In 1920 he was an unsuccessful candidate for President on his own American party ticket. At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. The prohibitionists passed over their better-known leaders and gave their support to Charles H. Morris of Winnsboro, a political unknown. Ferguson did some good things. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. ." 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. 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. U.S. Congress | However, the judgment to impeachhanded down one day after his resignation-was upheld, preventing him from holding public office in Texas. [15][16] No unelected official in Texas has ever been successfully impeached or removed from office. Similarly, the Texas constitution gives the lower house of the legislature power to impeach judges, the governor, and statewide elected officials. He was barred, but managed to have his wife ("Ma Ferguson") elected governor; she was elected for a second term in 1932. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. Ross Phares, The Governors of Texas (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1976). He claimed to be a successful businessman; he was not. 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. But the day before the conviction was certain to come down. Of course, her husband was the only one the amnesty applied to. James Edward Ferguson Collection, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Samuel Houston (1793-1863), American statesman and soldier, was the person most responsible for bringing Texas into the Union. Farmer Jim wasnt even much of a farmer, though he owned a few farms and was incredibly loyal to farmers. [11] Another leading Ferguson critic on the UT campus was the historian Eugene C. Barker. He ended up back in the Governors Mansion for a third time when she became the first woman governor in Texas history. She served two nonconsecutive two-year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 January 17, 1927. Angry that two professors had openly criticized his administration, Ferguson demanded that the Board of Regents fire them. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. Ferguson was also surpassed by three other unsuccessful candidates: Ferguson failed at his bid for the United States Senate in 1922, having lost in the Democratic runoff election to Earle Bradford Mayfield. The account said Ferguson accused the student protesters of committing treason against him. How to vote | He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. 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. Her most recent publications include contributions to Texas Women: Their Histories, Their Lives and Discovering Texas History. Ferguson declared that the legislature constituted little more than a "kangaroo court," but only a few Governor have not acted, then by proclamation of the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. Low 54F. Governor and President Pro Tempore have not acted, then by proclamation of a signed majority of the members of the Senate. Ferguson's attack against Mayes resulted in a drive by the legislature to impeach Ferguson. 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. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. 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 founders did not invent impeachment. Needed buildings were provided at other eleemosynary institutions. The Senate, sitting as a High Court of Impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and finally convicted the governor on ten . Eight federal judges have been convicted in the Senate and removed from office. Ferguson's attack against Mayes resulted in a drive by the legislature to impeach Ferguson. He lost the 1922 Democratic Primary race for U.S. Senate by a wide margin. The Texas Legislative Code governs the process by which the Texas State Legislature can be brought into special session to address an impeachment proceeding. The issues were prohibition, the tax rate, and certain unpalatable rumors concerning the Ferguson administration. "Ferguson Impeachment An effort was begun in 2013 to investigate the possibility of impeaching University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall. Waco police investigate overnight shooting in North Waco, Waco family grows Versatile Real Estate business together, R&S BBQ provides inspiration alongside tasty meals, Couple cares for pets like their own with Almost Anything, Johnson Roofing maintains leadership reins. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. 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. FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. To impeach, the House simply needs a majority vote on the different charges involved. He resigned his office the day before the judgment was announced and contended that it did not apply to him. [8], Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the University of Texas regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education. The framers considered impeachment an important check on the power of the presidency and against corruption. The State Senate reduced the charges to ten, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. ex-governor banned from holding state office. [12], [13] In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. Provision was made for the establishment of the Austin State School. In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. The first had to do with his abuse of power while attempting to micromanage the University of Texas. James Ferguson is the only governor to be impeached and convicted. He was replaced by William P. Hobby after the Texas House of Representatives found him guilty in ten of twenty-one charges. How to run for office | Ferguson convinced his wife to run one more time in 1940. July 2, 20146 AM Central. 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. Ferguson cleverly resigned, claiming then that the Senate couldnt uphold an impeachment for someone who wasnt actually in office. The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment in federal cases. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Impeachment is the process by which the legislative branch has the authority to remove a sitting public official. Ferguson was first elected in 1914, and was reelected in 1916. Both women followed husbands who had served earlier. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky and Bruce A. Glasrud have brought together top scholars to shine a light on this unique chapter in Texas history. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. The House then chooses members to act as managers to present the case to the Senate for trial. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. Three others dealt with the veto of university funding as an abuse of power and official oppression. Gov. Its hard not to like the down-home folksy style that made Texas Gov. Jim Ferguson so enormously popular 100 years ago. The convention did not endorse Ferguson, but the other anti-prohibition candidates withdrew from the race. The Fergusons beat Robertson and went to the Governor's Mansion for a third time. He was by this time an old man. (February 23, 2023). 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. 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. 2] THE IMPEACHMENT OF JAMES E. FERGUSON I85 there, was immediately converted to the legal profession. One final note of incredulity. Jim "Pa" Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. 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 showed up most every day to his own trial, invited or not, with two armed Texas Rangers as escorts. Nine years later, Ferguson died of a stroke. Dictionary of American History. He later ran anyway, claiming that he had resigned before he was convicted. "[3] In general, impeachments are a rare occurrence. He gave a speech in his own defense and blamed the charges on that N-word loving senator from the north, Senator Johnson. Not Lyndon. He loaned himself so much money that he practically bankrupted his own bank. 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. Ferguson was convinced that Vinson was behind the protest. Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. 2-stem governor fro 1921-1924 . In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. James Ferguson. 100% remote. "[14], An effort was begun in June 2013 to try and impeach Hall from his position as regent. Sam Houston's life was, Ann Willis Richards (born 1933) was elected Democratic governor of Texas in 1990, the second woman ever to hold that position in the state's history., American politician Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977) gained fame in the 1920s when she was elected governor of Wyoming, becoming the first woman in the, Barbara Jordan (american Congressional Representative), Jordan, Barbara Charline Gould, Lewis L. "The University Becomes Politicized: The War with Jim Ferguson." Seven of the charges related to misapplication of public funds, one to embezzlement, and one to the diversion of a special fund. 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 he was kicked out of office and disgraced in front of his colleagues, Ferguson was still popular among his hardcore supporters and rallied back. In 1918 he sought the Democratic party nomination for the governorship but was defeated by William P. Hobby. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. There are 31 members of the Texas State Senate. The Ferguson controversy with the university brought renewed interest in the old charges, however, and at about the same time a number of new charges were made. He was impeached in 1917 and removed from office. While there, legislators legally took up another matter, impeachment. . Texas History Minute: Jim Ferguson only Texas governor to be impeached, removed By Ken Bridges Jan 30, 2020 0 1 of 2 Gov. State executives | 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. If the Senate is not in session, there are four ways by which it may be convened.[7]. Though no Texas official has been impeached and removed from office at the state level since Ferguson, Texas politics has hardly been scandal-free. Ferguson also ran for President of the United States in the 1920 election as the candidate of the American Party. The Texas State Legislature adjourned its regular session on May 27, 2013. Only two Texas public officials have been impeached in the state's history. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Elementary school music teacher leaves $6M to Baylor, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Mike Copeland: Steak and Ale comeback; Paper plant progress; Bagby apartments; Gaines Booked Up, Lake on Waco Creek floated for park next to Floyd Casey development, Whizzbang's owner buys Health Camp with eye to preserving burger joint legacy, Waco Charter School to close after summer classes, Sheriff names man found dead of apparent gunshot in Golinda, La Vega, Fairfield girls know the way to San Antone, clinching state trips, Brothers continue dad's clear legacy at Freddy's Glass, Brice Cherry: Collen pushes all the right buttons in her best coaching performance yet, Olympic-winning pole vaulter, pastor Bob Richards dies at 97, The GOAT of tennis families lives in Groesbeck. 1914 campaign literature in which Ferguson fires back against criticisms from his 'dry' opponent, Thomas H. Ball, and others in the prohibition faction. 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 became a lawyer in 1897, married Miriam A. Wallace in 1899, and expanded into real estate, insurance, and banking. Cities | Ferguson convinced his wife to run one more time in 1940. James Ferguson was a banker from Temple who would become governor in 1914 - famous, or infamous, as the only Texas governor to face impeachment. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. The Senate can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote. The Legislature is aghast at the meddling with the flagship state university. Some have said Hall is being targeted for uncovering evidence of political favoritism with respect to admissions processes.[6]. 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