He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. Gov. Democrat James "Pa" Ferguson Jr. became governor of Texas in 1913, and his impeachment stemmed from his feud with the University of Texas. He liked to say he was no city slicker and no college dude. A government doesnt require educated fools to run properly. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud, eds. Heres where Ferguson made his first greatest legal blunder. Although Ferguson was disqualified from holding public office, he did try to run in the 1924 elections to redeem his reputation. Why was Governor James E. Ferguson impeached and convicted in 1917? Her most recent publications include contributions to Texas Women: Their Histories, Their Lives and Discovering Texas History. He was barred, but managed to have his wife ("Ma Ferguson") elected governor; she was elected for a second term in 1932. Despite the Senate's conviction, Ferguson sought to run for governor again in 1924. the lieutenant governor In the United States legal tradition, impeachment is comparable to an indictment in a criminal court. Barred from state office, he ran for president in 1920 on the American Party ticket. [9] According to historian Dan Utley, Ferguson planned to use state appointments as part of a spoils system to reward his political supporters. 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. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. Ma placed a distant fifth. When Ferguson found that he could not have his way, he vetoed practically the entire appropriation for the university. In 1917, James E. Ferguson, nicknamed "Pa Ferguson," was impeached and removed from the governorship of Texas. However, the date of retrieval is often important. 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. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. Senators then act as jurors while the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. There were two major elements of the impeachment charges brought against Ferguson in 1917. If the state legislature is not in regular session during the time of impeachment, a special session can be called specifically to handle impeachments. Bruce A. Glasrud is professor emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay, and retired dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Sul Ross State University. 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. 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'. Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed. While there, legislators legally took up another matter, impeachment. In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. This ragtag pair, better known as "Pa . The charges were then sent to the state Senate for trial. 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. Rachel M. Gunter further places the Ferguson impeachment in the context of the suffrage movement. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. 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. Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. 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 legislature passed generous appropriation bills, and the ad valorem tax rate reached the constitutional maximum of thirty-five cents. | An effort was begun in 2013 to investigate the possibility of impeaching University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall. He submitted his resignation the day before he was scheduled to be formally convicted. He was replaced by William P. Hobby after the Texas House of Representatives found him guilty in ten of twenty-one charges. He was a popular figure, signing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. 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. Pat Neff. Ross Phares, The Governors of Texas (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1976). 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. The incumbent State Librarian was Ernest Winkler, who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. 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 1935, the Fergusons lost their ranch in Bell County because of financial troubles during the Great Depression. 23 Feb. 2023 . 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. January 1996 in Austin, Texas), first black southern woman in the United States Congress. Three new normal schools were authorized. "Ma" Ferguson became the second female governor in the United States, with Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming being the first. Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. In 1916 Ferguson's reelection seemed certain. 2] THE IMPEACHMENT OF JAMES E. FERGUSON I85 there, was immediately converted to the legal profession. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. Apply today! The vote made him ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the state of Texas. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. He claimed to be painstakingly honest; he was an embezzler. [5], On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace at her family home. 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 account said Ferguson accused the student protesters of committing treason against him. Oklahoma has impeached and removed two governors, and West Virginia impeached four members of its State Supreme Court at the same time in 2018. Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson (Texas A&M University Press, 2017) Hardcover. 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. He was associated with the Farmers State Bank of Belton for several years and was a member of the Texas Bankers Association. James "Pa" Ferguson was the Governor of Texas from 1915 to 1917, when he was impeached and convicted on several charges. When the House is not in session, there are three ways that the House may be convened for purposes of impeachment. The regents refused. Kay Reed Arnold then follows the Ferguson story into the halls of academia at the University of Texaswhich Ferguson threatened to closesparking a fierce response by faculty, alumni, students, and, especially, the Womens Committee for Good Government. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. ." Only 17 federal officers have been impeached since 1776. In order for an official to be impeached, articles of impeachment must be brought by the Texas House of Representatives. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. Ferguson, a political novice, suffered from the lack of a viable power-base. 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. Ferguson cleverly resigned, claiming then that the Senate couldnt uphold an impeachment for someone who wasnt actually in office. The vote was 25-3. 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 . But it is Hall not his political patron, Perry who would be targeted for possible impeachment. Similarly, the Texas Constitution gives the lower house of the legislature power to impeach judges, the governor and statewide elected officials. In 1924, Ferguson entered his wife Miriam, known as "Ma", in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. 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. Ferguson did some good things. The House sent 21 articles of impeachment to the Senate. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. 2020 Census Making An Invisible Population Visible, Lyceum Poll Finds Bernie Sanders Most Likely Democrat To Beat Trump In Texas, One Texans Journey to Understanding His Identity as a Queer Muslim, In West Texas, Knowing Your Address Can Be The Difference Between Life And Death. As a result it was impossible for the convention to eliminate him and obviously unwise to divide the vote by naming a rival candidate. I dont care who you are.. She served two nonconsecutive two-year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 January 17, 1927. The Senate, acting as a court of impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and convicted the governor of 10 of them. After a trial, the Senate voted him out of office by a vote of 25-3 and banned him from holding any state office. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Ferguson was first elected in 1914, and was reelected in 1916. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. Eliminate him and obviously unwise to divide the vote made him ineligible to hold office! Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, articles of impeachment spent. 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