Fighting Bob Quinn

📖 The Scoop

Robert Emmet Quinn (1894-1975) served Rhode Island and the nation in a variety of positions. As West Warwick's state senator to the General Assembly he helped lead the Democratic senate filibuster of 1924; as lieutenant governor he was chief architect of the Bloodless Revolution of 1935; and as governor he called out the state militia in 1937 in what would come to be known as the Race Track War. Appointed a justice to the Rhode Island Superior Court in 1941, he served in that capacity until he was appointed the first chief judge of Military Appeals by President Harry S. Truman in 1951. Judge Quinn would serve on this court until just before his death in 1975. He also served as a naval officer during both world wars. The audio interviews conducted by Matthew Smith in 1972 and published here for the first time provide a fascinating firsthand account of Rhode Island political intrigue, election fraud and ballot stealing, ethnic politics and legislative reforms during the first half of the twentieth century-topics that are still relevant today.

Genre: Biography & Autobiography / General (fancy, right?)