He served 15 months as governor. Impeached. He convened the commission, and the body approved that Barker write a letter to the Governor-elect. In July 1917, he was indicted for misappropriation of funds. In 1917, Gov. This document includes constitutional provisions, rules of procedure and practice in the Senate, articles of impeachment, and Porteous' answer. The colleges were permitted to begin building programs, and the educational appropriation bills were more generous than usual. Tags FERGUSON IMPEACHMENT. "[3] In general, impeachments are a rare occurrence. She would serve one more term as governor from 1933 to 1935. 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. When Vinson refused to fire the professors, Ferguson went after the Board of Regents to get them to do his bidding. [5], He also became active in the Democratic Party and managed several local political campaigns. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund. The conviction forbade Ferguson to hold "any office of honor, trust, or profit" in Texas. [5], On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. Wallace at her family home. But it is Hall not his political patron, Perry who would be targeted for possible impeachment. "[19] Texas state legislators have never previously tried to remove an appointed official. Though as of this writing, three presidents have been impeached, none have ever been removed from office. Instead, the House immediately turned its attention to 21 articles of impeachment. He loaned himself so much money that he practically bankrupted his own bank. 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 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. [15][16] No unelected official in Texas has ever been successfully impeached or removed from office. [8] Hall, as an individual citizen, filed FOIA requests with the University system after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were rebuffed. 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. Only two Texas public officials have been impeached in the state's history. Leah LaGrone Ochoa then explores Fergusons hot-and-cold relationship with the Texas press, and Mark Stanley examines the impact of the impeachment on Texas politics in the decades that followed. The Texas Senate reduced the charges to 10, half of which dealt with the transfer of the $5,600. He decided that the university president must resign, and when Vinson refused, Ferguson vetoed the universitys entire budget. The excitement that greeted the veto was soon overshadowed by the greater excitement that surrounded the impeachment trial. Landowners were assured, however, that they need not be alarmed by the proposal, as it would benefit all concerned. Both elected and non-elected officials can be impeached in Texas. Five concerned the misapplication of public funds, three related to his quarrel with the university, one declared that he had failed properly to respect and enforce the banking laws of the state, and one charged that he had received $156,500 ($2.9 million in todays dollars) from a source he refused to reveal. Ferguson was reelected by a majority of about 60,000 votes, but opposition was sufficient to show that many Texans, including a number who were not prohibitionists, were displeased with his stewardship. He was replaced by William P. Hobby after the Texas House of Representatives found him guilty in ten of twenty-one charges. He showed up most every day to his own trial, invited or not, with two armed Texas Rangers as escorts. That committee has been holding a series of meetings in late 2013. He started his own newspaper that fall, Ferguson Forum, to promote his views that the impeachment was illegitimate. He made only a few speeches and must have known long before the votes were cast that Mrs. Ferguson had no chance to win. The question was eventually carried into the courts, where the judgment of the Court of Impeachment was sustained. He was a popular figure, singing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. The most that the select committee can do would be to recommend to the full state house that articles of impeachment be drafted. The impeachment process begins with the House of Representatives. Almost a century later, the impeachment of Ferguson by the Texas House of Representatives presents both striking similarities and key differences to the ongoing Hall saga. She was reelected in 1932 and served January 17, 1933 January 15, 1935. But Ferguson ran for governor in the 1918 Democratic primary. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. 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. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in Belton, Texas. 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. 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. His wife was defeated for re-election in 1926, following questions of improper use of her pardoning power. And she won. 4. Hall updated Governor Rick Perry's office in April 2013 with the full list. 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. Ma placed a distant fifth. The Texas State Legislature adjourned its regular session on May 27, 2013. The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the Brownwood Bulletin, to spread negative information about Ferguson. 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. 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). Three new normal schools were authorized. Ferguson won the nomination by a majority of about 40,000 votes. It proved his undoing. 1. so that gubernatorial elections will not be influenced by a presidential election 2. so that candidates cannot run for governor and a federal office at the same time 3. so that voters will not become overwhelmed by too many candidates in one year 4. because Texas happened to become part of the US during an off-year Throughout his years in banking he took an active interest in county and local politics. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Jim Pa Ferguson became the first person in Texas to be impeached. (February 23, 2023). As a political speaker he had few equals. Even his former political allies couldnt find him innocent in the face of such damning evidence and his own indefensible behavior. Title 6, Chapter 665 of the Texas Government Code addresses the impeachment and removal of public officers by the state house. 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). Its president is in the crosshairs. He left home at 16, traveling and taking odd jobs until he returned to farm in Bell County. Only 17 federal officers have been impeached since 1776. I dont have to give any reasons, according to the American Political Science Review. He only made the ballot in Texas, winning just under 10% of the vote. Heres where Ferguson made his first greatest legal blunder. James Ferguson. After a trial, the Senate voted him out of office by a vote of 25-3 and banned him from holding any state office. Hall investigated the university's forgivable-loans program and admissions policies and preferential treatment to politically-connected individuals. Dictionary of American History. Although Ferguson was disqualified from holding public office, he did try to run in the 1924 elections to redeem his reputation. Norman Kittrell, Governors Who Have Been and Other Public Men of Texas (Houston: Dealy-Adey-Elgin, 1921). ex-governor banned from holding state office. 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. Barred from state office, he ran for president in 1920 on the American Party ticket. the lieutenant governor At the same time, officials had begun looking into Fergusons finances. Soon after, the alumni group began taking out ads in newspapers calling for the governors impeachment. Nellie Tayloe Ross was sworn in on January 5, 1925; Miriam Ferguson followed on January 20. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment. The Senate, sitting as a High Court of Impeachment, spent three weeks considering the charges and finally convicted the governor on ten . 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. 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'. Despite the Senate's conviction, Ferguson sought to run for governor again in 1924. He had attempted to stack the board of regents with friends who would help fire these professors and staffers, and he had called for the resignation of the universitys president, Robert Vinson. Interns wanted: Get paid to help ensure that every voter has unbiased election information. The prohibitionists passed over their better-known leaders and gave their support to Charles H. Morris of Winnsboro, a political unknown. To impeach, the House simply needs a majority vote on the different charges involved. As a result of his actions, in 1917, Ferguson became the only Texas governor impeached and removed from office. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ferguson-impeachment. In 1917, barely into his second term as governor of Texas, James E. Ferguson was impeached, convicted, and removed from office. 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. Ballot measures, Who represents me? [1] Impeachments in Texas begin in the Texas House of Representatives which must cast a majority vote in favor of impeachment. As a result it was impossible for the convention to eliminate him and obviously unwise to divide the vote by naming a rival candidate. The first and only Texas governor to be impeached is Governor James "Pa" Ferguson. 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. Amplify your impact and donate now. The Legislature then came back into session to consider impeachment, an attempt Ferguson immediately condemned. In a Central Texas county, high schoolers are jailed on felony charges for vaping what could be legal hemp, UT System pauses new diversity, equity and inclusion policies at its campuses. Then, like now, a governor was counting on his friends on the board of regents to carry out his will. Mrs. Ferguson served as the first lady of Texas during the gubernatorial terms of her husband (1915-17), who was impeached during his second administration. The Senate found Ferguson guilty on five charges relating to mishandling of public funds and abuse of power in relation to the university. He maintained his. James Ferguson. In 1917, Gov. In 1940 Mrs. Ferguson again sought the governorship, and for the last time "Farmer Jim" appealed to the voters of Texas. When James Ferguson failed to get his name on the ballot in 1924, Miriam entered the race for the Texas governorship. Eight governors have been removed from office through impeachment. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. He only made the ballot in Texas, winning just under 10% of the vote. They then sent the charges to the State Senate for trial. By W.F. An overview by John R. Lundberg offers a comprehensive survey of the impeachment process. Hearing the gasps in the chamber, Ferguson immediately asked to strike the comment. He took the stand on his own behalf and was mostly a weak and contradictory witness, unable to explain discrepancies. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar. He was a popular figure, signing laws protecting sharecroppers and providing state funding for rural schools. During Ferguson's first term, the legislature passed several measures of major importance. His father died when he was four. In 1935, the Fergusons lost their ranch in Bell County because of financial troubles during the Great Depression. 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 . At age 12 he entered Salado College (a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. This led to a special session being called by the Legislature, to press for Fergusons impeachment. The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment in federal cases. State executives | Ballotpedia features 395,442 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. But the day before the conviction was certain to come down. . The Senate removed Ferguson from office by a vote of 25-3. State legislators created a select committee to launch an investigation into possibly impeaching Wallace Hall, an appointed member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. With strong support from progressive and anti-Prohibition forces, "Farmer Jim" was elected governor of Texas in 1914. Please subscribe to keep reading. 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