Arch N. Bobbitt Oral History
OH
Aug.-Sept. 1974
3 transcripts, 2 reel-to-reel tapes, 3 cassette tapes
Manuscript Section, Indiana Division
Indiana State Library
Processed by: Christina Baich, March 2006
Biographical Note:
Archie “Arch” Newton Bobbitt was born on September 3, 1895, in Eckerty, Crawford County, Indiana, to Irvin and Ida Newton Bobbitt. He attended Central Normal College in Danville, Indiana, and received his LL.B. from Indiana University Law School in 1927. Before starting his law career, Bobbitt taught school in Crawford County and was principal of Alton and Marengo High Schools.
In 1918, Bobbitt was elected Crawford County Clerk, but soon resigned to enlist in the Navy. From 1921 to 1925, he served as Crawford County Auditor. Following his term as Auditor, he was appointed director of the state gasoline tax department, a post he held until 1928. He was then elected to a two-year term as State Auditor. In 1930, he began practicing law in Indianapolis. He was very active in Republican Party politics and became the State Chairman in 1937. He was elected to two two-year terms in 1938 and 1940. He returned to public office in 1943 as Indianapolis City Attorney and continued in that post until 1948.
In 1950, Bobbitt was elected to the Indiana Supreme Court. He remained on the Supreme Court bench until 1963. He returned to private practice at his firm, Ruckelhaus, Bobbit & O’Connor, after losing his bid for reelection. In 1972, Bobbitt published a two-volume text, Indiana Appellate Practice and Procedure. He died on January 24, 1978.
Source:
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Biographies: Justice Archie Newton Bobbit. Indiana Supreme Court. 16 Mar. 2006.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection contains the tapes and transcript drafts of three interviews with Arch N. Bobbitt conducted by Randall Jehs on August 30, September 11, and September 17, 1974. In the first interview, Bobbitt discusses his childhood and education; how his interest in politics developed; Indiana politics in the 1920s including the influence of the Ku Klux Klan and D. C. Stephenson; and the state gasoline tax department. In the second interview, he discusses the Indiana Republican Party, his stint as State Chairman, and the elections of 1938 and 1940 including Wendell Willkie’s campaign for the Presidency. In the third interview, Bobbitt discusses the 1939 and 1941 Indiana legislative sessions; Ralph Gates as Republican Party State Chairman; working on John Bricker’s campaign for the Republican nomination for President; his shift to Indianapolis politics; the political influence of the Indianapolis Star; and his time as an Indiana Supreme Court Justice.
Item Listing:
1974 Aug. 30 Reel-to-reel tape
and Sept. 11
1974 Aug. 30 Transcript draft
1974 Sept. 11 Transcript draft
1974 Sept. 17 Reel-to-reel tape
1974 Sept. 17 Cassette 1
1974 Sept. 17 Cassette 2
1974 Sept. 17 Cassette 3
1974 Sept. 17 Transcript draft
Collection Information:
Size of Collection:
3 transcripts, 2 reel-to-reel tapes, 3 cassette tapes
Collection Dates:
August-September 1974
Provenance:
Indiana State Library Oral History Project, 1974
Access: This collection is open for research.
Restrictions:
No photocopying of the transcripts is allowed, nor duplication of the tapes.
Reproduction Rights:
Permission to reproduce, exhibit, or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Manuscript Section, Indiana State Library. Possession of a reproduction from an Indiana State Library collection does not constitute permission for use.
Language Materials are entirely in English
Alternate Formats:
None
Related Holdings:
Notes:
Search the Indiana State Library's Online Catalog.
MA BA 4-10-2013