why was james ferguson impeached

He was popular for his folksy charm across. The House immediately turned its attention to the numerous charges against the governor and, after a lengthy investigation, prepared twenty-one articles of impeachment. FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. His law practice did not require all of his time, so Ferguson expanded his interests to include real estate and insurance and later turned his attention to banking. The Legislature is aghast at the meddling with the flagship state university. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. "In light of the fundamental role attorneys play, it would lead to an absurd result were it criminal for an official to provide student records to his or her attorney in the face of litigation, or anticipated litigation, involving these records," Philip Hilder wrote in the report. 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. This is not a current story but a faint echo of a notorious event in Texas history, the impeachment of Gov. Cities | [8] Hall, as an individual citizen, filed FOIA requests with the University system after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were rebuffed. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. The founders did not invent impeachment. 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. Millions of Texans have rare diseases. As much as one might appreciate Fergusons homey aphorisms, a word hed likely have found objectionable because of its academic taint his style loses its charm when you learn all that was revealed at his impeachment. Dan Moody. Advocates are pushing for legislation to help them. Though no Texas official has been impeached and removed from office at the state level since Ferguson, Texas politics has hardly been scandal-free. 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. resigning his office and being barred by the legislature to ever serve a state office again. In 1924, unable to run under his own name, he Mr. Ferguson, known as "Pa", ran his wife's campaign for the governorship against Judge Felix Robertson, the candidate endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan. 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. "Ferguson Impeachment The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the Brownwood Bulletin, to spread negative information about Ferguson. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. By W.F. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. This led to a special session being called by the Legislature, to press for Fergusons impeachment. 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. 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 . The following sections are outlined in Article 15 of the Texas Constitution. Though he had signed legislation creating three new. Seven related to misapplication of public funds, one to embezzlement and one to the diversion of a special fund. 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 letter claimed that Winkler was the best person for the job. The State Senate reduced the charges to ten, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. The regents refused. Ferguson's attack against Mayes resulted in a drive by the legislature to impeach Ferguson. Ferguson did some good things. Ferguson then went on a tour of Texas, voicing his disdain for the university and what he called the university crowd in public speeches. Despite the Senate's conviction, Ferguson sought to run for governor again in 1924. The legislature passed generous appropriation bills, and the ad valorem tax rate reached the constitutional maximum of thirty-five cents. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, so he had his wife run in his place. Jordan wa, Houston, Sam He was re-elected in 1916. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. Winds light and variable.. He was reelected in 1916 but the following year was impeached on grounds of misusing public funds and removed from office. Only two Texas public officials have been impeached in the state's history. This might sound like the controversy involving UT System Regent Wallace Hall, an appointee of Gov. He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. And she won. The Senate can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). 4. Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson (Texas A&M University Press, 2017) Hardcover. Carillo in 1975. He only made the ballot in Texas, winning just under 10% of the vote. With strong support from progressive and anti-Prohibition forces, "Farmer Jim" was elected governor of Texas in 1914. Though he had signed legislation creating three new colleges, he found himself in a feud with professors at the University of Texas. Ferguson, had a stormy two-term reign and was impeached in 1917 over charges of misappropriation of funds regarding the University of Texas as well as embezzlement. Encyclopedia.com. The charges were then sent to the state Senate for trial. James Ferguson was a banker from Temple who would become governor in 1914 - famous, or infamous, as the only Texas governor to face impeachment. November 2013 testimony prompted committee-member Trey Fischer to request the inquiry. 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. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. The policy of state aid to rural schools was begun, and a rather timid law requiring compulsory school attendance was passed. Dr. Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan who enjoys sharing these stories about people from the Lone Star state. 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). In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. Elections in 2023 | In 1916 Ferguson's reelection seemed certain. If that is the case, then the state house must follow procedures outlined regarding calling a special session specifically for the process of impeachment. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. [12], [13] In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. 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. Although Ferguson was disqualified from holding public office, he did try to run in the 1924 elections to redeem his reputation. Jordan, Barbara Charline Ferguson declared that the Legislature was nothing more than a kangaroo court," resigned a day before the official conviction, and was steadfast in his beliefs that the judgment didnt apply to him, according to Rutherford. And here, Ferguson made his second blunder. He was indicted and impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.[1][2][3][4]. In his eyes, the university was made up of corruptionists, draft dodgers, two-bit thieves and butterfly chasers, according to a historical account compiled by what is now the Texas Exes. [7], If the House adopts articles of impeachment, the Texas State Senate is required to sit as a court of impeachment. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. The Arizona House and Senate impeached Mecham, a Republican, in 1988 after a state grand jury convicted him on six felony charges of fraud, perjury and filing false documents. He entered Salado College, a local preparatory school, at age twelve but was eventually expelled for disobedience. Though he was kicked out of office and disgraced in front of his colleagues, Ferguson was still popular among his hardcore supporters and rallied back. Donations by CCWH members and other patrons support CCWH awards and initiatives. He told the UT president, Dr. Robert E. Vinson, that he wanted them fired. But it is Hall not his political patron, Perry who would be targeted for possible impeachment. 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. 2003, The Texas State Historical Association. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than two dozen books, most recently Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas. Though Fergusons hatred for UT ran deep, he never fully explained his animus. The campaign proved him to be a man of considerable native ability and the possessor of a captivating personality. Three others dealt with the veto of university funding as an abuse of power and official oppression. And once again, there is talk of impeachment in the Legislature. Some have said Hall is being targeted for uncovering evidence of political favoritism with respect to admissions processes.[6]. The House sent 21 articles of impeachment to the Senate. Rick Perry, but this instance in Texas political history is a few years shy of its 100th birthday. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. School districts | Ballotpedia's election legislation tracker, Political favoritism in admissions to the University of Texas, Forgivable loans program at the University of Texas Law School, House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations (TSAO), Joint Committee on Oversight of Higher Ed Governance, Excellence & Transparency, University of Texas System Board of Regents, 1987 Memorandum within the Texas Legislative Council regarding removal of state officers by the state legislature, Analysis of Constitutional Impeachment Procedures in Texas, Texas House Bill 588, the "Top 10% Rule" (1997), https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Impeachments_in_Texas&oldid=8020920, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections. [5], On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace at her family home. He took the stand on his own behalf and was mostly a weak and contradictory witness, unable to explain discrepancies. The framers considered impeachment an important check on the power of the presidency and against corruption. A part of his appeal as a candidate for governor was his support for white supremacy in the political process. Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. Ferguson also ran for President of the United States in the 1920 election as the candidate of the American Party. 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. With charges growing against Ferguson, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted to impeach. 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. In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Eight federal judges have been convicted in the Senate and removed from office. The Constitution gives the House power to impeach the president, officials appointed by the president (including cabinet officers), and judges. On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace; they had two children. Yet the House rejected a broad attempt to impeach Johnson for abuse of power in 1867, because many congressmen felt a president had to commit a crime to be impeached. Landowners were assured, however, that they need not be alarmed by the proposal, as it would benefit all concerned. This was a vital point to Ferguson, because the impeachment barred him from running for any office in Texas for life. You are currently viewing a legacy feature of the Texas Politics Project website. Animals talk; all you have to do is listen. For Trey and Carol South, love of animals feeds their souls, and clients are assured their pets . Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. Encyclopedia.com. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. Angry that two professors had openly criticized his administration, Ferguson demanded that the Board of Regents fire them. 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. System has not protected the privacy rights of students, staff, and patients. Gov. Democrat James "Pa" Ferguson Jr. became governor of Texas in 1913, and his impeachment stemmed from his feud with the University of Texas. The prohibitionists passed over their better-known leaders and gave their support to Charles H. Morris of Winnsboro, a political unknown. With charges growing against Ferguson, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted to impeach. His father died when he was 4. Bruce A. Glasrud is professor emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay, and retired dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Sul Ross State University. "[3] In general, impeachments are a rare occurrence. House Speaker Franklin Fuller called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. Copyright 2022 Coordinating Council for Women in History. I dont have to give any reasons, according to the American Political Science Review. The colleges were permitted to begin building programs, and the educational appropriation bills were more generous than usual. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. He left home at sixteen and wandered for two years through the states of the Far West, where he lived by accepting any employment offered. Five concerned the misapplication of public funds, three related to his quarrel with the university, one declared that he had failed properly to respect and enforce the banking laws of the state, and one charged that he had received $156,500 ($2.9 million in todays dollars) from a source he refused to reveal. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. Ma placed a distant fifth. James E. Ferguson Called on Tejanos to rise up/support the revolution; Called on other minorities to join Tejanos to carve out a republic from land US took from Mexico US Pancho Villa Mexican guerilla leader led an attack on Columbus NM (Mar. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. Dr. Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. Winning just under 10 % of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock called... Houston, Sam he was indicted for misappropriation of funds the investigating,! $ 5,600 donations by CCWH members and other patrons support CCWH awards and initiatives although was! Passed generous appropriation bills, and the educational appropriation bills were more generous than usual recommend to the bizarre have! 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