James E. Ferguson: Difference between revisions

| name = James Ferguson

| image = James E. Ferguson.jpg

| order = 26th [[Governor of Texas]]

| lieutenant = William P. Hobby

| term_start = January 19, 1915

| term_end = August 25, 1917

| predecessor = [[Oscar Branch Colquitt]]

| successor = [[William P. Hobby]]

| office1 = [[First Ladies and Gentlemen of Texas|First Gentleman of Texas]]

| term_label1 = In role

|term_end1 term_start1 = January 1517, 19351933

| predecessor1 = Maud Sterling

| successor1 = JoeJosephine Allred

|death_date birth_date = {{deathbirth date and age|1944|9|21|1871|8|31}}

|death_place birth_place = [[AustinSalado, Texas]], U.S.

|party death_place = [[DemocraticAustin, Party (United States)|DemocraticTexas]], U.S.

'''James Edward Ferguson Jr.''' (August 31, 1871 – September 21, 1944), known as '''Pa Ferguson''', was an American [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[politician]] and the 26th [[Governorgovernor of Texas]], in office from 1915 to 1917. He was indicted and [[Impeachment in the United States|impeached]] during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1918|title=Impeachment of Governor Ferguson|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055400013691/type/journal_article|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=12|issue=1|pages=111–115|doi=10.2307/1946350|jstor=1946350 |issn=0003-0554|last1=Ogg |first1=Frederic A. |s2cid=251097352 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Stewart|first=Frank M.|date=1930|title=Impeachment in Texas|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055400114364/type/journal_article|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=24|issue=3|pages=652–658|doi=10.2307/1946933|jstor=1946933 |s2cid=147274001 |issn=0003-0554|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | publisher = texaspolitics.utexas.edu | title = The Texas Politics Project, Governors of Texas, 12. James E. Ferguson | author = Ralph W. Steen | url = https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/exec/governors/12.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | publisher = cga.ct.gov | date = February 9, 2004 | title = IMPEACHMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS | author = Christopher Reinhart, Associate Attorney, OLR Research Report | url = https://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/rpt/2004-R-0184.htm}}</ref>

Unable to run under his own name, Ferguson ran his wife's campaign for Governorgovernor; [[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 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.

On December 31, 1899, he married [[Miriam A. Ferguson|Miriam A. Wallace]] at her family home.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffe06 |title=Ferguson, Miriam Amanda Wallace |work= The Handbook of Texas Online| publisher=Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)}}</ref> They had two daughters: Ouida Wallace Ferguson, and Dorrace Watt Ferguson. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in [[Belton, Texas]]. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. In 1906, he sold Farmers bank and established Temple State Bank.<ref name=brochure/>

He also became active in the Democratic Party and managed several local political campaigns. He believed that "a [[African-American|Negro]] has no business whatever taking a part in the political affairs of the Democratic party, the [[White American|white]] man's party." A part of his appeal as a candidate for governor was his support for [[white supremacy]] in the political process.<ref name="Minutaglio">{{cite book |last=Minutaglio |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Minutaglio |date=2021 |title=A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles: A History of Politics and Race in Texas |url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/A_Single_Star_and_Bloody_Knuckles/lYcHEAAAQBAJ?hlid=en&gbpv=1lYcHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |publisher=University of Texas Press |pages=94–95 |isbn=9781477310366}}</ref>

In 1914, Ferguson was [[1914 Texas gubernatorial election|elected as governor of Texas]] by running as an anti-[[prohibition]]ist [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]. When the Democratic Party dominated the Texas political landscape, winning the Democratic primary often sealed the election results. Ferguson was the only "wet" candidate in the Democratic primary and garnered all of the anti-prohibitionist votes over a plurality of "dry" candidates.<ref>Gould (1982), p. 260.</ref>

Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]] regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education.<ref>Gould (1982), pp. 261{{endash}}262.</ref> According to historian [[Dan Utley]], Ferguson planned to use state appointments as part of a [[spoils system]] to reward his political supporters. He tapped Reverend Allan Ferguson Cunningham to serve as State Librarian, despite his lack of training or experience in the field. The incumbent State Librarian was [[Ernest Winkler]], who was a professional historian with years of experience as a librarian. The chair of the State Library and Historical Commission, [[Eugene C. Barker]], heard talk about these plans and intervened in support of Winkler. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. The letter claimed that Winkler was the best person for the job. Meanwhile, Winkler fought for his job by enlisting the help of his colleagues. 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]].<ref>Utley (2013), pp. 75{{endash}}76.</ref>

After being [[1916 Texas gubernatorial election|re-elected in 1916]], Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]]. 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 of Texas|Texas lieutenant governor]] and founder and dean of the University of Texas School of Journalism. He had been an opponent of Ferguson for the Democratic party's nomination for governor in 1914.<ref name="Texas Legislative Commission">[http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/pubshist/PresidingOfficers.pdf Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature 1846–2006], Texas Legislative Council. p. 61. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820002745/http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/pubshist/PresidingOfficers.pdf|date=August 20, 2010}}</ref>

The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the ''[[Brownwood Bulletin]]'', to spread negative information about Ferguson.<ref name="Texas Legislative Commission"/> Another leading Ferguson critic on the UT campus was the [[historian]] [[Eugene C. Barker]].

The [[Texas Senate]], many of whom had served under [[William Harding Mayes]] and with whom Mayes maintained cordial relationships,<ref>[http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/scanned/LtGovDocs/MayesGift1913-04-01.pdf Texas State Senate Journal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195646/http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/scanned/LtGovDocs/MayesGift1913-04-01.pdf |date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref> removed Ferguson as governor and declared him ineligible to hold office under Texas jurisdiction. Together with Attorney General [[Ken Paxton]], who on the other hand was acquitted by the Texas Senate in September 2023, Ferguson is one of only three statewide officeholders in Texas history to have been impeached, and the only statewide officeholder to be convicted and removed from office.<ref name=nyt_5-27>{{cite news |first1=J. David |last1=Goodman |first2=James |last2=Dobbins |first3=Nicholas |last3=Bogel-Burroughs |title=Ken Paxton Is Temporarily Suspended After Texas House Vote |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/27/us/politics/ken-paxton-texas-attorney-general-impeached.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&module=&state=default&region=footer&context=breakout_link_back_to_briefing |url-access=limited |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |date=May 27, 2023 |access-date=May 28, 2023}}</ref><ref>https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mcgaughey-william-l</ref>

ButDespite this, Ferguson ran for governor in the [[1918 Texas gubernatorial election|1918 Democratic primary.]], Hebut was defeated in the Democratic primary by his successor and incumbent, [[William P. Hobby]] of [[Houston]], previously the [[Lieutenant Governor of Texas|lieutenant governor]].

Ferguson also ran for [[President of the United States]] in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1920|1920 election]] as the candidate of the [[American Party (Texas)|American Party]]. Ferguson was on the ballot only in Texas, where he received 47,968 votes (9.9 percent of the vote in Texas, 0.2 percent of the vote nationwide). Ferguson's platform included opposition to the League of Nations, opposition to a [[Prohibition in the United States|national prohibition of alcohol]], and a full pardon to [[Eugene V. Debs]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Texas Ex-Governor Candidate of New American Party|newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch|location=Richmond, Virginia|date=April 22, 1920|via=Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress|access-date=November 11, 2023|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045389/1920-04-22/ed-1/seq-1/}}</ref> Ferguson sought the support of [[Warren Harding]] and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] to convince its voters to vote for the American Party ticket and unite the anti-Democratic vote in Texas.<ref name="Brown 1984">{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Norman D.|title=Hood, Bonnet, and Little Brown Jug: Texas Politics, 1921-1928|year=1984|publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]]|location=[[College Station, Texas]]|pages=98–99|url=https://archive.org/details/hoodbonnetlittle0000brow/page/336/mode/2up|url-access=registration|access-date=November 9, 2023}}</ref> The [[1920 United States presidential election|1920 presidential election]] was won by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] candidate [[Warren Harding]]. [[DemocraticThe Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee [[James M. Cox]] won [[1920 United States presidential election in Texas|in Texas]], where the whiteWhite majority was votingvoted solidly Democratic. Nationally, Ferguson was also surpassed by three other unsuccessful candidates:

* [[Parley P. Christensen|Parley Parker Christensen]] of the United States [[Farmer-LaborFarmer–Labor Party]].

[[File:Ferguson monument, TX State Cemetery IMG 2185.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Monument to the Governorsgovernors Ferguson at the [[Texas State Cemetery]] in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]]]]

* {{cite book | title=American Demagogues: Twentieth Century| chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americandemagogu0000luth| chapter-url-access=registration| publisher=Beacon Press | author=Luthin, Reinhard H. | author-link=Reinhard H. Luthin | year=1954 | chapter= Ch. 7: Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson: 'Pa' & 'Ma' Ferguson:of the Lone Star State Texas|pages=153–181|oclc=1098334|asin=B0007DN37C|lccn=54-8426}}

[[Category:First Ladiesladies and Gentlemengentlemen of Texas]]