Robert S. Kerr
Encyclopedia
Robert Samuel Kerr was an American
businessman from Oklahoma
. Kerr formed a petroleum
company before turning to politics
. He served as the 12th Governor of Oklahoma
and was elected three times to the United States Senate
. Kerr worked natural resources, and his legacy includes water projects that link the Arkansas River
via the Gulf of Mexico
.
in Indian Territory
, the son of William Samuel Kerr, a farmer, clerk, and politician, and Margaret Eloda Wright. Kerr's upbringing as a Southern Baptist had a profound influence on his life. Not only did his religious beliefs lead him to teach Sunday school and to shun alcohol throughout his adulthood, it also aided his political aspirations in a conservative state where Baptists were the single largest denomination. He enrolled at Oklahoma Baptist University
in Shawnee
as a junior in high school. He later attended East Central State College
in Ada. He briefly studied law at the University of Oklahoma
until poverty forced him to drop out in 1916. When the United States entered World War I
in 1917, Kerr was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army. He never saw combat, but he used his active involvement in the Oklahoma National Guard and the American Legion to forward his business and political careers. He then returned to study law under an Ada judge. Kerr passed the bar exam in 1922, but a business failure the previous year had left him deeply in debt. In 1924 his wife of more than four years, Reba Shelton, died in childbirth, along with his twin daughters. The next year he married Grayce Breene, the youngest daughter of a wealthy Tulsa family. They had four children.
Kerr used his new family connections to enter the oil business with his brother-in-law, James L. Anderson, as his partner. By 1929 the Anderson-Kerr Drilling Company had become so prosperous
that Kerr abandoned his law practice to focus on oil. Anderson retired in 1936, and Dean A. McGee, former chief geologist for Phillips Petroleum, joined the firm, which changed its name in
1946 to Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Incorporated
. Kerr-McGee diversified into global drilling for petroleum and processed other fuels and minerals, including uranium and helium.
His four-year term as governor served as a turning point for Oklahoma's politics and economy. For the first time in the state's history, executive-legislative relations remained cordial, largely due to Kerr's patient leadership. When not cultivating legislators the governor prepared his state to weather postwar economic storms. Kerr traveled more than 400,000 miles to sell Oklahoma's products and potential throughout the nation. Not coincidentally, Kerr's boosterism also promoted his own political fortunes. In 1944 he was chosen to deliver the keynote address at the National Democratic Convention, where he played a back-room role in the
selection of Harry S. Truman
as vice president. During World War II
, despite the tendency of Oklahomans to keep the Federal government at arm's-length, Kerr promoted ties to the government, knowing how important the jobs and activity were to create prosperity. Oklahoma became home to many wartime industries and was a training site for military personnel. After the war, he called for increased spending to allow for post-war development of the state. Kerr traveled around the country to promote Oklahoma at his own expense.
Kerr used his success as governor to catapult himself into the U.S. Senate in 1948. Although he had national ambitions, he always put what he perceived to be the interests of his state first. Unlike many of his peers he generally neglected headline-grabbing issues, including anticommunism, foreign affairs, and civil rights, in favor of more mundane topics such as oil policies and public works. He believed Oklahomans would benefit most, and support him strongly, if he concentrated on concrete economic matters. In a closely contested race, Kerr became the first Oklahoma governor elected to the Senate. He had Presidential
aspirations briefly in 1952, but he failed to win the Democratic nomination. Kerr devoted his energies to building his Senate career. In the Senate, Kerr's activism on natural gas regulation quicklywon him a reputation for being a staunch defender of his region and its special interests, including his own petroleum company. His personality reinforced these first impressions. Kerr's colleagues widely considered him a brilliant debater who overwhelmed his opponents with his passion and his mastery of policy detail.
A disappointed Kerr then threw himself completely into his legislative work. He built alliances with the powerful southern and western Democrats who dominated the Senate, including Richard Russell
of Georgia and Lyndon Johnson of Texas. Kerr relied on these friends and on careful committee preparation to pursue regional economic development. The Arkansas River Navigation System became his defining goal through his three terms in the Senate. The $1.2 billion federal project, centered in northeastern Oklahoma, fostered more than $3 billion in commercial and industrial development in the Arkansas River basin during the two years after its completion in 1971. A once stagnant portion of his state quickly emerged as a regional economic hub. Kerr would also serve on several key Senate committees, most notably the Finance and Public Works committees. He chaired the United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences
from 1961 until his death.
As a petroleum executive, Kerr also championed petroleum
and natural gas
interests, and advocated for the conservation of natural resources. His father had told him “To raise a family, you have to have three things – land, wood and water."
His legislative acumen combined with changes in congressional leadership to make his allegiance pivotal to President John F. Kennedy
's programs on Capitol Hill. On issues of common interest, such as space and taxes, Kerr cooperated with Kennedy to guarantee mutual success. On areas of disagreement, including Medicare, Kerr stymied the president. In January 1963, the Wall Street Journal summarized the relationship with only some exaggeration: "Mr. Kennedy asked; Mr. Kerr decided."
on January 1, 1963. Shortly after he died, an article written by an Associated Press
reporter agreed with the title of the The Saturday Evening Post
tribute. Both called Kerr “The Uncrowned King of the Senate.”
Kerr's chief legacy for the state of Oklahoma is a series of water projects and dams that made the Arkansas River into a navigable inland waterway system
. During his term as governor, Kerr witnessed the devastation caused by flooding of the Arkansas River and its tributaries due to the river's shallowness, which prevented river traffic from reaching Oklahoma. His first bill in Congress created the Arkansas, White and Red River Study Commission, which planned the land and water development in this region. He died before he saw the commission's work come to fruition as the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, a series of 17 locks and dams making the waterway navigable from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa
to the Gulf of Mexico.
Dozens of Oklahoma schools, buildings, roads, streets, parks, organizations, and events are named in Kerr's honor. Most notable is a portion of 2nd Street, between E.K. Gaylord Avenue and Classen Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City
, called Robert S. Kerr Ave. (The street directly north (3rd St) was renamed for his partner, Dean A. McGee.) The Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma houses Kerr's papers; most are from his years in the Senate, but some gubernatorial papers and his political and Senate speeches are also included.
Kerr's death contributed to Kennedy's legislative difficulties in 1963, marked the end of the Democratic party's dominance in Oklahoma politics, and signaled the passing of a major figure in the oil industry, but in addition to an estate estimated to be worth at least $35 million, he left a legacy that extended beyond partisan or business affairs. His forceful use of the federal government to spur regional development, an approach shared by contemporaries, including Johnson, helped integrate the South and Southwest into the national economy. The rise of the "Sunbelt" ultimately transformed all aspects of American life. Robert Kerr played a significant role in that transformation.
Kerr's grandson, William R. Kerr (born 26 April 1956), was convicted of mail fraud and securities fraud in 2003 and was sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison. In a subsequent civil lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, William Kerr was ordered to repay victims $10.7 million. His Oklahoma Department of Corrections rapsheet and mugshots can be found here:.
A granddaughter of Senator Kerr, Joffa Kerr, was convicted of manslaughter in 2000. Joffa Kerr was driving drunk and slammed head-on into a car carrying 12-year old Ryan Dawson and his 65-year-old grandfather. Joffa was sentenced to 15 years and 50 years on various manslaughter charges and served 7 years in prison before making parole. She remains on parole until the year 2065 - effectively the rest of her life. Her Oklahoma Department of Corrections rapsheet and mugshots can be found here:. Her family settled a civil suit by the deceased's family for $5.1 million.
article,
"How the Bankers Bought Washington: Our Cheap Politicians," Andrew Cockburn
points out an incident of graft in the 1950s: "Just a generation ago, our own legislators displayed a more robust attitude to those seeking favor. In his instructive memoir 'Wheeling and Dealing -Confessions of a Capitol Hill Operator,' former Senate aide Bobby Baker recounts his efforts in collecting the half million dollars in cash demanded by Senator Robert Kerr of Oklahoma from the Savings and Loan industry in return for a favorable legislative adjustment" [Cockburn].
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman from Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Kerr formed a petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
company before turning to politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. He served as the 12th Governor of Oklahoma
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...
and was elected three times 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...
. Kerr worked natural resources, and his legacy includes water projects that link the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
via the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Early years
Kerr was born in a log cabin near what is now Ada, OklahomaAda, Oklahoma
Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,008 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the city population was estimated at 17,019....
in Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, the son of William Samuel Kerr, a farmer, clerk, and politician, and Margaret Eloda Wright. Kerr's upbringing as a Southern Baptist had a profound influence on his life. Not only did his religious beliefs lead him to teach Sunday school and to shun alcohol throughout his adulthood, it also aided his political aspirations in a conservative state where Baptists were the single largest denomination. He enrolled at Oklahoma Baptist University
Oklahoma Baptist University
Oklahoma Baptist University is a co-educational Christian liberal arts university located in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and owned by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Established in 1910, OBU is ranked No.2 among baccalaureate colleges in the western region in the 2010 U.S...
in Shawnee
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
as a junior in high school. He later attended East Central State College
East Central University
East Central University is a four year public university in Ada, Oklahoma, located in the south central region of the state. The university also has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, Ardmore, and Durant....
in Ada. He briefly studied law at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
until poverty forced him to drop out in 1916. When the United States entered 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...
in 1917, Kerr was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army. He never saw combat, but he used his active involvement in the Oklahoma National Guard and the American Legion to forward his business and political careers. He then returned to study law under an Ada judge. Kerr passed the bar exam in 1922, but a business failure the previous year had left him deeply in debt. In 1924 his wife of more than four years, Reba Shelton, died in childbirth, along with his twin daughters. The next year he married Grayce Breene, the youngest daughter of a wealthy Tulsa family. They had four children.
Kerr used his new family connections to enter the oil business with his brother-in-law, James L. Anderson, as his partner. By 1929 the Anderson-Kerr Drilling Company had become so prosperous
that Kerr abandoned his law practice to focus on oil. Anderson retired in 1936, and Dean A. McGee, former chief geologist for Phillips Petroleum, joined the firm, which changed its name in
1946 to Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Incorporated
Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas. On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus the assumption of $2.6...
. Kerr-McGee diversified into global drilling for petroleum and processed other fuels and minerals, including uranium and helium.
Politics
Kerr's growing wealth and business ties made him a power in state Democratic politics during the 1930s. In 1942 he ran for the Democratic nomination for governor as a supporter both of the New Deal and of a vigorous U.S. role in World War II. Oklahoma's Democrats were divided over President Franklin Roosevelt's policies, leading to a bitter campaign. Kerr narrowly won the primary and went on to triumph by a small margin in the general election. He was the first native-born governor.His four-year term as governor served as a turning point for Oklahoma's politics and economy. For the first time in the state's history, executive-legislative relations remained cordial, largely due to Kerr's patient leadership. When not cultivating legislators the governor prepared his state to weather postwar economic storms. Kerr traveled more than 400,000 miles to sell Oklahoma's products and potential throughout the nation. Not coincidentally, Kerr's boosterism also promoted his own political fortunes. In 1944 he was chosen to deliver the keynote address at the National Democratic Convention, where he played a back-room role in the
selection of Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
as vice president. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, despite the tendency of Oklahomans to keep the Federal government at arm's-length, Kerr promoted ties to the government, knowing how important the jobs and activity were to create prosperity. Oklahoma became home to many wartime industries and was a training site for military personnel. After the war, he called for increased spending to allow for post-war development of the state. Kerr traveled around the country to promote Oklahoma at his own expense.
Kerr used his success as governor to catapult himself into the U.S. Senate in 1948. Although he had national ambitions, he always put what he perceived to be the interests of his state first. Unlike many of his peers he generally neglected headline-grabbing issues, including anticommunism, foreign affairs, and civil rights, in favor of more mundane topics such as oil policies and public works. He believed Oklahomans would benefit most, and support him strongly, if he concentrated on concrete economic matters. In a closely contested race, Kerr became the first Oklahoma governor elected to the Senate. He had Presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
aspirations briefly in 1952, but he failed to win the Democratic nomination. Kerr devoted his energies to building his Senate career. In the Senate, Kerr's activism on natural gas regulation quicklywon him a reputation for being a staunch defender of his region and its special interests, including his own petroleum company. His personality reinforced these first impressions. Kerr's colleagues widely considered him a brilliant debater who overwhelmed his opponents with his passion and his mastery of policy detail.
Richard Russell, Jr.
Richard Brevard Russell, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician from the southeastern state of Georgia. He served as state governor from 1931 to 1933 and United States senator from 1933 to 1971....
of Georgia and Lyndon Johnson of Texas. Kerr relied on these friends and on careful committee preparation to pursue regional economic development. The Arkansas River Navigation System became his defining goal through his three terms in the Senate. The $1.2 billion federal project, centered in northeastern Oklahoma, fostered more than $3 billion in commercial and industrial development in the Arkansas River basin during the two years after its completion in 1971. A once stagnant portion of his state quickly emerged as a regional economic hub. Kerr would also serve on several key Senate committees, most notably the Finance and Public Works committees. He chaired the United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences
United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences
The Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences was a standing committee of the United States Senate from 1958 until 1977, when it was folded into the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation...
from 1961 until his death.
As a petroleum executive, Kerr also championed petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
interests, and advocated for the conservation of natural resources. His father had told him “To raise a family, you have to have three things – land, wood and water."
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's programs on Capitol Hill. On issues of common interest, such as space and taxes, Kerr cooperated with Kennedy to guarantee mutual success. On areas of disagreement, including Medicare, Kerr stymied the president. In January 1963, the Wall Street Journal summarized the relationship with only some exaggeration: "Mr. Kennedy asked; Mr. Kerr decided."
Death and legacy
Kerr suffered a fatal heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on January 1, 1963. Shortly after he died, an article written by an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporter agreed with the title of the The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
tribute. Both called Kerr “The Uncrowned King of the Senate.”
Kerr's chief legacy for the state of Oklahoma is a series of water projects and dams that made the Arkansas River into a navigable inland waterway system
Inland waterways of the United States
The inland waterways of the United States include over 25,000 miles of navigable waters. Much of the commercially important waterways of the United States consist of the Mississippi River System—the Mississippi River and connecting waterways.Almost all of the navigable rivers and canals in...
. During his term as governor, Kerr witnessed the devastation caused by flooding of the Arkansas River and its tributaries due to the river's shallowness, which prevented river traffic from reaching Oklahoma. His first bill in Congress created the Arkansas, White and Red River Study Commission, which planned the land and water development in this region. He died before he saw the commission's work come to fruition as the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, a series of 17 locks and dams making the waterway navigable from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa
Tulsa Port of Catoosa
The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is located near the city of Catoosa in Rogers County, just inside the municipal fenceline of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States....
to the Gulf of Mexico.
Dozens of Oklahoma schools, buildings, roads, streets, parks, organizations, and events are named in Kerr's honor. Most notable is a portion of 2nd Street, between E.K. Gaylord Avenue and Classen Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, called Robert S. Kerr Ave. (The street directly north (3rd St) was renamed for his partner, Dean A. McGee.) The Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma houses Kerr's papers; most are from his years in the Senate, but some gubernatorial papers and his political and Senate speeches are also included.
Kerr's death contributed to Kennedy's legislative difficulties in 1963, marked the end of the Democratic party's dominance in Oklahoma politics, and signaled the passing of a major figure in the oil industry, but in addition to an estate estimated to be worth at least $35 million, he left a legacy that extended beyond partisan or business affairs. His forceful use of the federal government to spur regional development, an approach shared by contemporaries, including Johnson, helped integrate the South and Southwest into the national economy. The rise of the "Sunbelt" ultimately transformed all aspects of American life. Robert Kerr played a significant role in that transformation.
Kerr's grandson, William R. Kerr (born 26 April 1956), was convicted of mail fraud and securities fraud in 2003 and was sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison. In a subsequent civil lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, William Kerr was ordered to repay victims $10.7 million. His Oklahoma Department of Corrections rapsheet and mugshots can be found here:.
A granddaughter of Senator Kerr, Joffa Kerr, was convicted of manslaughter in 2000. Joffa Kerr was driving drunk and slammed head-on into a car carrying 12-year old Ryan Dawson and his 65-year-old grandfather. Joffa was sentenced to 15 years and 50 years on various manslaughter charges and served 7 years in prison before making parole. She remains on parole until the year 2065 - effectively the rest of her life. Her Oklahoma Department of Corrections rapsheet and mugshots can be found here:. Her family settled a civil suit by the deceased's family for $5.1 million.
Criticisms
In a recent CounterPunchCounterpunch
Counterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
article,
"How the Bankers Bought Washington: Our Cheap Politicians," Andrew Cockburn
Andrew Cockburn
Andrew Cockburn is a journalist who has lived in the United States for many years.-Early life and family:Born in London in 1947, Cockburn grew up in County Cork, Ireland. His father was socialist author and journalist Claud Cockburn...
points out an incident of graft in the 1950s: "Just a generation ago, our own legislators displayed a more robust attitude to those seeking favor. In his instructive memoir 'Wheeling and Dealing -Confessions of a Capitol Hill Operator,' former Senate aide Bobby Baker recounts his efforts in collecting the half million dollars in cash demanded by Senator Robert Kerr of Oklahoma from the Savings and Loan industry in return for a favorable legislative adjustment" [Cockburn].
External links
- Robert S. Kerr Collection – Carl Albert Center at the University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...