In 1873, Robinson returned to the U.S. and served on the USS Michigan on the Great Lakes. He also served on the USS Juniata when it sailed to Santiago de Cuba to demand the release of American citizens seized on the Virignius by Spanish authorities.[1]
Robinson served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Delaware County district in 1884 and 1886 and to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 9th district from 1889 to 1892.
Robinson was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896.
He served as president of the League of Republican Clubs of Pennsylvania from 1891 to 1897. He was a member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy in 1893.[6] Robinson was also a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1892, 1896, and 1908.
In 1874, Robinson married Elizabeth Waddington in St. Louis, Missouri and together they had seven children.[1] Elizabeth was a granddaughter of Charles Gilpin, the Mayor of Philadelphia from 1850 to 1854. The couple met during summer vacations in Cresson, Pennsylvania.[7]