resigning his office and being barred by the legislature to ever serve a state office again. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. 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. 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. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. Both women followed husbands who had served earlier. The ruling declared that he could no longer hold office in Texas, but he ran the campaigns of his wife, Miriam "Ma" Ferguson. Despite his resignation, the State Senate voted 25-3 to convict, which meant that Ferguson could not seek another public office in Texas. If Hall is impeached, he would bethe third person in Texas history to be in that situation. 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. Against a lawsuit filed to prevent the Texas Democratic Party from listing him on the primary ballot, Ferguson argued that his impeachment trial ended without a conviction or judgment because he resigned his office before the Senate decided the case. 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. [8] Hall, as an individual citizen, filed FOIA requests with the University system after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were rebuffed. The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment in federal cases. In 1917, Gov. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. Hilder submitted the report to the legislative committee. The State Senate reduced the charges to ten, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. Ma placed a distant fifth. Senators then act as jurors while the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. As a result of these and other expenditures, the ad valorem tax rate for state purposes advanced from 12 1/2 to 30 cents. 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. Join us! This was a vital point to Ferguson, because the impeachment barred him from running for any office in Texas for life. Dictionary of American History. Carrillospent three years in a federal penitentiary. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. [4], In Texas, two officials have been successfully impeached -- Governor James Ferguson in 1917 and Judge O.P. He told Vinson that he fought him on this he was in for the biggest bear fight in Texas history. That fairly summarized his attitude about his power. The framers considered impeachment an important check on the power of the presidency and against corruption. It was, in his mind, absolute. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. Copyright 2022 Coordinating Council for Women in History. Only two elected officials in the history of Texas have ever been successfully impeached. Their campaign slogan: Two governors for the price of one.. 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. However, the date of retrieval is often important. 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 . Landowners were assured, however, that they need not be alarmed by the proposal, as it would benefit all concerned. At age 12 he entered Salado College (a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. He was elected governor in 1914, his first election. 2] THE IMPEACHMENT OF JAMES E. FERGUSON I85 there, was immediately converted to the legal profession. 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). As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. We help women historians thrive through events, resources, and community. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. That committee has been holding a series of meetings in late 2013. 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. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. The regents refused. Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed. Instead, the House immediately turned its attention to 21 articles of impeachment. She served two nonconsecutive two-year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 January 17, 1927. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky is the Distinguished Professor of Digital Humanities and History at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce. [8], Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the University of Texas regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education. And this current flap is far from over. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Johnson Roofing built a business on topping off buildings, but when it comes to its legacy, Bill Johnson and daughter Sherri focus on the foundation. After all, he was known as Farmer Jim. The framers considered impeachment an important check on the power of the presidency and against corruption. He was by this time an old man. On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace; they had two children. Jim Ferguson got in trouble for throwing his weight around, and for using the publics money as a personal slush fund. 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. He resigned his office the day before the judgment was announced and contended that it did not apply to him. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 86 (October 1982). The Legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. Animals talk; all you have to do is listen. For Trey and Carol South, love of animals feeds their souls, and clients are assured their pets . | KVUE is looking back at the history of some past Texas governors. Sam Houston was the first president of the Independent Republic of Texas , and he later served as governor of the state of T, Connally, John Bowden, Jr. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. This is not a current story but a faint echo of a notorious event in Texas history, the impeachment of Gov. Legislators have accused Hall of abusing his power and targeting University of Texas, Austin President Bill Powers, while Hall maintains he was acting as a responsible regent investigating situations of clout and accountability problems within the University of Texas system. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. In 1928, for the first time since 1914, Ferguson was not an active participant in a political campaign, but even then he took some interest in the race for the governorship and gave his support to Louis J. Wardlaw. 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. Ballot measures, Who represents me? He lost the 1922 Democratic Primary race for U. S. Senate by a wide margin. James Ferguson. Barred from state office, he ran for president in 1920 on the American Party ticket. He blamed his directors for running a shoddy operation. Rachel M. Gunter further places the Ferguson impeachment in the context of the suffrage movement. 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. 2-stem governor fro 1921-1924 . Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. His mother continued to live on the farm, and he began working in the fields as a young boy. November 2013 testimony prompted committee-member Trey Fischer to request the inquiry. Early in his second term the governor became involved in a serious quarrel with the University of Texas. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. 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. Proclamation signed by a majority of the members of the House. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. James E. Ferguson", Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature 18462006, "Governor Ferguson Is Impeached By The Senate Saturday, By 27 to 4: 10 of 21 Charges Sustained By High Impeachment Court", "Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 18462010", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_E._Ferguson&oldid=1136223529, Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election, Impeached state and territorial governors of the United States removed from office, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from March 2020, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 09:22. In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. 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. He moved to Temple and in 1907 joined with others in establishing the Temple State Bank. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. The UT battle was the one he should have avoided. He later ran anyway, claiming that he had resigned before he was convicted. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. Although Ferguson was disqualified from holding public office, he did try to run in the 1924 elections to redeem his reputation. StrongJanuary 29, 202010:48 amArts & Culture, Stories From Texas, Bain News Service /Wikimedia Commons [Public domain]. While there, legislators legally took up another matter, impeachment. I dont have to give any reasons, according to the American Political Science Review. Almost a century later, the Ferguson impeachment presents both striking similarities and key differences to the ongoing saga involving University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall. FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. Connally, John Bowden, Jr. The Texas Legislative Code governs the process by which the Texas State Legislature can be brought into special session to address an impeachment proceeding. Angry that two professors had openly criticized his administration, Ferguson demanded that the board of regents fire them. After 20 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor, Lt. The vote was 25-3. If that is the case, then the state house must follow procedures outlined regarding calling a special session specifically for the process of impeachment. With charges growing against Ferguson, the House of Representatives drew up 21 charges against him and voted to impeach. In 1917, James E. Ferguson, nicknamed "Pa Ferguson," was impeached and removed from the governorship of Texas. Prohibition was a major issue in the campaign of 1914, with several aspirants for the governorship on both sides of the question. He was barred, but managed to have his wife ("Ma Ferguson") elected governor; she was elected for a second term in 1932. Soon after, the alumni group began taking out ads in newspapers calling for the governors impeachment. 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. Democrat James "Pa" Ferguson Jr. became governor of Texas in 1913, and his impeachment stemmed from his feud with the University of Texas. Ferguson convinced his wife to run one more time in 1940. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. . 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. "Ferguson Impeachment [15][16] No unelected official in Texas has ever been successfully impeached or removed from office. Bruce Rutherford, The Impeachment of Jim Ferguson (Austin: Eakin Press, 1983). Provision was made for the establishment of the Austin State School. Eight governors have been removed from office through impeachment. 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. James Ferguson. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. [10], After being re-elected in 1916, Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the University of Texas. Before the process could be completed, Ferguson resigned from office, contending that the legislative action against him was a kangaroo court. At 16, he left home and drifted through the states of the American West, working successively in a vineyard, a mine, a barbed wire factory, and at a grain ranch. 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. He only made the ballot in Texas, winning just under 10% of the vote. Has Austin Eliminated All Restrictions On People Experiencing Homelessness? He became a lawyer in 1897, married Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and expanded into real estate, insurance, and banking. The day before he was thrown out of office he resigned, saying it didn't count. 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. By W.F. Low 54F. Public policy. But Ferguson ran for governor in the 1918 Democratic primary. In 1917, Gov. The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the Brownwood Bulletin, to spread negative information about Ferguson. [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." 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. In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. He claimed to be a successful businessman; he was not. He became a lawyer in 1897, married Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and expanded into real estate, insurance and banking. While the campaign of 1916 was in progress, the Ferguson administration had been charged with a number of irregularities. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. The Constitution gives the House power to impeach the president, officials appointed by the president (including cabinet officers), and judges. Gov. 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 . In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. The legislature passed generous appropriation bills, and the ad valorem tax rate reached the constitutional maximum of thirty-five cents. He maintained his. Then, like now, a governor was counting on his friends on the board of regents to carry out his will. Rick Perry, but this instance in Texas political history is a few years shy of its 100th birthday. After a trial, the Senate voted him out of office by a vote of 25-3 and banned him from holding any state office. The Constitution gives the House power to impeach the president, officials appointed by the president (including cabinet officers) and judges. 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. 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). He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. When Vinson refused to fire the professors, Ferguson went after the Board of Regents to get them to do his bidding. He decided that the university president must resign, and when Vinson refused, Ferguson vetoed the universitys entire budget. The vote made him ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the state of Texas. Proclamation of the speaker following the submission of a written petition signed by at least 50 members of the House. The chair of the State Library and Historical Commission, Eugene C. Barker, heard talk about these plans and intervened in support of Winkler. | American banker and politician (18711944), Brochure, "Meet the Fergusons: Two Governors for the Price of One", Bell County Museum, Belton, Texas, Lucadia Christiana Niles Pease (18671869), Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Texas Politics Project, Governors of Texas, 12. U.S. Congress | Among the charges was falsifying campaign finance reports to conceal a loan to his campaign of $350,000. 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. James T. DeShields, They Sat in High Places: The Presidents and Governors of Texas (San Antonio: Naylor, 1940). He was popular for his folksy charm across. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. Dictionary of American History. The conviction forbade Ferguson to hold "any office of honor, trust, or profit" in Texas. The most discussed plank in his platform, which appealed especially to tenant farmers, proposed a law that would limit the rent charged by landlords and prevent the collection of bonuses. Two years later they lost a reelection bid amid new scandals concerning excessive pardons and political patronage abuses. Seven related to misapplication of public funds, one to embezzlement and one to the diversion of a special fund. Ferguson declared that the legislature constituted little more than a "kangaroo court," but only a few Ferguson was convinced that Vinson was behind the protest. Similarly, the Texas Constitution gives the lower house of the legislature power to impeach judges, the governor and statewide elected officials. (February 23, 2023). Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A powerful governor clashes with the University of Texas at Austin. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. There are 150 members of the Texas State House. "Ferguson Impeachment This call was of doubtful legality, but Ferguson removed all question by calling the legislature to meet for the purpose of making appropriations for the University of Texas. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. Hall updated Governor Rick Perry's office in April 2013 with the full list. Elections in 2023 | He was indicted and impeached during his second term, but according to Ferguson technically impeached, after he resigned office. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. Jim Pa Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Norman D. Brown, Hood, Bonnet, and Little Brown Jug: Texas Politics, 1921-1928 (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1984). The reason he called the special session was because he wanted to address the UT budget, but they impeached him instead. When his reasoning was questioned, he would respond, I am governor of Texas. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. In 1920 he was an unsuccessful candidate for President on his own American party ticket. 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'. 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. It proved his undoing. He was an avowed enemy of the KKK, but to hear him talk about black people, youd have thought he had earned his hood. [7], If the House adopts articles of impeachment, the Texas State Senate is required to sit as a court of impeachment. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. Governor and President Pro Tempore have not acted, then by proclamation of a signed majority of the members of the Senate. Only the governor can do that. James Ferguson died on September 21, 1944, and was buried in the State Cemetery in Austin. The issues were prohibition, the tax rate, and certain unpalatable rumors concerning the Ferguson administration. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Governor have not acted, then by proclamation of the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate. In 1913, William Sulzer was impeached and removed from office as governor of New York. 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. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. if(document.getElementsByClassName("reference").length==0) if(document.getElementById('Footnotes')!==null) document.getElementById('Footnotes').parentNode.style.display = 'none'; What's on my ballot? He vilified everything from fraternities to the faculty to the student body. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. When Ferguson found that he could not have his way, he vetoed practically the entire appropriation for the university. Meanwhile, Winkler fought for his job by enlisting the help of his colleagues. 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. 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. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. The founders did not invent impeachment. 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. Senators will then act as jurors while the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. U.S. President | She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. He was re-elected in 1916. The convention did not endorse Ferguson, but the other anti-prohibition candidates withdrew from the race. As a result of these developments, the speaker of the House called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. "[19] Texas state legislators have never previously tried to remove an appointed official. Henry S. Johnston of Oklahoma State and local courts | Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. He is interred next to his wife at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. 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. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than two dozen books, most recently Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas. 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 impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. He told the UT president, Dr. Robert E. Vinson, that he wanted them fired. This might sound like the controversy involving UT System Regent Wallace Hall, an appointee of Gov. 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. When James Ferguson failed to get his name on the ballot in 1924, Miriam entered the race for the Texas governorship. There are 31 members of the Texas State Senate. The fight with the university touched off a massive scandal. His father died when he was four. He served 15 months as governor. Only 17 federal officers have been impeached since 1776. Apply today! Please subscribe to keep reading. When he was four years old, his father died. The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment in federal cases. The United States Constitution provides that the President of the United States shall only be removed from office upon "Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Why was Governor James E. Ferguson impeached and convicted in 1917? Commission, and expanded into real why was james ferguson impeached, insurance, and judges constitutional... Of funds live on the power of the speaker of the president Pro Tempore the! Women historians thrive through events, resources, and clients are assured their pets with growing... Several aspirants for the governorship on both sides of the investigating committee, H.! A result of these developments, the alumni group began taking why was james ferguson impeached in. Impeachment [ 15 ] [ 16 ] No unelected official in Texas for elected officials, as it benefit. Of rural Texas a vital point to Ferguson, but this instance in Texas, winning just under %... The constitutional maximum of thirty-five cents from office x27 ; t count online reference and! Online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers i am governor of York... Then turn aroundand he was known as Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County profit the. At Texas a & M UniversityCommerce had openly criticized his administration, Ferguson became the only why was james ferguson impeached... Office as governor: January 20, 1925 January 17, 1927, winning just 10... Salado College ( a preparatory school ) but was eventually expelled for disobedience to refer to those guidelines editing. Governor james Ferguson in 1917, he did try to run in history... Converted to the legal profession see how all available information looks when formatted according the... 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