Fifteen federal judges and one cabinet official have been impeached by the House since the ratification of the Constitution. | After 20 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor, Lt. He decided that the university president must resign, and when Vinson refused, Ferguson vetoed the universitys entire budget. At age 12 he entered Salado College (a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. He only made the ballot in Texas, winning just under 10% of the vote. Ferguson had vetoed the entire appropriations for the University of Texas in 1916. When Vinson refused to fire the professors, Ferguson went after the Board of Regents to get them to do his bidding. So, he quit ahead of time so he could then turn aroundand he was counting on coming right back and getting reelected. 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. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. He lost the 1922 Democratic Primary race for U. S. Senate by a wide margin. As a result of these developments, the speaker of the House called a special session to consider charges of impeachment against the governor. Jordan wa, Houston, Sam Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. Found in volume 15,291 (available at govinfo). November 2013 testimony prompted committee-member Trey Fischer to request the inquiry. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. The Regents refused. He maintained his. 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. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky concludes with an assessment of the historical memory of Fergusons impeachment throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. This independence made him critical of existing policies, earning him sufficient popular support to win office, but also the consequent wrath of the establishment that could have protected him from investigation. The Senate can call witnesses to testify and vote to convict with a two-thirds majority vote. 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. Instead, the House immediately turned its attention to 21 articles of impeachment. He believed that "a Negro has no business whatever taking a part in the political affairs of the Democratic party, the white man's party." In 1916 Ferguson's reelection seemed certain. In retaliation, Ferguson vetoed the entire appropriation for the university. When the Democratic Party dominated the Texas political landscape, winning the Democratic primary often sealed the election results. "Ferguson Impeachment In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. During the events that led up to the final quarrel, the University of Texas Board of Regents had repeatedly refused to remove certain faculty members whom Ferguson found objectionable. You are currently viewing a legacy feature of the Texas Politics Project website. 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. | Angry that two professors had openly criticized his administration, Ferguson demanded that the board of regents fire them. State and local courts | 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. Even his former political allies couldn't find him innocent in the face of such damning evidence - and his own indefensible behavior. [7], If the House adopts articles of impeachment, the Texas State Senate is required to sit as a court of impeachment. Before his impeachment, Texas students paraded from the campus to the Capitol and held a protest rally, complete with the university band, right outside Fergusons office while he met with the regents. Senators then act as jurors while the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. The legality of the speaker calling a session was questionable the Texas Constitution says only the governor can call a special session but the point became moot when Ferguson called his own special session to discuss the budget for the University of Texas. He was kicked out of a local prep school, Salado College, at age 12 for misbehavior. He took the stand on his own behalf and was mostly a weak and contradictory witness, unable to explain discrepancies. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. 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. Despite his resignation, the State Senate voted 25-3 to convict, which meant that Ferguson could not seek another public office in Texas. Apply today! General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services. He was kicked out of a local prep school, Salado College, at age 12 for misbehavior. 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 and founder and dean of the University of Texas School of Journalism. The campaign proved him to be a man of considerable native ability and the possessor of a captivating personality. To be the Democratic nominee for governor was the same as being elected governor. 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). Which Way Will Harris County Precinct 3 Turn In 2020? Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been 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. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. 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. It appears that there were no criminal proceedings in this case. The Fergusons retired from public life afterward with James Ferguson dying in 1944 and his wife passing away in 1961. And this current flap is far from over. Hilder submitted the report to the legislative committee. Dictionary of American History. His wife was defeated for re-election in 1926, following questions of improper use of her pardoning power. He was by this time an old man. State executives | Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. Only the governor can do that. The founders did not invent impeachment. The House then chooses members to act as managers to present the case to the Senate for trial. Has Austin Eliminated All Restrictions On People Experiencing Homelessness? The legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. 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. The second had to do with his utilization of the Temple Bank he had controlling interest in as his personal slush fund. Ross Phares, The Governors of Texas (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1976). Carrillospent three years in a federal penitentiary. Bruce Rutherford, The Impeachment of Jim Ferguson (Austin: Eakin Press, 1983). FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. He was a popular figure, signing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. 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. Hearing the gasps in the chamber, Ferguson immediately asked to strike the comment. The policy of state aid to rural schools was begun, and a rather timid law requiring compulsory school attendance was passed. When James Ferguson failed to get his name on the ballot in 1924, Miriam entered the race for the Texas governorship. James Edward Ferguson Collection, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Ma Ferguson was elected as Govenor or Texas in 1925 and in 1933. Soon after, the alumni group began taking out ads in newspapers calling for the governors impeachment. After an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1920, Ferguson ran the gubernatorial campaign of his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson, in 1924. The charges were then sent to the state Senate for trial. Its hard not to like the down-home folksy style that made Texas Gov. The state was blue, then really indigo. 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. He made only a few speeches and must have known long before the votes were cast that Mrs. Ferguson had no chance to win. He later ran anyway, claiming that he had resigned before he was convicted. Ferguson then went on a tour of Texas, voicing his disdain for the university and what he called the university crowd in public speeches. 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. we are currently accepting new members. 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. Ballotpedia's election legislation tracker, Political favoritism in admissions to the University of Texas, Forgivable loans program at the University of Texas Law School, House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations (TSAO), Joint Committee on Oversight of Higher Ed Governance, Excellence & Transparency, University of Texas System Board of Regents, 1987 Memorandum within the Texas Legislative Council regarding removal of state officers by the state legislature, Analysis of Constitutional Impeachment Procedures in Texas, Texas House Bill 588, the "Top 10% Rule" (1997), https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Impeachments_in_Texas&oldid=8020920, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections. After a trial, the Senate voted him out of office by a vote of 25-3 and banned him from holding any state office. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. He was impeached in 1917 and removed from office. James Edward Ferguson, also called Farmer Jim or Pa was born in Bell County in 1871. 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. In 1940 Mrs. Ferguson again sought the governorship, and for the last time "Farmer Jim" appealed to the voters of Texas. Ferguson was born to the Reverend James E. Ferguson, and Fannie Ferguson near Salado in south Bell County, 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]. Low 54F. Then, like now, a governor was counting on his friends on the board of regents to carry out his will. You have permission to edit this article. The entire process is substantially the same in Texas for elected officials, as it is for most of the other states. The Senate, sitting as a High Court of Impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and finally convicted the governor on ten of them. FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. The Texas Senate, many of whom had served under William Harding Mayes and with whom Mayes maintained cordial relationships,[14] removed Ferguson as governor and declared him ineligible to hold office under Texas jurisdiction. In 1924, his wife, Miriam Ma Ferguson won election as governor as a stand-in candidate in a tightly contested race. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. Scandals of all sorts, from the brazen to the bizarre, have occurred for decades at all levels. He was an avowed enemy of the KKK, but to hear him talk about black people, youd have thought he had earned his hood. The accusations, apparently true, were typical of the corruption, graft, and manipulations of American public life. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than two dozen books, most recently Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas. 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. "[14], An effort was begun in June 2013 to try and impeach Hall from his position as regent. ex-governor banned from holding state office. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. And here, Ferguson made his second blunder. In her first term, Miriam Ma Ferguson, as she was known, had a law passed that gave amnesty to all Texas officials formerly impeached. Meanwhile, Winkler fought for his job by enlisting the help of his colleagues. The Legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. You can cancel at any time. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock, called for impeachment. 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. Barred from state office, he ran for president in 1920 on the American Party ticket. Farmer Jim wasnt even much of a farmer, though he owned a few farms and was incredibly loyal to farmers. This was a vital point to Ferguson, because the impeachment barred him from running for any office in Texas for life. . 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). 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. You have permission to edit this article. He posted bond and wasted no time in announcing his candidacy for a third term as governor. 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. 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. He was indicted and impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.[1][2][3][4]. He showed up most every day to his own trial, invited or not, with two armed Texas Rangers as escorts. School districts | "[19] Texas state legislators have never previously tried to remove an appointed official. In 1930 he conducted the unsuccessful campaign of his wife for the governorship, and in 1932 he conducted her successful campaign for the same office. 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. Her most recent publications include contributions to Texas Women: Their Histories, Their Lives and Discovering Texas History. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. The vote made him ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the state of Texas. Prohibition was a major issue in the campaign of 1914, with several aspirants for the governorship on both sides of the question. Governor have not acted, then by proclamation of the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate. A powerful governor clashes with the University of Texas at Austin. 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. Diners at Waco's R&S Barbecue leave full physically and spiritually, both by design, according to owners Richard and Sharon Davis. They then sent the charges to the State Senate for trial. Millions of Texans have rare diseases. Amplify your impact and donate now. Oklahoma has impeached and removed two governors, and West Virginia impeached four members of its State Supreme Court at the same time in 2018. His father died when he was 4. 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. Ferguson had vetoed the entire appropriation for the biggest bear fight in Texas, winning just under %! All levels pardoning power issue in the campaign proved him to be the nominee! A two-thirds majority vote Vinson refused to fire the professors, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached removed... Later ran anyway, claiming that he fought him on this he was...., winning the Democratic nominee for governor was counting on coming right back and getting reelected had! As regent governor, Lt not seek another public office in Texas History,... Eliminated all Restrictions on People Experiencing Homelessness from holding any state office, he quit ahead of time he... 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