Block, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, move, protect, rollback
57,799
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 13:
Line 13: − + + + + + + + + + + +
→College years
Because Cobb graduated from high school at the age of sixteen, he enrolled in 1920 at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, formerly known as Arkadelphia Methodist College or as Henderson Brown College. Cobb refers to Henderson as "a small [[Methodist]] college ideally suited to my needs. It took only a short time for me to establish my identity and to make numberous friends among my fellow students and with faculty members." He lettered in baseball and was a member of the debate team and reports that he was falsely accused of [[plagiarism]] by an English professor regarding an article he wrote about moonshiners in Montgomery County.<ref>Cobb, pp. 10-12</ref>
Because Cobb graduated from high school at the age of sixteen, he enrolled in 1920 at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, formerly known as Arkadelphia Methodist College or as Henderson Brown College. Cobb refers to Henderson as "a small [[Methodist]] college ideally suited to my needs. It took only a short time for me to establish my identity and to make numberous friends among my fellow students and with faculty members." He lettered in baseball and was a member of the debate team and reports that he was falsely accused of [[plagiarism]] by an English professor regarding an article he wrote about moonshiners in Montgomery County.<ref>Cobb, pp. 10-12</ref>
At Henderson, Cobb became an advocate of two-party competition in the political arena as a potential solution to Arkansas' lagging national standing both politically and economically. He graduated from Henderson in 1925 with two bachelor's degrees.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5693|title=Osro Cobb (1904-1996)|publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net|accessdate=May 29, 2012}}</ref>Cobb reports
At Henderson, Cobb became an advocate of two-party competition in the political arena as a potential solution to Arkansas' lagging national standing both politically and economically. He graduated from Henderson in 1925 with two bachelor's degrees.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5693|title=Osro Cobb (1904-1996)|publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net|accessdate=May 29, 2012}}</ref>Cobb reports having read:
<blockquote>
the comparative annual ratings of the various states in education [and] per capita income ... and noted to my dismay that Arkansas and Mississippi always seemed to be the last two states. I also observed that most of the outstanding graduates of our colleges were leaving Arkansas for greater opportunities; Arkansas was at a standstill. It became my obsession to help Arkansas throw off its shackles.<br>
The major factors contributing to the state's problems were:<br>
(1) Arkansas manufacturers had to pay three times the rates to ship their goods east as eastern merchants had to pay to send the same goods to Arkansas.<br>
(2) In those days, Arkansas was a rock-ribbed, solid, yellow-dog Democrat state. ... political machines were spawned in various counties and they corrupted the elections by any means deemed necessary. .... The Republican Party had to be convinced that it must really work in Arkansas and across the South to help establish a viable, competitive two-party system. There was no chance for Arkansas to move forward until it could become a doubtful state in presidential elections.<ref>Cobb, p. 14</ref></blockquote>
Cobb applied for a Rhodes scholarship, but the 1925 appointment went to [[J. William Fulbright]], a student at the [[University of Arkansas]] at Fayetteville, who later became the UA president and a long-term U.S. senator.<ref>Cobb, p. 13</ref> Cobb organized a Republican club at Henderson, having received encouragement from some of the faculty members. He became acquainted with Harmon L. Remmel of Little Rock, the Republican national committeeman during much of the 1920s and arranged to have his older friend Remmel to deliver the 1925 commencement address at Henderson.<ref>Cobb, p. 15</ref>
Cobb applied for a Rhodes scholarship, but the 1925 appointment went to [[J. William Fulbright]], a student at the [[University of Arkansas]] at Fayetteville, who later became the UA president and a long-term U.S. senator.<ref>Cobb, p. 13</ref> Cobb organized a Republican club at Henderson, having received encouragement from some of the faculty members. He became acquainted with Harmon L. Remmel of Little Rock, the Republican national committeeman during much of the 1920s and arranged to have his older friend Remmel to deliver the 1925 commencement address at Henderson.<ref>Cobb, p. 15</ref>