Both women followed husbands who had served earlier. 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 . Throughout his years in banking he took an active interest in county and local politics. House Speaker Franklin Fuller called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the Brownwood Bulletin, to spread negative information about Ferguson. [2], Impeachments have historically been reserved for cases in which a public official committed a criminal act. And this current flap is far from over. His father died when he was four. [7], In 1914, Ferguson was elected as governor of Texas by running as an anti-prohibitionist Democrat. 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. A grand jury in Travis County learned that in 1915, Ferguson had transferred $5,600 from the state to a bank in Austin and then to his bank in Temple that he used to pay off a private debt. | [8] Hall, as an individual citizen, filed FOIA requests with the University system after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were rebuffed. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by his successor and incumbent, William P. Hobby of Houston, previously the lieutenant governor. A part of his appeal as a candidate for governor was his support for white supremacy in the political process. The regents refused. Encyclopedia.com. Tags 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 Legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. November 2013 testimony prompted committee-member Trey Fischer to request the inquiry. Cities | In sum, his down-home authenticity faded away to reveal a man who was mostly a fraud. He loaned himself so much money that he practically bankrupted his own bank. We help women historians thrive through events, resources, and community. By W.F. In 1917, James E. Ferguson, nicknamed "Pa Ferguson," was impeached and removed from the governorship of Texas. He submitted his resignation the day before he was scheduled to be formally convicted. The Texas Legislative Code governs the process by which the Texas State Legislature can be brought into special session to address an impeachment proceeding. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. 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. He posted bond and wasted no time in announcing his candidacy for a third term as governor. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. His mother continued to live on the farm, and he began working in the fields as a young boy. It proved his undoing. As a result of these and other expenditures, the ad valorem tax rate for state purposes advanced from 12 1/2 to 30 cents. "[3] In general, impeachments are a rare occurrence. The question was eventually carried into the courts, where the judgment of the Court of Impeachment was sustained. He was replaced by William P. Hobby after the Texas House of Representatives found him guilty in ten of twenty-one charges. In 1917, James Ferguson was impeached and removed from office as governor of Texas while under indictment. 1914 campaign literature in which Ferguson fires back against criticisms from his 'dry' opponent, Thomas H. Ball, and others in the prohibition faction. I dont have to give any reasons, according to the American Political Science Review. In 1940 Mrs. Ferguson again sought the governorship, and for the last time "Farmer Jim" appealed to the voters of Texas. System has not protected the privacy rights of students, staff, and patients. He was indicted and impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.[1][2][3][4]. 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. The legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. Her most recent publications include contributions to Texas Women: Their Histories, Their Lives and Discovering Texas History. Aside from the act instituting the highway department, the second Ferguson administration was marked by little in the way of important legislation. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. 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. The excitement that greeted the veto was soon overshadowed by the greater excitement that surrounded the impeachment trial. He was re-elected in 1916. 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. No. They then sent the charges to the State Senate for trial. Sam Houston 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. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. He was by this time an old man. 2-stem governor fro 1921-1924 . Mrs. Ferguson served as the first lady of Texas during the gubernatorial terms of her husband (1915-17), who was impeached during his second administration. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. She was reelected in 1932 and served January 17, 1933 January 15, 1935. 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 . ." Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment. And here, Ferguson made his second blunder. He made only a few speeches and must have known long before the votes were cast that Mrs. Ferguson had no chance to win. | 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. After an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1920, Ferguson ran the gubernatorial campaign of his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson, in 1924. He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. The convention did not endorse Ferguson, but the other anti-prohibition candidates withdrew from the race. He later ran anyway, claiming that he had resigned before he was convicted. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. He maintained his. The Constitution gives the House power to impeach the president, officials appointed by the president (including cabinet officers) and judges. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. The founders did not invent impeachment. Gulf of Mexico warming at faster rate than global ocean, study finds, As Texas STAAR test goes fully online, teachers feel defeated, Texas Education Agency projects confidence, Texas Standard for Feb. 23, 2023: Why many cotton farmers arent planting as much this year. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. Ferguson also ran for President of the United States in the 1920 election as the candidate of the American Party. The Court of Impeachment, by a vote of twenty-five to three, removed Ferguson from office and made him ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the state of Texas. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 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. 2] THE IMPEACHMENT OF JAMES E. FERGUSON I85 there, was immediately converted to the legal profession. This led to a special session being called by the Legislature, to press for Fergusons impeachment. The Senate, acting as a court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor of 10 of them. So to prove this to them, Ferguson called a special session to consider a UT funding bill he could sign. The legislature passed generous appropriation bills, and the ad valorem tax rate reached the constitutional maximum of thirty-five cents. Jim Pa Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. He blamed his directors for running a shoddy operation. 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. Dictionary of American History. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. Similarly, the Texas constitution gives the lower house of the legislature power to impeach judges, the governor, and statewide elected officials. Ma placed a distant fifth. State legislators created a select committee to launch an investigation into possibly impeaching Wallace Hall, an appointed member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. 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. He only made the ballot in Texas, winning just under 10% of the vote. Only two elected officials in the history of Texas have ever been successfully impeached. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. The framers considered impeachment an important check on the power of the presidency and against corruption. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Rick Perry, but this instance in Texas political history is a few years shy of its 100th birthday. Ferguson was the only "wet" candidate in the Democratic primary and garnered all of the anti-prohibitionist votes over a plurality of "dry" candidates. A powerful governor clashes with the University of Texas at Austin. If Hall is impeached, he would bethe third person in Texas history to be in that situation. The vote made him ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the state of Texas. Meanwhile, Winkler fought for his job by enlisting the help of his colleagues. Jordan, Barbara Charline Nine years later, Ferguson died of a stroke. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. 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 He was a popular figure, signing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. A part of his actions, in 1914, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the committee. 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