| Joseph T. Robinson | |
| Office: | Senate Majority Leader |
| Deputy: | J. Hamilton Lewis |
| Term Start: | March 4, 1933 |
| Term End: | July 14, 1937 |
| Predecessor: | James Eli Watson |
| Successor: | Alben W. Barkley |
| Office1: | Senate Minority Leader |
| Deputy1: | Peter G. Gerry Morris Sheppard |
| Term Start1: | December 3, 1923 |
| Term End1: | March 4, 1933 |
| Predecessor1: | Oscar Underwood |
| Successor1: | Charles L. McNary |
| Office2: | Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus |
| Term Start2: | December 3, 1923 |
| Term End2: | July 14, 1937 |
| Predecessor2: | Gilbert Hitchcock (acting) |
| Successor2: | Alben W. Barkley |
| Jr/Sr3: | United States Senator |
| State3: | Arkansas |
| Term Start3: | March 10, 1913 |
| Term End3: | July 14, 1937 |
| Predecessor3: | William M. Kavanaugh |
| Successor3: | John E. Miller |
| Office4: | 23rd Governor of Arkansas |
| Term Start4: | January 16, 1913 |
| Term End4: | March 8, 1913 |
| Predecessor4: | George Washington Donaghey |
| Successor4: | William Kavanaugh Oldham (Acting) |
| State5: | Arkansas |
| Term Start5: | March 4, 1903 |
| Term End5: | January 14, 1913 |
| Predecessor5: | Stephen Brundidge Jr. |
| Successor5: | Samuel M. Taylor |
| Birth Date: | 26 August 1872 |
| Birth Place: | Lonoke, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Birth Name: | Joseph Taylor Robinson |
| Death Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Education: | University of Virginia (LLB) |
Joseph Taylor Robinson (August 26, 1872 – July 14, 1937), also known as Joe T. Robinson, was an American politician from Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1937, serving for four years as Senate Majority Leader and ten as Minority Leader. He previously served as the state's 23rd governor, and was also the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 1928 presidential election.
After studying law at the University of Virginia, Robinson returned to Arkansas, winning election to the Arkansas General Assembly. He won election to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1903 to 1913.[1] He won election as governor of Arkansas in 1912, but resigned from that position in 1913 to take a seat in the Senate. In the Senate, Robinson established himself as a progressive and strong supporter of President Woodrow Wilson. Robinson served as the chairman of the 1920 Democratic National Convention and won election as the Senate Minority Leader in 1923. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1924 election and was nominated as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 1928. The Democratic ticket of Al Smith and Robinson lost in a landslide to the Republican ticket of Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis.
The Democrats took control of the Senate after the 1932 Senate elections and elected Robinson as Senate Majority Leader. He passed Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs through the Senate, alienating some of his colleagues with his autocratic style. In the midst of debate over the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, Robinson died due to heart failure.
Robinson was born in Lonoke, Arkansas, the son of Matilda Jane (née Swaim) and James Madison Robinson. He attended the University of Arkansas and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.[2]
In 1894 Robinson was elected to the Arkansas Legislature and served one term. He 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.[3]
Robinson was a presidential elector in 1900.[4]
In 1912, Robinson was elected governor of Arkansas. He resigned his U.S. House seat on January 14, 1913, and took office as governor on January 16. However, U.S. Senator Jefferson Davis had died on January 3, after the legislature had re-elected him to a new term beginning March 4, 1913; his seat was now open. On January 27, 1913, only 12 days after Robinson took office as governor, the legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate to replace Davis.
Robinson became the last U.S. 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 8, 1913. Although 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 the Arkansas State Highway Commission.
Robinson was a supporter of progressive legislation during his lifetime, as demonstrated in a 1911 speech when he voiced his support for measures such as an eight-hour workday and pensions for old disabled workers.[5]
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.[6] He also led the unsuccessful effort in the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.[7]
Robinson was regarded as a progressive in Woodrow Wilson's image.