Talk:Robert L. Thornton

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Biography

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Book Citation[edit]

how does one cite a book?--Mexihcatlacatl (talk) 23:44, 30 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There are two book citation templates. They can be found here. Citation templates – Examples LonghornsFan2011 (talk) 18:37, 22 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment comment[edit]

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Robert L. Thornton/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

This article could use a photograph, and it needs to be split into sections and expanded. Perhaps the Handbook of Texas would have information about Thornton. drumguy8800 C T 12:45, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Last edited at 12:45, 3 November 2006 (UTC). Substituted at 04:37, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Klan membership[edit]

I tagged the following passage, "Thornton quickly became a prominent businessman, being named to high positions with other local business in various industries, including insurance, railroads, steel, the local utility company, and hotels. Starting in the early 1920s, Thornton was also a prominent member of the local Ku Klux Klan klavern."

The article cited White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001, p. 96. Thornton was not even mentioned on this page. The book cited says he "joined" the local klan at page 68, but it does not suggest that he had "prominent" status within the organization. The inline citation fails verification. The book cited does appear to be a good source for Thornton's activities in Dallas and could be used as a source for rewriting the article.

Is there anyone else familiar with this book who has any comments? Oldsanfelipe (talk) 08:03, 13 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Tracing sources[edit]

Although the above comment was long ago, I have recently been trying to get to the bottom of this. When editing the (much extended) article - mainly to format the huge list of references - I came across the to-and-fro regarding possible Klan membership. Looking into some of the sources used in past versions of the page to say Thornton was a member and the current ones used to support that he was not, it seems to be very far from clear (either way).

I am not attempting to introduce WP:OR in any way, just thought I'd detail what I find here (and will add to it, if I find out more):

2006 - Phillips: White Metropolis.^[1] Phillips cites as his source for this the book:
Payne, 1994, Big D,^[2] (seemingly) the first place such an imputation was publicly made.
In the second edition of Big D is a note^[3] to the effect that Payne's source was a handwritten document that had been in an archive collection of the Historical Society since 1942. (Perhaps) interestingly, Phillips gives a cite just a couple of lines further on from this (on p.86) as sourced to, firstly to another page of Big D, and secondly to:
Jackson, 1967 p.77 ^[4]

On page 77 is all about the State Fair and "Klan Day". However, on page 72 of Jackson, a W. L. Thornton is named as "Klan campaign manager", who appointed a "Committee of One Hundred to raise the necessary ten thousand dollars" and "secured permission to have Klan supervisors in all 104 County precincts".^[4]

A different person with a very similar name, it would seem? And, according to the WP editor who largely created the current article, R.L Thornton had a brother called W.L., who was a Klansman. I have no idea if this is true, or verifiable. However, it does seem possible that there may have been some form of "Citogenesis" at play here. AukusRuckus (talk) 11:17, 5 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Phillips, Michael (2 January 2006). White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001. University of Texas Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-292-71274-4. Robert L Thornton, president of the Dallas County State Bank (who served as Dallas mayor from 1953 to 1961) joined [in 1922] the Klan, as did …
^ Payne, Darwin (1994). Big D: Triumphs and troubles of an American supercity in the 20th century (First ed.). Dallas, Texas: Three Forks Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN 9780963762900.
^ Payne, Darwin (2000) [First published 1994]. Big D: Triumphs and troubles of an American supercity in the 20th century (Revised ed.). Dallas, Texas: Three Forks Press. ISBN 978-1893451049.
^ ^a ^b Jackson, Kenneth T. (1967). The Ku Klux Klan in the city, 1915-1930. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 72, 77. ISBN 9780195005912.

[1] Phillips, Michael (2 January 2006). White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001. University of Texas Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-292-71274-4. Robert L Thornton, president of the Dallas County State Bank (who served as Dallas mayor from 1953 to 1961) joined [in 1922] the Klan, as did …

[2] Payne, Darwin (1994). Big D: Triumphs and troubles of an American supercity in the 20th century (First ed.). Dallas, Texas: Three Forks Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN 9780963762900.

[3] Payne, Darwin (2000) [First published 1994]. Big D: Triumphs and troubles of an American supercity in the 20th century (Revised ed.). Dallas, Texas: Three Forks Press. ISBN 978-1893451049.

[jackson_1967-4] Jackson, Kenneth T. (1967). The Ku Klux Klan in the city, 1915-1930. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 72, 77. ISBN 9780195005912.

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