He was associated with the Farmers State Bank of Belton for several years and was a member of the Texas Bankers Association. [10][11] However, a letter from University chancellor Francisco Cigarroa in February 2014 said that Hall likely requested fewer than 100,000 pages. He submitted his resignation the day before he was scheduled to be formally convicted. Why was Governor James E. Ferguson impeached and convicted in 1917? In 1916 Ferguson's reelection seemed certain. When his reasoning was questioned, he would respond, I am governor of Texas. If the state legislature is not in regular session during the time of impeachment, a special session can be called specifically to handle impeachments. Although he had never held office, he was not a stranger to political problems; he had done much work in keeping local-option prohibition from Bell County, had been one of the Bell County managers in the campaign of Robert L. Henry for Congress in 1902, had helped carry Bell County for Cone Johnson in his contest with Joseph Weldon Bailey in 1908, had served as a campaign manager for Robert V. Davidson in 1910, and had aided Oscar B. Colquitt in his successful gubernatorial campaign (1912). | In 1935, the Fergusons lost their ranch in Bell County because of financial troubles during the Great Depression. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Norman D. Brown, Hood, Bonnet, and Little Brown Jug: Texas Politics, 1921-1928 (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1984). Ferguson would often call into question the value of a college diploma, saying it was book learning gone to seed. He said some professors took three years to learn that you couldnt grow wool on an armadillo. His constituency, he claimed, resided where the creeks forked and he felt they were getting short-changed by not getting enough basic education, while the kids at UT were getting too much of it., He said those kids go up to Austin for four years and return home with nothing but a mandolin and liver damage. As my brother Redneck Dave would say, That right there is funny. The legality of the speaker calling a session was questionable the Texas Constitution says only the governor can call a special session but the point became moot when Ferguson called his own special session to discuss the budget for the University of Texas. An argument over spending tax dollars, an attempt to silence political opponents, and charges of a kangaroo court.. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. When Ferguson found that he could not have his way, he vetoed practically the entire appropriation for the university. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by his successor and incumbent, William P. Hobby of Houston, previously the lieutenant governor. Ferguson was reelected by a majority of about 60,000 votes, but opposition was sufficient to show that many Texans, including a number who were not prohibitionists, were displeased with his stewardship. Samuel Houston (1793-1863), American statesman and soldier, was the person most responsible for bringing Texas into the Union. The tenant law was passed but remained on the statute books only a short time before being declared unconstitutional. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. James Edward Ferguson Collection, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. He was re-elected in 1916. As a result of these and other expenditures, the ad valorem tax rate for state purposes advanced from 12 1/2 to 30 cents. Proclamation of the speaker following the submission of a written petition signed by at least 50 members of the House. Ballot measures, Who represents me? The day before he was thrown out of office he resigned, saying it didn't count. Instead, the House immediately turned its attention to 21 articles of impeachment. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. He was elected governor in 1914, his first election. After returning to Bell County, he farmed and worked with a railroad-bridge gang until, after a brief study of law, he was admitted to the bar in 1897 and began the practice of law in Belton. She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. The Senate removed Ferguson from office by a vote of 25-3. Found in volume 15,291 (available at govinfo). "Ferguson Impeachment Farmer Jim wasnt even much of a farmer, though he owned a few farms and was incredibly loyal to farmers. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. He is interred next to his wife at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Almost a century later, the Ferguson impeachment presents both striking similarities and key differences to. Lewis L. Gould, Progressives and Prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the Wilson Era (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1973; rpt., Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1992). Dan Moody. Two years later they lost a reelection bid amid new scandals concerning excessive pardons and political patronage abuses. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. Jordan, Barbara Charline Democrat James "Pa" Ferguson Jr. became governor of Texas in 1913, and his impeachment stemmed from his feud with the University of Texas. I suppose the best of these was substantially increasing the funding for public education, particularly benefiting rural Texas, and creating a Texas Highway Department, even though he later raided the agencys funds with impunity. 2-stem governor fro 1921-1924 . Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. Please visit the expanded Texas Politics Project website to learn more about our updated webtext and to find additional educational resources. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. Nine years later, Ferguson died of a stroke. Federal courts | The conviction forbade Ferguson to hold "any office of honor, trust, or profit" in Texas. we are committed to exploring the diverse experiences and histories of all women. He decided that the university president must resign, and when Vinson refused, Ferguson vetoed the universitys entire budget. "Ma" Ferguson became the second female governor in the United States, with Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming being the first. Low 54F. [7], In 1914, Ferguson was elected as governor of Texas by running as an anti-prohibitionist Democrat. Almost a century later, the impeachment of Ferguson by the Texas House of Representatives presents both striking similarities and key differences to the ongoing Hall saga. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 86 (October 1982). Ferguson was indicted on charges including embezzlement while Carillo spent three years in jail following his impeachment. Barred from state office, he ran for president in 1920 on the American Party ticket. He posted bond and wasted no time in announcing his candidacy for a third term as governor. The incumbent State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. | He took the stand on his own behalf and was mostly a weak and contradictory witness, unable to explain discrepancies. Impeached. the lieutenant governor [1] Impeachments in Texas begin in the Texas House of Representatives which must cast a majority vote in favor of impeachment. The fight with the university touched off a massive scandal. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin | Contact us, A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, Despite High-Profile Endorsements, Democrat Eliz Markowitz Loses Houston-Area Special Election. In 1917, James E. Ferguson, nicknamed "Pa Ferguson," was impeached and removed from the governorship of Texas. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than two dozen books, most recently Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. months before, both the House and the Senate had refused to sustain charges against him, and his removal from office was far from certain when the legislature convened in special session. In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. He was a popular figure, signing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. After all, he was known as Farmer Jim. youngest governor in Texas history. Title 6, Chapter 665 of the Texas Government Code addresses the impeachment and removal of public officers by the state house. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. He had attempted to stack the board of regents with friends who would help fire these professors and staffers, and he had called for the resignation of the universitys president, Robert Vinson. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud, eds. Impeached provides a new examination of the rise and fall of Ferguson's political fortunes, offering a focused look at how battles over economic class, academic freedom, women's enfranchisement, and concentrated political power came to be directed toward one politician. He liked to say he was no city slicker and no college dude. A government doesnt require educated fools to run properly. Ferguson cleverly resigned, claiming then that the Senate couldnt uphold an impeachment for someone who wasnt actually in office. In 1925, Miriam became the first female governor of Texas after campaigning as a stand-in for her husband, and James E. Ferguson became the first gentleman of Texas for her two terms. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. This independence made him critical of existing policies, earning him sufficient popular support to win office, but also the consequent wrath of the establishment that could have protected him from investigation. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. While there, legislators legally took up another matter, impeachment. The specifics are left to the state legislators to determine. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com. This ragtag pair, better known as "Pa . As a result it was impossible for the convention to eliminate him and obviously unwise to divide the vote by naming a rival candidate. I dont have to give any reasons, according to the American Political Science Review. 1914 campaign literature in which Ferguson fires back against criticisms from his 'dry' opponent, Thomas H. Ball, and others in the prohibition faction. [12], [13] In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. He loaned himself so much money that he practically bankrupted his own bank. However, the judgment to impeachhanded down one day after his resignation-was upheld, preventing him from holding public office in Texas. He was impeached in 1917 and removed from office. The policy of state aid to rural schools was begun, and a rather timid law requiring compulsory school attendance was passed. Johnson Roofing built a business on topping off buildings, but when it comes to its legacy, Bill Johnson and daughter Sherri focus on the foundation. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Ferguson was convinced that Vinson was behind the protest. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. During the events that led up to the final quarrel, the University of Texas Board of Regents had repeatedly refused to remove certain faculty members whom Ferguson found objectionable. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed By Ken Bridges Jan 30, 2020 0 1 of 2 Gov. The ruling declared that he could no longer hold office in Texas, but he ran the campaigns of his wife, Miriam "Ma" Ferguson. [17] Governor of Texas Rick Perry's spokesperson said the investigations send a "chilling message" to gubernatorial appointees. The Texas House of Representatives prepared 21 charges against Ferguson, and, in his impeachment trial, the Texas Senate convicted him on 10 of those charges, including misapplication of public funds and receiving $156,000 from an unnamed source.[12][13]. The Senate, acting as a court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor of 10 of them. James Edward Ferguson Jr. (August 31, 1871 September 21, 1944), known as Pa Ferguson, was an American Democratic politician and the 26th Governor of Texas, in office from 1915 to 1917. His father died when he was 4. Amplify your impact and donate now. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Governor and President Pro Tempore have not acted, then by proclamation of a signed majority of the members of the Senate. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. He was kicked out of a local prep school, Salado College, at age 12 for misbehavior. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. His mother continued to live on the farm, and he began working in the fields as a young boy. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. The convention did not endorse Ferguson, but the other anti-prohibition candidates withdrew from the race. Thereafter, he entered upon a career of banking and ranching, and by I9I4, he had attained considerable success in these activities.' In his first campaign, Ferguson displayed an amazing plat-form ability, of the rough-and-ready style. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky concludes with an assessment of the historical memory of Fergusons impeachment throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Prohibition was a major issue in the campaign of 1914, with several aspirants for the governorship on both sides of the question. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. He was popular for his folksy charm across. One final note of incredulity. He was re-elected in 1916. Counties | In sum, his down-home authenticity faded away to reveal a man who was mostly a fraud. He often said, civilization begins and ends with the plow. Ferguson was a mesmerizing speaker and storyteller and was splendidly fluent in the dialects of rural Texas. The second was state District Judge OliveroCarrilloin 1976, who was impeached for income tax fraud. An overview by John R. Lundberg offers a comprehensive survey of the impeachment process. we are currently accepting new members. Among the charges was falsifying campaign finance reports to conceal a loan to his campaign of $350,000. He blamed his directors for running a shoddy operation. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. The chair of the State Library and Historical Commission, Eugene C. Barker, heard talk about these plans and intervened in support of Winkler. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. Gov. State legislature | In 1913, William Sulzer was impeached and removed from office as governor of New York. Encyclopedia.com. You are currently viewing a legacy feature of the Texas Politics Project website. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. 100% remote. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. But the day before the conviction was certain to come down. The House sent 21 articles of impeachment to the Senate. When he was four years old, his father died. He was indicted and impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.[1][2][3][4]. Only two elected officials in the history of Texas have ever been successfully impeached. The state was blue, then really indigo. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Jim "Pa" Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. He was replaced by William P. Hobby after the Texas House of Representatives found him guilty in ten of twenty-one charges. Provision was made for the establishment of the Austin State School. He maintained his. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. The charges of impeachment grew from a controvesy with the University of Texas administration, and resulted in Ferguson being charged with misapplication of public funds among nine other charges. Impeached provides a new examination of the rise and fall of Fergusons political fortunes, offering a focused look at how battles over economic class, academic freedom, womens enfranchisement, and concentrated political power came to be directed toward one politician. The [Texas House of Representatives] immediately turned its attention to the numerous charges against [Governor James Ferguson] and, after a lengthy investigation, prepared twenty-one articles of impeachment. Both elected and non-elected officials can be impeached in Texas. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. The prohibitionists passed over their better-known leaders and gave their support to Charles H. Morris of Winnsboro, a political unknown. These included misappropriation of state funds, falsification of records, unwarranted interference with the control of the University of Texashe directed the board of regents to fire a leading educator and prominent Democrat, A. Carswell Ellisand refusal to divulge the source of a personal loan of $156,500, a huge sum at the time. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. House Speaker Franklin Fuller called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. Ferguson then went on a tour of Texas, voicing his disdain for the university and what he called the university crowd in public speeches. There are 31 members of the Texas State Senate. As a result of these developments, the speaker of the House called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. State and local courts | School districts | [10], After being re-elected in 1916, Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the University of Texas. [9] According to historian Dan Utley, Ferguson planned to use state appointments as part of a spoils system to reward his political supporters. The Texas Senate reduced the charges to 10, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. He told the UT president, Dr. Robert E. Vinson, that he wanted them fired. Hall updated Governor Rick Perry's office in April 2013 with the full list. . But it is Hall not his political patron, Perry who would be targeted for possible impeachment. Eight federal judges have been convicted in the Senate and removed from office. Winds light and variable.. James "Pa" Ferguson was the Governor of Texas from 1915 to 1917, when he was impeached and convicted on several charges. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. 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