Robert Archer Cooper (June 12, 1874August 7, 1953) was the 93rd Governor of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

from January 21, 1919 to May 20, 1922.

Biography

Born in Waterloo Township, Laurens County, Cooper graduated with a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from

Polytechnic Institute An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

San Germán, Puerto Rico San Germán () is a historic San Germán barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the Sabana Grande Valley of southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez and Maricao, Puer ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1898 and practiced law in Laurens. In 1900, Cooper was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

until 1904, when he was elected the

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina. Cooper entered the gubernatorial election of 1918 and won the general election without opposition to become the 93rd governor of South Carolina. He continued the progressive policies of his predecessor,

Richard Irvine Manning III Richard Irvine Manning III (August 15, 1859 – September 11, 1931) was an American politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. He served as a state legislator and as the 92nd governor of South Carolina. Biography Richard Irvine Manning I ...

, by presiding over new labor laws, establishing a seven-month school term, mandating

compulsory school attendance Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or Homeschooling, at home or other places. Compulsory school attendance or ...

, expanding health care, and improving the state roadways. These initiatives were paid for by stricter enforcement of existing tax laws and re-evaluating state property. Cooper was elected to a second term in 1920. He resigned from the governorship in 1922 to accept an appointment to the Federal Farm Loan Board that lasted five years. After this, Cooper returned to the practice of law but was called by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

to serve as the General Counsel of the

Commodity Credit Corporation The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices" (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806) ...

. Roosevelt later appointed him in 1934 as Judge of the District Court for Puerto Rico, during which he presided over the trial and retrial for

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in ...

and eight other members of Albizu's Puerto Rican nationalist group

Cadets of the Republic Cadets of the Republic, known in Spanish as Cadetes de la República, was the paramilitary wing of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in the twentieth century. The organization was also referred to as the Liberation Army of Puerto Rico ''(Ejér ...

. The day after Judge Cooper sentenced the defendants to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, an unsuccessful assassination attempt was made against him."FBI Files"; "Puerto Rico Nationalist Party"; SJ 100-3; Vol. 23; pages 104-134.
Cooper held the Puerto Rican position until 1947. Cooper died on August 7, 1953, and was buried at the Laurens City Cemetery in Laurens.

Legacy

His house at Laurens is included in the

South Harper Historic District South Harper Historic District is a national historic district located at Laurens, Laurens County, South Carolina. It encompasses 44 contributing buildings in a residential section of Laurens. It includes a collection of early-20th century ver ...

and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1986.

References

* Guillermo A. Baralt, ''History of the Federal Court in Puerto Rico: 1899-1999'' (2004) (also published in Spanish as ''Historia del Tribunal Federal de Puerto Rico'')

External links

SCIway Biography of Robert Archer Cooper

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Robert Archer 1874 births 1953 deaths 19th-century American lawyers People from Laurens County, South Carolina Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni South Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico United States Article I federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt South Carolina state solicitors People from Laurens, South Carolina American expatriate judges Expatriates in the Spanish Empire 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly