Thursday, May 6, 2010

Governor Charles Lawrence Robinson



Charles Lawrence Robinson and wife Sarah Lawrence Robinson.

Charles Lawrence Robinson (July 21, 1818 – August 17, 1894) was the first Governor of Kansas. He was also the first Governor of a U.S. state to be impeached, although he was not convicted or removed from office. To date he is the only Governor of Kansas to be impeached. He was educated at Hadley and Amherst Academies, at Amherst College, and at the Berkshire Medical School, earning his medical degree from the latter in 1843.

Robinson represented California's 12th State Assembly district from 1851 to 1852.

During the Bleeding Kansas tragedy, Robinson angered many with his passionate support for the Free-Staters, who were promoting a fight against pro-slavery advocates. He was illegally elected Territorial Governor of Kansas under the Topeka Constitution in January 1856. From the spring of 1856 until September, Robinson and several other Free-State leaders, including the son of abolitionist John Brown, were held in custody in Camp Sackett. This United States military camp (named for Delos B. Sackett) was located about 3.5 miles southwest of Lecompton, Kansas.

In 1861, he took office as Governor of the newly-admitted State of Kansas. His impeachment was due to a political rivalry with James H. Lane.

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