why was james ferguson impeached
Despite the Senate's conviction, Ferguson sought to run for governor again in 1924. 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. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com. Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. The vote made him ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the state of Texas. Apply today! (February 23, 2023). She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. After 20 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor, Lt. [9] According to historian Dan Utley, Ferguson planned to use state appointments as part of a spoils system to reward his political supporters. The fight with the university touched off a massive scandal. 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. James Ferguson. That committee has been holding a series of meetings in late 2013. Which Way Will Harris County Precinct 3 Turn In 2020? . Thats how she likes it. 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 can be reached by email: Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. Three others dealt with the veto of university funding as an abuse of power and official oppression. Carrillospent three years in a federal penitentiary. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. The convention did not endorse Ferguson, but the other anti-prohibition candidates withdrew from the race. Winds light and variable.. When Ferguson found that he could not have his way, he vetoed practically the entire appropriation for the university. The Board of Regents hired the firm to review whether Hall may have violated any federal privacy laws in his handling of student information. He submitted his resignation the day before he was scheduled to be formally convicted. He was kicked out of a local prep school, Salado College, at age 12 for misbehavior. 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? 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. System has not protected the privacy rights of students, staff, and patients. Even his former political allies couldn't find him innocent in the face of such damning evidence - and his own indefensible behavior. As historian Cortez Ewing pointed out, Ferguson was the voice of the people, and with his sixth-grade education, he promoted the idea that he had not suffered the damages of higher degrees. Oklahoma has impeached and removed two governors, and West Virginia impeached four members of its State Supreme Court at the same time in 2018. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. We help women historians thrive through events, resources, and community. The Legislature cannot call itself into special session. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. Governor and President Pro Tempore have not acted, then by proclamation of a signed majority of the members of the Senate. James Ferguson was brought down by his lunch.Full story: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/. Throughout his years in banking he took an active interest in county and local politics. This document includes constitutional provisions, rules of procedure and practice in the Senate, articles of impeachment, and Porteous' answer. Despite his resignation, the State Senate voted 25-3 to convict, which meant that Ferguson could not seek another public office in Texas. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. The incumbent State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. [9] According to his accusers, Hall filed requests of more than 800,000 pages, which some Texas administrators called an unnecessary burden. U.S. Congress | The first and only Texas governor to be impeached is Governor James "Pa" Ferguson. Almost a century later, the Ferguson impeachment presents both striking similarities and key differences to. 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. 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. The Legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. Angry that two professors had openly criticized his administration, Ferguson demanded that the board of regents fire them. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. When Vinson refused to fire the professors, Ferguson went after the Board of Regents to get them to do his bidding. Ferguson won the nomination by a majority of about 40,000 votes. [18] He added that the investigation was "extraordinary political theater. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, so he had his wife run in his place. James Edward Ferguson Collection, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 86 (October 1982). The policy of state aid to rural schools was begun, and a rather timid law requiring compulsory school attendance was passed. He liked to say he was no city slicker and no college dude. A government doesnt require educated fools to run properly. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. After an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1920, Ferguson ran the gubernatorial campaign of his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson, in 1924. "[19] Texas state legislators have never previously tried to remove an appointed official. Why was Governor James E. Ferguson impeached and convicted in 1917? 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 anti-prohibitionists attempted to have a similar convention, but Ferguson, whose statements and Bell County record identified him as an anti-prohibitionist, refused to submit his name to it. In 1940 Mrs. Ferguson again sought the governorship, and for the last time "Farmer Jim" appealed to the voters of Texas. we are currently accepting new members. Seven of the charges related to misapplication of public funds, one to embezzlement, and one to the diversion of a special fund. He ended up back in the Governors Mansion for a third time when she became the first woman governor in Texas history. 4. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. However, the judgment to impeachhanded down one day after his resignation-was upheld, preventing him from holding public office in Texas. The House immediately turned its attention to the numerous charges against the governor and, after a lengthy investigation, prepared twenty-one articles of impeachment. Advocates are pushing for legislation to help them. Though he had signed legislation creating three new colleges, he found himself in a feud with professors at the University of Texas. Three others dealt with the veto of university funding as an abuse of power and official oppression. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in Belton, Texas. The Texas House of Representatives prepared 21 charges against Ferguson, and, in his impeachment trial, the Texas Senate convicted him on 10 of those charges, including misapplication of public funds and receiving $156,000 from an unnamed source.[12][13]. You have permission to edit this article. [8], Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the University of Texas regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education. 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. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. But Ferguson ran for governor in the 1918 Democratic primary. Gould, Lewis L. "The University Becomes Politicized: The War with Jim Ferguson." Though he was kicked out of office and disgraced in front of his colleagues, Ferguson was still very popular among his hard-core supporters and rallied back. Low 54F. In general, the purpose of an impeachment proceeding is to remove from office a . Samuel Houston (1793-1863), American statesman and soldier, was the person most responsible for bringing Texas into the Union. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. The Senate, acting as a court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor of 10 of them. 1917: James 'Pa' Ferguson Jr., Texas. 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. Winds light and variable. There were . Ma placed a distant fifth. Though no Texas official has been impeached and removed from office at the state level since Ferguson, Texas politics has hardly been scandal-free. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. 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. Ferguson convinced his wife to run one more time in 1940. Low 54F. by Nicole Shealy Join us! KVUE is looking back at the history of some past Texas governors. After all, he was known as Farmer Jim. He lost the 1922 Democratic Primary race for U.S. Senate by a wide margin. Needed buildings were provided at other eleemosynary institutions. Her most recent publications include contributions to Texas Women: Their Histories, Their Lives and Discovering Texas History. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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