Junius Marion Futrell (August 14, 1870 – June 20, 1955) was an American attorney who served as the 30th governor of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

from 1933 to 1937, and the acting governor for a short period in 1913. He also served in the Arkansas House of Representatives and

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

including as the senate president.

Early life

Futrell was born in Jones Ridge in Greene County in northeastern Arkansas to parents Jepthra and Arminia Levonica Eubanks Futrell. The second of three children, he attended the Arkansas Industrial University, now the University of Arkansas School of Law, from 1892 to 1893. After his sophomore year, he taught school in several Arkansas counties until 1896, marrying Tera A. Smith on September 27, 1893. Futrell also farmed and worked in the timber industry before entering politics.

Career

Futrell was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives and served from 1896 to 1904. He was elected Circuit Court Clerk from 1906 to 1910. Futrell was elected to the

and served from 1913 to 1917. He was the Senate President from 1915 to 1917. While President of the Senate, he served as acting governor for four months in 1913 after Governor

Joseph Taylor Robinson Joseph Taylor Robinson (August 26, 1872 – July 14, 1937) was an American politician who served as United States Senate, United States Senator from Arkansas from 1913 to 1937, serving for four years as Party leaders of the United States Senate, ...

resigned. Futrell was admitted to the bar in Arkansas in 1913 and practiced law in Paragould until his 1922 appointment to the Second Division of the Second Circuit Court. In 1923, he moved to the Twelfth Chancery Circuit. Futrell was elected to a full term as governor in his own right in the 1932 election and reelected in 1934. In the 1932

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, Futrell defeated the Republican J. O. Livesay, a lawyer from Foreman, who had also been the gubernatorial nominee against Harvey Parnell in 1930. Livesay finished the race with 8.9 percent of the vote, less than half his percent polled in 1930. As governor, he opposed state funding for education beyond the eighth grade, believing the federal government should provide such support. The Futrell administration established the Arkansas State Planning Board and created the Arkansas Department of Public Welfare. His administration also rescinded

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

and instituted some legalized gambling. According to one study, Futrell was Arkansas's "most conservative governor in decades". After leaving office, Futrell returned to the practice of law.

Death

Futrell died in 1955 in Little Rock and is interred at Linwood Cemetery in Paragould. He had suffered a severe stroke on July 4, 1948. Survivors included two sons and four daughters.

References

External links

Old State House Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Futrell, Junius Marion 1870 births 1955 deaths Acting governors of Arkansas Arkansas lawyers Arkansas state court judges Democratic Party Arkansas state senators Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Farmers from Arkansas People from Greene County, Arkansas Schoolteachers from Arkansas University of Arkansas School of Law alumni 19th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly 20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links