Here, Robinson won a widespread reputation as a specialist in the
treatment of chronic diseases. In 1847, he moved to Fitchburg, Massachusetts
where he
practiced for two years. However, when gold was discovered in
California in 1849,
he changed his focus and
set out for the Pacific Coast as a surgeon to one of the pioneer parties of gold seekers.
While on the overland trip, the party encamped near the site of the
present city of
Lawrence, and Dr. Robinson climbed to the summit of Mount Oread,
where the University of Kansas is now located. Upon arriving in
California he
spent some time in prospecting and mining, after which he opened an eating house
in
SacramentoWhile there, he became involved in a controversy between the
squatters, who held lands under the United States pre-emption laws and and
speculators who claimed title by purchase from Captain Sutter, who held some 99,000
acres under a Mexican-Spanish grant. A love of fair play seems to have been an
inherent trait of Dr. Robinson's nature and he
supported the cause of the squatters, with whom he soon became one of their most
trusted advisers and leaders. Several conflicts between the two factions ensued,
in one of which the mayor of
Sacramento was killed and Dr. Robinson was
seriously wounded. Before he recovered he was indicted for conspiracy, assault
with intent to kill, and murder, and for ten weeks was confined on board a
prison ship, at the end of which time he was tried and acquitted. While a
prisoner awaiting trial, he was elected to the
California Legislature where he supported General
John Charles Fremont, who was elected
as a United
States Senator. For a time Robinson published a "free-soil" paper at
Sacramento,
but about the first of July, 1851, he started via the Panama Canal for
Massachusetts.
The vessel on which he embarked was wrecked off the Mexican
coast, and he shipped as a surgeon on a vessel from Panama to Cuba, carrying a
number of sick men who had been employed in the construction of the Panama
railroad. On September 9, 1851, he arrived at Fitchburg and immediately resumed his
medical practice. On October 30, 1851, he
married Sara T.D. Lawrence.
In addition to his practice
of medicine, Dr. Robinson assumed the editorship of the Fitchburg News at
about the same time as the attention of the country was attracted to
Kansas and
its struggles. He wrote and
published several letters concerning the region, which aroused widespread interest.
At a
meeting in Chapman's Hall in Boston,
Eli
Thayer delivered an address, and at the
close inquired if anyone present was willing to go to
Kansas. Dr. Robinson
promptly walked up and signed up, and on June 28, 1854, left Fitchburg for
Kansas. On September 6th, he and his young wife reached the foot of Mount Oread
in
Lawrence,
Kansas, and here, they established their home.
He soon became an active in locating more emigrants sent out by the Aid
society, and was recognized as a leader by the
Free-State men.
 His home was
destroyed in the
Sacking of
Lawrence
in May, 1856; suffered calumny and imprisonment; and was
otherwise persecuted on account of his opinions. Douglass Brewerton,
correspondent of the New York Herald, wrote of Dr. Robinson in 1856 as follows:
"He may be regarded as the real head -- the
thinking one we mean -- and the mainspring of the
Free-State
Party; or, to speak
more correctly, of all that party who are worth anything. We believe him to be a
keen, shrewd, far-seeing man, who would permit nothing to stand in the way of
the end he desired to gain. He is, moreover, cool and determined, and appears to
he endowed with immense firmness; we should call him a conservative man now; but
conservative rather from policy than principle. He seems to have strong common
sense, but no brilliancy of talent. In fact, to sum Governor Robinson up in a
single sentence, we consider him the most dangerous enemy which the pro-slavery
party has to encounter in
Kansas."
Dr. Robinson was elected the first governor under
the
Topeka
Constitution, and he was the first commander of the
Free-State
Militia. The
Wyandotte Constitution was ratified by vote of the people on
October 4, 1859, and on December 6th, he was elected governor,
though he did not assume the duties of the office until after the admission of
the state in 1861,just two months before the outbreak of the
Civil War.
During the
Civil War, Robinson was preoccupied with wartime concerns,
especially those of his chief rival, the volatile and flamboyant James
H. Lane. This bitter rivalry culminated in
impeachment proceedings against the governor, Secretary of State J.W. Robinson,
and State Auditor, George S. Hillyer. Robinson ultimately was acquitted of all
charges, but the other two executive officers were convicted and removed from
office. Despite these political difficulties, one early biographer heralded
Robinson “as the strongest character in the history of the State. . . . Under
his leadership the battle was won for the North,
Kansas
entered the Union a
Free-State, and the prestige of the South was crushed and broken forever.”
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LEGENDS
OF KANSAS
