | |
| Democratic gain from | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert L. Williams (Incumbent) | 9,442 | 100% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert L. Williams (Incumbent) | 122,100 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | Swing | N/A | |||
State of the State Speeches
editNote
edit- ^ Not to be confused with the present day historically black Southern University in Louisiana. The old Southern University consolidated with the former Birmingham College to become Birmingham–Southern College.
References
edit- ^ Norris, L. David. Williams, Robert Lee (1868-1948) Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 22, 2013)
- ^ Robert Lee Williams, Rootsweb.ancestry.com. (accessed July 18, 2013)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Biographical Note Robert Lee Williams, Oklahoma Department of Libraries. (accessed July 18, 2013)
- ^ a b "Williams, Robert Lee - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- ^ Governors of Oklahoma, Rootsweb.ancestry.com. (accessed July 18, 2013)
- ^ Governor Robert L. Williams, Governor's Office Records, Oklahoma State Archives, Oklahoma Department of Libraries. (accessed July 18, 2013)
- ^ a b "1907-1912 Results" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
- ^ "Bryan By 13,157". The Granite Enterprise. November 19, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved September 25, 2023.