Public policy. Basically, he wanted five professors fired, for the unstated reason that they had spoken out publicly against his candidacy for governor. He was associated with the Farmers State Bank of Belton for several years and was a member of the Texas Bankers Association. [9] According to historian Dan Utley, Ferguson planned to use state appointments as part of a spoils system to reward his political supporters. He is interred next to his wife at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. But the mere fact that Ferguson had been impeached and made ineligible to hold any office of trust or profit under the state did not in any sense remove him from the field of Texas politics. The Senate, acting as a court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor of 10 of them. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. A part of his appeal as a candidate for governor was his support for white supremacy in the political process. resigning his office and being barred by the legislature to ever serve a state office again. Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. After all, he was known as Farmer Jim. [8], Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the University of Texas regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education. Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson (Texas A&M University Press, 2017) Hardcover. He vilified everything from fraternities to the faculty to the student body. 1917: James 'Pa' Ferguson Jr., Texas. Nine years later, Ferguson died of a stroke. Ferguson had vetoed the entire appropriations for the University of Texas in 1916. The Fergusons beat Robertson and went to the Governor's Mansion for a third time. Prohibition was a major issue in the campaign of 1914, with several aspirants for the governorship on both sides of the question. Eight federal judges have been convicted in the Senate and removed from office. Three new normal schools were authorized. 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 political speaker he had few equals. James Ferguson is the only governor to be impeached and convicted. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com. 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. She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. [5], On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace at her family home. In 1916 Ferguson's reelection seemed certain. This ragtag pair, better known as "Pa . 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 . Some legislators justified the impeachment on the grounds that Hall did not disclose several lawsuits that he was involved in when he originally completed his Regent background check. Unable to run under his own name, Ferguson ran his wife's campaign for Governor; Miriam A. Ferguson, known as "Ma" Ferguson, was twice elected as governor, serving two non-consecutive terms, from 1925 to 1927 and 1933 to 1935. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. 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. In 1917, Gov. The House sent 21 articles of impeachment to the Senate. Federal courts | [12], [13] In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. When his reasoning was questioned, he would respond, I am governor of Texas. "[19] Texas state legislators have never previously tried to remove an appointed official. In 1913, William Sulzer was impeached and removed from office as governor of New York. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. The question was eventually carried into the courts, where the judgment of the Court of Impeachment was sustained. Thats how she likes it. James Ferguson is the only governor to be impeached and convicted. Governor have not acted, then by proclamation of the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate. The UT battle was the one he should have avoided. The Fergusons retired from public life afterward with James Ferguson dying in 1944 and his wife passing away in 1961. The incumbent State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. 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 . The state was blue, then really indigo. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. Hilder submitted the report to the legislative committee. [5], He also became active in the Democratic Party and managed several local political campaigns. The Texas State Legislature adjourned its regular session on May 27, 2013. The prohibitionists passed over their better-known leaders and gave their support to Charles H. Morris of Winnsboro, a political unknown. He was an avowed enemy of the KKK, but to hear him talk about black people, youd have thought he had earned his hood. The controversy grew out of the refusal of the board of regents to remove certain faculty members whom the governor found objectionable. Winds light and variable.. youngest governor in Texas history. Three others dealt with the veto of university funding as an abuse of power and official oppression. Despite his resignation, the State Senate voted 25-3 to convict, which meant that Ferguson could not seek another public office in Texas. She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. He was re-elected in 1916. James Ferguson. Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed. He liked to say he was no city slicker and no college dude. A government doesnt require educated fools to run properly. 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. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment. He gave a speech in his own defense and blamed the charges on that N-word loving senator from the north, Senator Johnson. Not Lyndon. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. 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. ii) During the period between World Wars I and II, James and Miriam Ferguson were the most powerful couple in Texas. 100% remote. The colleges were permitted to begin building programs, and the educational appropriation bills were more generous than usual. 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. House Speaker Franklin Fuller called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. Counties | (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Sam Houston was the first president of the Independent Republic of Texas , and he later served as governor of the state of T, Connally, John Bowden, Jr. Found in volume 15,291 (available at govinfo). 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 . The fight with the university touched off a massive scandal. His father died when he was 4. Ferguson was the only "wet" candidate in the Democratic primary and garnered all of the anti-prohibitionist votes over a plurality of "dry" candidates. He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. I dont care who you are.. Barred from state office, he ran for president in 1920 on the American Party ticket. If the Senate is not in session, there are four ways by which it may be convened.[7]. Before the process could be completed, Ferguson resigned from office, contending that the legislative action against him was a kangaroo court. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. She was reelected in 1932 and served January 17, 1933 January 15, 1935. Diners at Waco's R&S Barbecue leave full physically and spiritually, both by design, according to owners Richard and Sharon Davis. How to vote | On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Dr. Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan who enjoys sharing these stories about people from the Lone Star state. After an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1920, Ferguson ran the gubernatorial campaign of his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson, in 1924. After 20 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor, Lt. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. He decided that the university president must resign, and when Vinson refused, Ferguson vetoed the universitys entire budget. Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Fergusonreveals how power ebbed and flowed in twentieth-century Texas and includes several annotated primary documents critical to understanding the Ferguson impeachment. 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. In 1920 he was an unsuccessful candidate for President on his own American party ticket. Reprinted with permission from the Handbook of Texas Online, a joint project of the Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin. He had been an opponent of Ferguson for the Democratic party's nomination for governor in 1914.[11]. | In 1924, his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson won election as governor as a stand-in candidate in a tightly-contested race. James Edward Ferguson Collection, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. The report concluded that Hall had a legitimate reason for having the documents in question. He had been accused of misappropriating funds, but investigations failed to find anything that would warrant impeachment, and the probe seemed to be closed. Charges of impeachment against the governor of Texas died of a stroke the universitys entire.. The UT battle was the one he should have avoided of a.! Wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson, in 1924 were permitted to begin building programs, and body! 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