Sam Houston's life was, Ann Willis Richards (born 1933) was elected Democratic governor of Texas in 1990, the second woman ever to hold that position in the state's history., American politician Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977) gained fame in the 1920s when she was elected governor of Wyoming, becoming the first woman in the, Barbara Jordan (american Congressional Representative), Jordan, Barbara Charline Please subscribe to keep reading. That committee has been holding a series of meetings in late 2013. On July 21, 1917, in the midst of the excitement, Ferguson appeared before the Travis County grand jury, and several days later it was announced that he had been indicted on nine charges. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Elementary school music teacher leaves $6M to Baylor, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Mike Copeland: Steak and Ale comeback; Paper plant progress; Bagby apartments; Gaines Booked Up, Lake on Waco Creek floated for park next to Floyd Casey development, Whizzbang's owner buys Health Camp with eye to preserving burger joint legacy, Waco Charter School to close after summer classes, Sheriff names man found dead of apparent gunshot in Golinda, La Vega, Fairfield girls know the way to San Antone, clinching state trips, Brothers continue dad's clear legacy at Freddy's Glass, Brice Cherry: Collen pushes all the right buttons in her best coaching performance yet, Olympic-winning pole vaulter, pastor Bob Richards dies at 97, The GOAT of tennis families lives in Groesbeck. The Texas Senate reduced the charges to 10, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. The Senate can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Encyclopedia.com. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. Ferguson, a political novice, suffered from the lack of a viable power-base. . Nellie Tayloe Ross was sworn in on January 5, 1925; Miriam Ferguson followed on January 20. The chair of the State Library and Historical Commission, Eugene C. Barker, heard talk about these plans and intervened in support of Winkler. Unlike federal offices, which require formal charges brought against an individual and in most cases criminal charges, the Texas Constitution does not provide specific grounds for impeachment. Proclamation signed by a majority of the members of the House. There are 31 members of the Texas State Senate. Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. He lost the 1922 Democratic Primary race for U.S. Senate by a wide margin. The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment in federal cases. TEXAS HISTORY MINUTE: The impeachment of Pa Ferguson, Texas lawmakers push for statewide paid parental leave, Graford secures regional quarterfinal in domina, Parker County man arrested on charges of impersonating an officer, 'New' doors opening: Poston Dry Goods now Mineral Wells hub, Mineral Wells native celebrates 103rd birthday, UPDATED playoff basketball scores: 2/20-2/21/23, Brock moves on with emphatic win over Holliday, Graford secures regional quarterfinal in dominant fashion, Millsap's Coach Johnson relishes his 'calling'. Rick Perry, but this instance in Texas political history is a few years shy of its 100th birthday. 1914 campaign literature in which Ferguson fires back against criticisms from his 'dry' opponent, Thomas H. Ball, and others in the prohibition faction. The House then chooses members to act as managers to present the case to the Senate for trial. This is simply not true. 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). As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. But the day before the conviction was certain to come down. 27 February 1917 in Floresville, Texas; d. 15 June 1993 in Houston, Texas), governor of Tex, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment. [20], A January 2014 review by the law firm Hilder & Associates concluded that there was "no credible evidence of a violation of [the state government code] that would warrant a referral for criminal prosecution." The 1920 presidential election was won by Republican candidate Warren Harding. He can be reached by email: Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. In 1917, James Ferguson was impeached and removed from office as governor of Texas while under indictment. James Edward (Pa) Ferguson (1871-1944), Texas governor, son of James Edward and Fannie (Fitzpatrick) Ferguson, was born on August 31, 1871, near Salado, Bell County, Texas. He became a lawyer in 1897, married Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and expanded into real estate, insurance, and banking. Kay Reed Arnold then follows the Ferguson story into the halls of academia at the University of Texaswhich Ferguson threatened to closesparking a fierce response by faculty, alumni, students, and, especially, the Womens Committee for Good Government. Which Way Will Harris County Precinct 3 Turn In 2020? The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment in federal cases. Jordan wa, Houston, Sam In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. This might sound like the controversy involving UT System Regent Wallace Hall, an appointee of Gov. [4], In Texas, two officials have been successfully impeached -- Governor James Ferguson in 1917 and Judge O.P. 1. so that gubernatorial elections will not be influenced by a presidential election 2. so that candidates cannot run for governor and a federal office at the same time 3. so that voters will not become overwhelmed by too many candidates in one year 4. because Texas happened to become part of the US during an off-year (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). by Nicole Shealy This is why I so often say, Im W. F. Strong, these are Stories from Texas some of them are astonishingly true., 2021 Texas Standard. Pat Neff. Ferguson declared that the legislature constituted little more than a "kangaroo court," but only a few Needed buildings were provided at other eleemosynary institutions. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. It appears that neither governor was brought to trial. An argument over spending tax dollars, an attempt to silence political opponents, and charges of a kangaroo court. This is not a current story but a faint echo of a notorious event in Texas History, the impeachment of Gov. He was kicked out of a local prep school, Salado College, at age 12 for misbehavior. Ouida Ferguson Nalle, The Fergusons of Texas, or "Two Governors for the Price of One": A Biography of James Edward Ferguson and His Wife (San Antonio: Naylor, 1946). The fact is that he had parked state funds in his bank for personal gain and he had run his bank as a one-man Ponzi scheme. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. The ruling declared that he could no longer hold office in Texas, but he ran the campaigns of his wife, Miriam "Ma" Ferguson. Elected in 1914 and re-elected in 1916, he faced 21 articles of impeachment and resigned during the trial in the Senate on September 24, 1917, one day before the Senate voted to remove him from office and disqualify him from holding office again. She was reelected in 1932 and served January 17, 1933 January 15, 1935. In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. He was by this time an old man. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. The Texas State Legislature adjourned its regular session on May 27, 2013. we are committed to exploring the diverse experiences and histories of all women. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. In 1913, William Sulzer was impeached and removed from office as governor of New York. Seven related to misapplication of public funds, one to embezzlement and one to the diversion of a special fund. His wife was defeated for re-election in 1926, following questions of improper use of her pardoning power. And this current flap is far from over. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. His mother continued to live on the farm, and he began working in the fields as a young boy. Nine years later, Ferguson died of a stroke. W. V. Howerton, ed., Facts on Ferguson: A Review of the Impeachment and a Reply to Charges Made by Ex-Governor Ferguson (Austin, 1918). 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. His father died when he was four. Hearing the gasps in the chamber, Ferguson immediately asked to strike the comment. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. He posted bond and wasted no time in announcing his candidacy for a third term as governor. But it is Hall not his political patron, Perry who would be targeted for possible impeachment. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky is the Distinguished Professor of Digital Humanities and History at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce. Norman Kittrell, Governors Who Have Been and Other Public Men of Texas (Houston: Dealy-Adey-Elgin, 1921). If that is the case, then the state house must follow procedures outlined regarding calling a special session specifically for the process of impeachment. As a result it was impossible for the convention to eliminate him and obviously unwise to divide the vote by naming a rival candidate. The Legislature cannot call itself into special session. Impeachment is the power of a legislative body to address charges of impropriety or criminality by a government official, such as a governor or lieutenant governor. [1] Impeachments in Texas begin in the Texas House of Representatives which must cast a majority vote in favor of impeachment. The following sections are outlined in Article 15 of the Texas Constitution. Provision was made for the establishment of the Austin State School. Its president is in the crosshairs. He was barred, but managed to have his wife ("Ma Ferguson") elected governor; she was elected for a second term in 1932. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. Ma placed a distant fifth. After 20 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor, Lt. Ferguson was on the ballot only in Texas, where he received 47,968 votes (9.9 percent of the vote in Texas, 0.2 percent of the vote nationwide). The issues were prohibition, the tax rate, and certain unpalatable rumors concerning the Ferguson administration. 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. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. In 1924, his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson won election as governor as a stand-in candidate in a tightly contested race. U.S. Congress | An argument over spending tax dollars, an attempt to silence political opponents, and charges of a kangaroo court.. He tapped Reverend Allan Ferguson Cunningham to serve as State Librarian, despite his lack of training or experience in the field. 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. Oklahoma has impeached and removed two governors, and West Virginia impeached four members of its State Supreme Court at the same time in 2018. (February 23, 2023). He made only a few speeches and must have known long before the votes were cast that Mrs. Ferguson had no chance to win. Ross Phares, The Governors of Texas (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1976). To impeach, the House simply needs a majority vote on the different charges involved. He was re-elected in 1916. 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. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. He claimed to be painstakingly honest; he was an embezzler. Two years later they lost a reelection bid amid new scandals concerning excessive pardons and political patronage abuses. The regents refused. Though he had signed legislation creating three new colleges, he found himself in a feud with professors at the University of Texas. When the Democratic Party dominated the Texas political landscape, winning the Democratic primary often sealed the election results. 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. In 1917, James E. Ferguson, nicknamed "Pa Ferguson," was impeached and removed from the governorship of Texas. He vilified everything from fraternities to the faculty to the student body. [2], Impeachments have historically been reserved for cases in which a public official committed a criminal act. The UT battle was the one he should have avoided. He had been accused of misappropriating funds, but investigations failed to find anything that would warrant impeachment, and the probe seemed to be closed. While there, legislators legally took up another matter, impeachment. "Ferguson Impeachment Nine of the charges can be described as violations of the law, while the obtaining of $156,500 from a secret source was certainly not in keeping with good policy. [8] Hall, as an individual citizen, filed FOIA requests with the University system after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were rebuffed. Governor have not acted, then by proclamation of the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate. 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. An effort was begun in 2013 to investigate the possibility of impeaching University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall. He claimed to be a successful businessman; he was not. ." If the state legislature is not in regular session during the time of impeachment, a special session can be called specifically to handle impeachments. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by his successor and incumbent, William P. Hobby of Houston, previously the lieutenant governor. Dr. Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan who enjoys sharing these stories about people from the Lone Star state. If the House adopts articles of impeachment, the Texas State Senate must then sit as the court of impeachment. Eight governors have been removed from office through impeachment. Hilder submitted the report to the legislative committee. With strong support from progressive and anti-Prohibition forces, "Farmer Jim" was elected governor of Texas in 1914. 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. He was reelected in 1916 but the following year was impeached on grounds of misusing public funds and removed from office. James T. DeShields, They Sat in High Places: The Presidents and Governors of Texas (San Antonio: Naylor, 1940). The veto was retaliation against the university because of its refusal to dismiss certain faculty members whom Ferguson found objectionable, including William Harding Mayes, former Texas Lieutenant Governor and founder and dean of the University of Texas School of Journalism. 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. Jim Pa Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. Heres where Ferguson made his first greatest legal blunder. In general, the purpose of an impeachment proceeding is to remove from office a . In 1917, Gov. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, so he had his wife run in his place. The first had to do with his abuse of power while attempting to micromanage the University of Texas. It reveals the attempt and failure of a megalomaniac in the governors chair to dominate the state university by political methods for political purposes, the American Political Science Review wrote a year later. [15][16] No unelected official in Texas has ever been successfully impeached or removed from office. Three new normal schools were authorized. Similarly, the Texas Constitution gives the lower house of the legislature power to impeach judges, the governor and statewide elected officials. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. He submitted his resignation the day before he was scheduled to be formally convicted. [5], In 2013, the Texas State Legislature began an impeachment trial for Regent Wallace Hall. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment. At age 12 he entered Salado College (a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. [12], [13] In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. Even his former political allies couldn't find him innocent in the face of such damning evidence - and his own indefensible behavior. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. And she won. This is not a current story but a faint echo of a notorious event in Texas history, the impeachment of Gov. [10][11] However, a letter from University chancellor Francisco Cigarroa in February 2014 said that Hall likely requested fewer than 100,000 pages. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. He was a popular figure, signing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. Dictionary of American History. The state was blue, then really indigo. 2] THE IMPEACHMENT OF JAMES E. FERGUSON I85 there, was immediately converted to the legal profession. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. Ferguson made bond of $13,000 and announced his candidacy for a third term as 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. 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 was replaced by William P. Hobby after the Texas House of Representatives found him guilty in ten of twenty-one charges. Though no Texas official has been impeached and removed from office at the state level since Ferguson, Texas politics has hardly been scandal-free. Cities | In the United States legal tradition, impeachment is comparable to an indictment in a criminal court. [17] Governor of Texas Rick Perry's spokesperson said the investigations send a "chilling message" to gubernatorial appointees. Impeached or removed from office as governor as a young boy the possibility of University! Most of the President Pro Tempore of the Texas State Legislature began an impeachment proceeding is to remove from.! Must then sit as the court of impeachment, the impeachment process with. Must then sit as the court of impeachment, the Texas State Legislature began an impeachment proceeding to... Pardoning power 5 ], in 1917, he found himself in a criminal.! Houston, Sam in July 1917, Ferguson died of a kangaroo..! Substantially the same in Texas, he was scheduled to be the primary... 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