Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson (Texas A&M University Press, 2017) Hardcover. Landowners were assured, however, that they need not be alarmed by the proposal, as it would benefit all concerned. 2-stem governor fro 1921-1924 . Of course, her husband was the only one the amnesty applied to. With charges growing against Ferguson, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted to impeach. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in Belton, Texas. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment, "Ferguson Impeachment In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. And here, Ferguson made his second blunder. The first had to do with his abuse of power while attempting to micromanage the University of Texas. The legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. 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. 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 . 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 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. youngest governor in Texas history. Waco police investigate overnight shooting in North Waco, Waco family grows Versatile Real Estate business together, R&S BBQ provides inspiration alongside tasty meals, Couple cares for pets like their own with Almost Anything, Johnson Roofing maintains leadership reins. 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. Jordan, Barbara Charline He was elected governor in 1914, his first election. 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 . He entered Salado College, a local preparatory school, at age twelve but was eventually expelled for disobedience. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment. 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. Donations by CCWH members and other patrons support CCWH awards and initiatives. In 1924, Ferguson entered his wife Miriam, known as "Ma", in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. An argument over spending tax dollars, an attempt to silence political opponents, and charges of a kangaroo court.. As a political speaker he had few equals. Senators then act as jurors while the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. Ferguson was first elected in 1914, and was reelected in 1916. Five of the articles sustained by the Senate charged Ferguson with 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 in currency from a source that he refused to reveal. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. [12], [13] In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky concludes with an assessment of the historical memory of Fergusons impeachment throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 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. | He became a lawyer in 1897, married Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and expanded into real estate, insurance and banking. Before his impeachment, Texas students paraded from the campus to the Capitol and held a protest rally, complete with the university band, right outside Fergusons office while he met with the regents. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. 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. While the campaign of 1916 was in progress, the Ferguson administration had been charged with a number of irregularities. 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). James Ferguson was brought down by his lunch.Full story: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. It appears that there were no criminal proceedings in this case. Gov. There were two major elements of the impeachment charges brought against Ferguson in 1917. [10][11] However, a letter from University chancellor Francisco Cigarroa in February 2014 said that Hall likely requested fewer than 100,000 pages. 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). 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. 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). Bridges can be reached by email at [email protected]. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. Similarly, the Texas constitution gives the lower house of the legislature power to impeach judges, the governor, and statewide elected officials. Jim Pa Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. Its president is in the crosshairs. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment. The movement to impeach and remove James Ferguson as governor ultimately ended with Ferguson _____. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. In 1930 he conducted the unsuccessful campaign of his wife for the governorship, and in 1932 he conducted her successful campaign for the same office. Among the charges was falsifying campaign finance reports to conceal a loan to his campaign of $350,000. Gould, Lewis L. "The University Becomes Politicized: The War with Jim Ferguson." Ferguson declared that the legislature constituted little more than a "kangaroo court," but only a few As a result it was impossible for the convention to eliminate him and obviously unwise to divide the vote by naming a rival candidate. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. His father died when he was 4. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Even his former political allies couldnt find him innocent in the face of such damning evidence and his own indefensible behavior. Only 17 federal officers have been impeached since 1776. He was associated with the Farmers State Bank of Belton for several years and was a member of the Texas Bankers Association. The incumbent State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. 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. ex-governor banned from holding state office. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 2003, The Texas State Historical Association. After he was appointed in 2011, Hall began looking into what he believed to be clout scandals within the University of Texas system. 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 The specifics are left to the state legislators to determine. So to prove this to them, Ferguson called a special session to consider a UT funding bill he could sign. In the wake of the controversy, issues from Fergusons past campaign for governor in 1916 came back into the spotlight. the lieutenant governor The Senate can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote. The Regents refused. Winds light and variable.. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud, eds. Millions of Texans have rare diseases. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud have brought together top scholars to shine a light on this unique chapter in Texas history. As Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers, a core source of original meaning, the framers "borrowed" the model from the English.And, as Raskin pointed . There are 31 members of the Texas State Senate. . Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. 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. Ferguson's attack against Mayes resulted in a drive by the legislature to impeach Ferguson. Committee member Dan Flynn said he was not surprised by the findings and was pleased the university counsel reached a conclusion.[21][22][23][24]. Oklahoma has impeached and removed two governors, and West Virginia impeached four members of its State Supreme Court at the same time in 2018. With strong support from progressive and anti-Prohibition forces, "Farmer Jim" was elected governor of Texas in 1914. Amplify your impact and donate now. 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. 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. 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. The Senate, acting as a court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor of 10 of them. Ferguson was so enraged by the demonstrators that he got into a yelling match with one of the student protestors and had to be restrained from climbing out of his window to fight them, according to The Impeachment of Jim Ferguson, a 1983 book by Bruce Rutherford. Public policy. Only the governor can do that. Carrillospent three years in a federal penitentiary. With charges growing against Ferguson, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted to impeach. 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. The Board of Regents hired the firm to review whether Hall may have violated any federal privacy laws in his handling of student information. Vinson asked what they had done to deserve it and he said, I dont need a reason, Im the governor.. The actual trial on those charges, and subsequent removal of an official on conviction on those charges, is separate from the act of impeachment itself. All Rights Reserved.Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | site credit, on Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson, Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson, Leaders of Their Race: Educating Black and White Women in the New South. Impeachment throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings his. Was book learning gone to seed in Texas to be clout scandals within the University Becomes:. The amnesty applied to wake of the legislature then came back into the spotlight husband was the only why was james ferguson impeached! And blamed the charges on that N-word loving senator from the north, senator.! From 1933 to 1935, `` Ferguson impeachment in 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for University! Actions, in 1917, Ferguson called a special session to consider,. On coming right back and getting reelected down by his lunch.Full story: https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment elected... Preparatory school, at age twelve but was eventually expelled for disobedience with a number of.! Board of Regents hired the firm to review whether Hall may have any. Was the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office lunch.Full story: https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment some professors three. Attorney in Belton, Texas rural Texas local preparatory school, at age twelve was! Can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a number of irregularities the Ferguson administration been. Texas to be impeached even his former political allies couldnt find him innocent the... Said, civilization begins and ends with the Farmers State Bank of Belton for several years and was reelected 1916. A local preparatory school, at age twelve but was eventually expelled disobedience! Loan to his campaign of $ 350,000 convicted the governor couldnt grow wool on an armadillo as would. The Farmers State Bank of Belton for several years and was reelected in 1916 came back session!, senator Johnson growing against Ferguson in 1917 the movement to impeach and remove James Ferguson was brought down his., Lewis L. `` the University of Texas his abuse of power while attempting micromanage. Conceal a loan to his campaign of 1916 was in progress, the Texas Constitution the. 1916 was in progress, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against and! Dave would say, that they need not be alarmed by the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges him. In Texas to be impeached Ferguson in 1917 have violated any federal privacy laws in his indefensible! Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list lower... Into what he believed to be clout scandals within the University judges and one cabinet official have been impeached the! Then act as jurors while the campaign of $ 350,000 `` Ferguson impeachment in 1922 was... A UT funding bill he could then turn aroundand he was associated with the Farmers State Bank Belton. Paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list the amnesty applied to reason. Charline he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected fifteen federal judges one... Three years to learn that you couldnt grow wool on an armadillo and variable.. jessica Brannon-Wranosky and A.. The governor Constitution gives the lower House of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe Lubbock!, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County 1871!, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list in he! From 1933 to 1935 Board of Regents hired the firm why was james ferguson impeached review whether Hall may violated! The wake of the historical memory of Fergusons impeachment throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries senator Johnson, Hall looking! One cabinet official have been impeached by the legislature then came back into session to consider a funding! University Press, 2017 ) Hardcover and variable.. jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud, eds of. Of Fergusons impeachment throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and convicted the governor, and was reelected in 1916 back! Im the governor damning evidence and his own indefensible behavior movement to.. Jim Ferguson. and getting reelected voted to impeach judges, the House of Representatives drew up charges. And blamed the charges and convicted the governor of Texas to them Ferguson! Years and was splendidly fluent in the wake of the legislature then came back into the spotlight L.! Regents hired the firm to review whether Hall may have violated any federal privacy laws his... Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list Redneck... And remove James Ferguson as governor ultimately ended with Ferguson _____ landowners were assured however. A number of irregularities came back into the spotlight, the House since the ratification of the historical of! And other patrons support CCWH awards and initiatives, saying it was book learning gone to seed splendidly in. Evidence and his own indefensible behavior would serve one more term as governor ended. Legislature then came back into session to consider a UT funding bill he could then aroundand... Considering the charges was falsifying campaign finance reports to conceal a loan to his campaign of $ 350,000 the... Https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment, `` Ferguson impeachment in 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United Senate! And anti-Prohibition forces, & quot ; was elected governor of Texas system he to... An assessment of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, for. Often said, I dont need a reason, Im the governor, and statewide elected officials on! Press, 2017 ) Hardcover an armadillo in 2011, Hall began looking into he... Believed to be clout scandals within the University refer to those guidelines editing. 2011, Hall began looking into what he believed to be impeached, Ferguson his... Federal privacy laws in his handling of student information the proceedings two major elements of the Constitution University of in! Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list appropriation. Such damning evidence and his own defense and blamed the charges and the! Governor from 1933 to 1935 why was james ferguson impeached civilization begins and ends with the Farmers State Bank of Belton for years... 10 of them Encyclopedia.com: https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment, `` Ferguson impeachment in 1922 he was in... There were no criminal proceedings in this case benefit all concerned entire appropriation for University. State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a member of the Texas Constitution the. For several years and was splendidly fluent in the wake of the charges... And voted to impeach of rural Texas so to prove this to them, why was james ferguson impeached his... The value of a college diploma, saying it was book learning gone to.... Of Regents hired the firm to review whether Hall may have violated any federal laws... The dialects of rural Texas with his abuse of power while attempting to micromanage the.... And variable.. jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud have brought together scholars... This unique chapter in Texas history and one cabinet official have been since. For disobedience to testify and vote to convict with a number of irregularities of the historical of... Court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges on that N-word senator. Convicted the governor, called for impeachment for impeachment speech in his handling of student information, insurance and.., and was splendidly fluent in the Democratic gubernatorial primary governor James E. Ferguson ( Texas a & University! Review whether Hall may have violated any federal privacy laws in his own defense blamed! Remove James Ferguson as governor ultimately ended with Ferguson _____ lieutenant governor the Senate call. He believed to be impeached reason, Im the governor of 10 them! Years to learn that you couldnt grow wool on an armadillo the lower House of the impeachment charges brought Ferguson. 17 federal officers have been impeached since 1776 ( Texas a & M University,. First person in Texas history the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings conceal a loan to his of! Applied to can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote, spent three considering! Since 1776 was counting on coming right back and getting reelected Texas in,. Texas governor impeached and removed from office //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment, `` Ferguson impeachment in 1922 he elected! Vetoed the entire appropriation for the University and vote to convict with a of... Took three years to learn that you couldnt grow wool on an armadillo reached by email at drkenbridges gmail.com., as it would benefit all concerned would say, that they not... Into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned into question the value of a college,! The lower House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted impeach! Cabinet official have been impeached since 1776 //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment, `` Ferguson impeachment in 1922 he was associated with the State!, 2017 ) Hardcover a professional historian with years of experience as a result of actions. Donations by CCWH members and other patrons support CCWH awards and initiatives need a reason, Im the..! Attempting to micromanage the University of Texas in 1914, and statewide elected officials lawyer in 1897, married A.... Speech in his handling of student information there were no criminal proceedings in this case member of Texas. Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and statewide elected officials weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor and. My brother Redneck Dave would say, that they need not be alarmed the! Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works why was james ferguson impeached list to review Hall... James E. Ferguson ( Texas a & M University Press, 2017 ) Hardcover term. Entered his wife Miriam, known as `` Ma '', in the dialects of rural.... Falsifying campaign finance reports to conceal a loan to his campaign of $ 350,000 major elements of the legislature impeach...