James E. Ferguson
Encyclopedia
James Edward "Pa" Ferguson, Jr. (August 31, 1871 - September 21, 1944), was a Democratic
politician
from the state
of Texas
.
in south Bell County
, Texas. He entered Salado College
at age twelve but was eventually expelled for disobedience. At the age of sixteen, he left home and drifted through the states of the American West, having been employed in a vineyard
, a mine, a barbed wire
factory, and a grain ranch. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County was admitted to the bar. On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. "Ma" Wallace
at the Wallace family home. In 1903, he became the city attorney in Belton and established Farmers State Bank. In 1906, he sold Farmers bank and established Temple State Bank. He also managed several local political campaigns.
running as an anti-prohibition
ist Democrat
. He served in this position from January 19, 1915 to August 25, 1917.
After being re-elected in 1916, Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the University of Texas
. The veto was retaliation against the university because of its refusal to dismiss certain faculty members whom Ferguson found objectionable. This move spurred the drive to impeach
Ferguson. A leading Ferguson critic on the UT campus was historian
Eugene C. Barker
. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. The Texas House of Representatives
prepared 21 charges against Ferguson and the Senate convicted him on 9 of those charges. The Senate removed him from the office of Governor and declared him ineligible to hold office under Texas jurisdiction. Despite this ruling, Ferguson ran for governor in 1918, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by William P. Hobby
of Houston
, previously the lieutenant governor
.
in the 1920 election as the candidate of the American Party. Ferguson was on the ballot in only Texas, where he received 47,968 votes (9.86 percent of the vote in Texas, 0.18 percent of the vote nationwide). The 1920 presidential election
was won by Republican
candidate Warren Harding although Democratic
nominee James M. Cox
won in Texas.
Ferguson was also surpassed by three other unsuccessful candidates:
in 1922, having lost in the Democratic runoff election to Earle B. Mayfield. In 1924, Ferguson entered his wife Miriam in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. She won, and with Nellie Tayloe Ross
of Wyoming
, became one of the first two women elected governors in the United States, both having followed husbands who had served earlier. Miriam Ferguson served two nonconsecutive two year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 - January 17, 1927, and January 17, 1933 - January 15, 1935.
In 1935, the Fergusons lost their ranch
in Bell County because of financial troubles. Nine years later Ferguson died of a stroke
. He is interred next to his wife at the Texas State Cemetery
in Austin.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Early life
Ferguson was born to the Reverend James Ferguson, Sr., and Fannie Ferguson near SaladoSalado, Texas
Salado is a village in Bell County, Texas, United States. Salado was first incorporated in 1867 for the sole purpose of building a bridge across the Salado Creek...
in south Bell County
Bell County, Texas
Bell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Bell County was founded in 1850. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2000, the county's population was 237,974; in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that its population had reached...
, Texas. He entered Salado College
Salado College
Salado College was a college in Salado, Texas, United States that operated from 1860 until 1885.Salado College began on October 8, 1859 at a tent meeting at Salado Springs of prominent men from throughout Bell County with a desire to create a high class school in the county. They organized the...
at age twelve but was eventually expelled for disobedience. At the age of sixteen, he left home and drifted through the states of the American West, having been employed in a vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
, a mine, a barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
factory, and a grain ranch. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County was admitted to the bar. On December 31, 1899, he married Miriam A. "Ma" Wallace
Miriam A. Ferguson
Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson was the first female Governor of Texas in 1925. She held office until 1927, later winning another term in 1933 and serving until 1935.-Early life:...
at the Wallace family home. In 1903, he became the city attorney in Belton and established Farmers State Bank. In 1906, he sold Farmers bank and established Temple State Bank. He also managed several local political campaigns.
Governor of Texas
In 1914, Ferguson was elected Governor of TexasGovernor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
running as an anti-prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
ist Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He served in this position from January 19, 1915 to August 25, 1917.
After being re-elected in 1916, Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. The veto was retaliation against the university because of its refusal to dismiss certain faculty members whom Ferguson found objectionable. This move spurred the drive to impeach
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
Ferguson. A leading Ferguson critic on the UT campus was historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Eugene C. Barker
Eugene C. Barker
Eugene Campbell Barker was a distinguished professor of Texas history at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the first living person to have a UT campus building, the Eugene C. Barker Texas History Center, named in his honor. The structure is part of the Center for American History and was...
. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. The Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
prepared 21 charges against Ferguson and the Senate convicted him on 9 of those charges. The Senate removed him from the office of Governor and declared him ineligible to hold office under Texas jurisdiction. Despite this ruling, Ferguson ran for governor in 1918, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by William P. Hobby
William P. Hobby
William Pettus Hobby was the publisher of the Houston Post and the 27th Governor of the U.S. state of Texas from 1917 to 1921....
of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, previously the lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
.
Presidential candidate
Ferguson also ran for President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the 1920 election as the candidate of the American Party. Ferguson was on the ballot in only Texas, where he received 47,968 votes (9.86 percent of the vote in Texas, 0.18 percent of the vote nationwide). The 1920 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1920
The United States presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and a hostile response to certain policies of Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president. The wartime economic boom had collapsed. Politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's...
was won by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate Warren Harding although Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee James M. Cox
James M. Cox
James Middleton Cox was the 46th and 48th Governor of Ohio, U.S. Representative from Ohio and Democratic candidate for President of the United States in the election of 1920....
won in Texas.
Ferguson was also surpassed by three other unsuccessful candidates:
- Eugene Victor Debs of the Socialist Party of AmericaSocialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. - Parley Parker ChristensenParley P. ChristensenParley Parker Christensen was an American politician and nominee of the Farmer-Labor Party for President of the United States in 1920. He was member of the Utah House of Representatives and of the Los Angeles, California, City Council...
of the United States Farmer-Labor PartyFarmer-Labor PartyThe first modern Farmer–Labor Party in the United States emerged in Minnesota in 1918. Economic dislocation caused by American entry into World War I put agricultural prices and workers' wages into imbalance with rapidly escalating retail prices during the war years, and farmers and workers sought...
. - Aaron Sherman WatkinsAaron S. WatkinsAaron S. Watkins , born in Ohio, was president of Asbury College in Kentucky. Before his ordination as a Methodist minister, he practiced law with his brother. He was the grandfather of Prohibition candidate for Vice President of the United States, W...
of the United States Prohibition Party.
Senate bid and First Gentleman of Texas
Ferguson failed at his bid for the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1922, having lost in the Democratic runoff election to Earle B. Mayfield. In 1924, Ferguson entered his wife Miriam in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. She won, and with Nellie Tayloe Ross
Nellie Tayloe Ross
Nellie Tayloe Ross was an American politician, the 14th Governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, and director of the United States Mint from 1933-1953. She was the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. To date, she remains the only woman to have served as governor of Wyoming...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, became one of the first two women elected governors in the United States, both having followed husbands who had served earlier. Miriam Ferguson served two nonconsecutive two year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 - January 17, 1927, and January 17, 1933 - January 15, 1935.
In 1935, the Fergusons lost their ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
in Bell County because of financial troubles. Nine years later Ferguson died of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He is interred next to his wife at the Texas State Cemetery
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War...
in Austin.