Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed By Ken Bridges Jan 30, 2020 0 1 of 2 Gov. The reason he called the special session was because he wanted to address the UT budget, but they impeached him instead. Other high-profile librarians voiced their support of Winkler, as did the son of an ex-governor, and a chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. In 1917, Gov. 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. The Regents refused. 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. While there, legislators legally took up another matter, impeachment. The Texas Senate reduced the charges to 10, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. 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 Freddy's Glass legacyPeople who knew our dad and his story say he would be proud of us, but we say, Man, were proud of himHe truly. youngest governor in Texas history. Ross Phares, The Governors of Texas (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1976). Henry S. Johnston of Oklahoma 1917: James 'Pa' Ferguson Jr., Texas. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. An effort was begun in 2013 to investigate the possibility of impeaching University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall. After a trial, the Senate voted him out of office by a vote of 25-3 and banned him from holding any state office. ex-governor banned from holding state office. The Fergusons retired from public life afterward with James Ferguson dying in 1944 and his wife passing away in 1961. He tapped Reverend Allan Ferguson Cunningham to serve as State Librarian, despite his lack of training or experience in the field. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. Among the charges was falsifying campaign finance reports to conceal a loan to his campaign of $350,000. No. To impeach, the House simply needs a majority vote on the different charges involved. 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. Donations by CCWH members and other patrons support CCWH awards and initiatives. James Ferguson died on September 21, 1944, and was buried in the State Cemetery in Austin. James Ferguson was a banker from Temple who would become governor in 1914 - famous, or infamous, as the only Texas governor to face impeachment. Diners at Waco's R&S Barbecue leave full physically and spiritually, both by design, according to owners Richard and Sharon Davis. Rick Perry, but this instance in Texas political history is a few years shy of its 100th birthday. Only two elected officials in the history of Texas have ever been successfully impeached. Ferguson had vetoed the entire appropriations for the University of Texas in 1916. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. months before, both the House and the Senate had refused to sustain charges against him, and his removal from office was far from certain when the legislature convened in special session. . the lieutenant governor An overview by John R. Lundberg offers a comprehensive survey of the impeachment process. 100% remote. [17] Governor of Texas Rick Perry's spokesperson said the investigations send a "chilling message" to gubernatorial appointees. Its president is in the crosshairs. The legislature passed generous appropriation bills, and the ad valorem tax rate reached the constitutional maximum of thirty-five cents. The Senate can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote. Vinson asked what they had done to deserve it and he said, I dont need a reason, Im the governor.. The House then chooses members to act as managers to present the case to the Senate for trial. ii) During the period between World Wars I and II, James and Miriam Ferguson were the most powerful couple in Texas. As a political speaker he had few equals. Oklahoma has impeached and removed two governors, and West Virginia impeached four members of its State Supreme Court at the same time in 2018. 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. When they wouldnt, he started replacing them one by one and withheld state funding from the university to force UT to obey his orders. 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 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in Belton, Texas. 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. In 1917, James E. Ferguson, nicknamed "Pa Ferguson," was impeached and removed from the governorship of Texas. She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. He was popular for his folksy charm across. 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. She served two nonconsecutive two-year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 January 17, 1927. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. 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. 1914 campaign literature in which Ferguson fires back against criticisms from his 'dry' opponent, Thomas H. Ball, and others in the prohibition faction. He was impeached in 1917 and removed from office. The report concluded that Hall had a legitimate reason for having the documents in question. The incumbent State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. He became a lawyer in 1897, married Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and expanded into real estate, insurance, and banking. His father died when he was four. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. In 1906, he sold Farmers bank and established Temple State Bank. 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 . The issues were prohibition, the tax rate, and certain unpalatable rumors concerning the Ferguson administration. 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. 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. If the state legislature is not in regular session during the time of impeachment, a special session can be called specifically to handle impeachments. After 10 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor has not acted, then by proclamation of, After 15 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor and Lt. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. [2], Impeachments have historically been reserved for cases in which a public official committed a criminal act. This might sound like the controversy involving UT System Regent Wallace Hall, an appointee of Gov. Elections in 2023 | Landowners were assured, however, that they need not be alarmed by the proposal, as it would benefit all concerned. . In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. January 1996 in Austin, Texas), first black southern woman in the United States Congress. Both women followed husbands who had served earlier. State legislature | he was accused of misuse of public funds following his call for a special legislative session When a governor is removed from office, resigns, or dies or becomes incapacitated while in office, who becomes governor? The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. Jim Ferguson got in trouble for throwing his weight around, and for using the publics money as a personal slush fund. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. The House sent 21 articles of impeachment to the Senate. [10], After being re-elected in 1916, Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the University of Texas. 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. Ferguson was removed from office and deemed ineligible to hold any position of honor, trust, or profit under the laws of Texas by the Court of Impeachment by a vote of twenty-five to three. Democrat James "Pa" Ferguson Jr. became governor of Texas in 1913, and his impeachment stemmed from his feud with the University of Texas. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the Brownwood Bulletin, to spread negative information about Ferguson. The vote was 25-3. He was impeached in 1917 and removed from office. by Nicole Shealy At age 12 he entered Salado College (a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. resigning his office and being barred by the legislature to ever serve a state office again. Samuel Houston (1793-1863), American statesman and soldier, was the person most responsible for bringing Texas into the Union. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. Rachel M. Gunter further places the Ferguson impeachment in the context of the suffrage movement. Provision was made for the establishment of the Austin State School. He resigned his office the day before the judgment was announced and contended that it did not apply to him. This is simply not true. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud, eds. | Hall updated Governor Rick Perry's office in April 2013 with the full list. The letter claimed that Winkler was the best person for the job. KVUE is looking back at the history of some past Texas governors. 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. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. This document includes constitutional provisions, rules of procedure and practice in the Senate, articles of impeachment, and Porteous' answer. He was reelected in 1916 but the following year was impeached on grounds of misusing public funds and removed from office. [7], In 1914, Ferguson was elected as governor of Texas by running as an anti-prohibitionist Democrat. The legality of the speaker calling a session was questionable the Texas Constitution says only the governor can call a special session but the point became moot when Ferguson called his own special session to discuss the budget for the University of Texas. Title 6, Chapter 665 of the Texas Government Code addresses the impeachment and removal of public officers by the state house. 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. Advocates are pushing for legislation to help them. He said the governor served the people, but he used the power of the office to reward his friends and crush not just his political enemies, but good servants of the state whose only offense was not voting for him. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 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. Ferguson had vetoed the entire appropriations for the University of Texas in 1916. The framers considered impeachment an important check on the power of the presidency and against corruption. In 1917, Gov. And she won. During Ferguson's first term, the legislature passed several measures of major importance. A reiteration and compilation of documents created in the House impeachment proceedings. He was re-elected in 1916. 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. She even used the word Christian in the law, implying that Christian forgiveness was appropriate here. After an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1920, Ferguson ran the gubernatorial campaign of his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson, in 1924. Jordan wa, Houston, Sam Gov. The 1920 presidential election was won by Republican candidate Warren Harding. Ferguson made bond of $13,000 and announced his candidacy for a third term as governor. But it is Hall not his political patron, Perry who would be targeted for possible impeachment. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. The Senate, sitting as a High Court of Impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and finally convicted the governor on ten of them. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment. With charges growing against Ferguson, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted to impeach. 'S office in April 2013 with the full list a loan to his of... From Encyclopedia.com: https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment, civilization begins and ends with the transfer of the was! Not apply to him a reiteration and compilation of documents created in the dialects of rural Texas message! 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