James Edward Ferguson Jr. (August 31, 1871 – September 21, 1944), known as Pa Ferguson, was an American
Democratic politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
and the 26th
Governor of Texas, in office from 1915 to 1917. He was indicted and
impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.
Unable to run under his own name, Ferguson ran his wife's campaign for Governor;
Miriam A. Ferguson
Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson (June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961) was an American politician who served two non-consecutive terms as the governor of Texas: from 1925 to 1927, and from 1933 to 1935. She was the first female governor of Texas, ...
, 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
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the t ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
for her two terms.
Early life
Ferguson was born to the Reverend James E. Ferguson, and Fannie Ferguson near
Salado in south
Bell County, Texas. At age 12 he entered
Salado College
Salado College was a college in Salado, Texas, United States that operated from 1860 until 1885.
History
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 cr ...
(a preparatory school) but was eventually expelled for disobedience. At 16, he left home and drifted through the states of the
American West, working successively in a
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
, a mine, a
barbed wire factory, and at a grain ranch. After he returned to Texas, he studied law in Bell County and was admitted to the bar.
[Brochure, "Meet the Fergusons: Two Governors for the Price of One", Bell County Museum, Belton, Texas]
On December 31, 1899, he married
Miriam A. Wallace at her family home. In 1903, Ferguson was elected as city attorney in
Belton, Texas
Belton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas on the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and Waco. Belton is the county seat of Bell County and is the fifth largest city in the Killeen-Temple metropolitan area. In 2020, the population of Belton ...
. In addition, he established Farmers State Bank. In 1906, he sold Farmers bank and established Temple State Bank.
[
He also became active in the Democratic Party and managed several local political campaigns. He believed that "a ]Negro
In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...
has no business whatever taking a part in the political affairs of the Democratic party, the white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
man's party." A part of his appeal as a candidate for governor was his support for white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
in the political process.
First term as governor
In 1914, Ferguson was elected as governor of Texas by running as an anti-prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
ist Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
. 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.
Prior to his inauguration, Ferguson conferred with officials at the University of Texas regarding appointments affecting learning and higher education. 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
Eugene Campbell Barker (November 1, 1874 – October 22, 1956) was an American historian at the University of Texas, the managing director of the Texas State Historical Association, and the editor of the ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly''. He ...
, 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.
Second term as governor
After being re-elected in 1916, Ferguson vetoed the appropriations for the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. The veto was retaliation against the university because of its refusal to dismiss certain faculty members whom Ferguson found objectionable, including William Harding Mayes
William Harding Mayes (May 20, 1861 – June 26, 1939) was Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Texas (1913–1914), a newspaperman who published the '' Brownwood Bulletin'' and founder of the University of Texas journalism school.
Early l ...
, former 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.[Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature 1846–2006](_blank)
Texas Legislative Council. p. 61.
The accusations against Mayes were that he used his ownership of newspapers, including the '' Brownwood Bulletin'', to spread negative information about Ferguson. Another leading Ferguson critic on the UT campus was the 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 st ...
Eugene C. Barker
Eugene Campbell Barker (November 1, 1874 – October 22, 1956) was an American historian at the University of Texas, the managing director of the Texas State Historical Association, and the editor of the ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly''. He ...
.
Ferguson's attack against Mayes resulted in a drive by the legislature to impeach
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
Ferguson. The chairman of the investigating committee, William H. Bledsoe of Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
, called for impeachment. Ferguson was indicted on nine charges in July 1917. The Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
prepared 21 charges against Ferguson, and, in his impeachment trial
An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...
the Texas Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
convicted him on 10 of those charges, including misapplication of public funds and receiving $156,000 from an unnamed source.
The Texas Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
, many of whom had served under William Harding Mayes
William Harding Mayes (May 20, 1861 – June 26, 1939) was Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Texas (1913–1914), a newspaperman who published the '' Brownwood Bulletin'' and founder of the University of Texas journalism school.
Early l ...
and with whom Mayes maintained cordial relationships,Texas State Senate Journal
removed Ferguson as governor and declared him ineligible to hold office under Texas jurisdiction.
But Ferguson ran for governor in the 1918 Democratic primary. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by his successor and incumbent,
William P. Hobby of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, previously the
lieutenant governor.
Presidential candidate
Ferguson also ran for
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
in the
1920 election as the candidate of the 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). The
1920 presidential election was won by
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate
Warren Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
.
Democratic nominee
James M. Cox
James Middleton Cox (March 31, 1870 July 15, 1957) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th governor of Ohio, and a two-term U.S. Representative from Ohio. As the Democratic nominee for President of the United S ...
won in Texas, where the white majority was voting solidly Democratic.
Ferguson was also surpassed by three other unsuccessful candidates:
*
Eugene Victor Debs
Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate of the Soc ...
of the
Socialist Party of America.
*
Parley Parker Christensen
Parley Parker Christensen (July 19, 1869 – February 10, 1954) was an American attorney and politician who was a Utah state representative, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential nominee during the 1920 ...
of the United States
Farmer-Labor Party.
*
Aaron Sherman Watkins
Aaron Sherman Watkins (November 29, 1863 – February 9, 1941), born in Ohio, was a president of Asbury College in Kentucky. Before his ordination as a Methodist minister, he practiced law with his brother. He was the grandfather of Prohibit ...
of the
United States Prohibition Party.
Senate bid and First Gentleman of Texas
![Ferguson monument, TX State Cemetery IMG 2185](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Ferguson_monument%2C_TX_State_Cemetery_IMG_2185.JPG)
Ferguson failed at his bid for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 1922, having lost in the Democratic
runoff election to
Earle Bradford Mayfield
Earle Bradford Mayfield (April 12, 1881June 23, 1964) was a Texas lawyer who, from 1907 to 1913, was a Texas State Senator. In 1922, he was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat. He was the first U.S. Senator to be widely considered by the vo ...
.
In 1924, Ferguson entered his wife Miriam, known as "Ma", in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. She won that and the general election,
saying that she intended to rely on her husband for advice. 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. The Fergusons beat Robertson and went to the Governor's Mansion for a third time. Two years later they lost a reelection bid amid new scandals concerning excessive pardons and political patronage abuses.
She served two nonconsecutive two-year terms as governor: January 20, 1925 – January 17, 1927. She was reelected in 1932 and served January 17, 1933 – January 15, 1935.
"Ma" Ferguson became the second female governor in the United States, with
Nellie Tayloe Ross of
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
being the first. Both women followed husbands who had served earlier. Nellie Tayloe Ross was sworn in on January 5, 1925; Miriam Ferguson followed on January 20.
In 1935, the Fergusons lost their
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
in Bell County because of financial troubles during the
Great Depression. Nine years later, Ferguson died of a
stroke. He is interred next to his wife at the
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...
in Austin.
See also
*
Conservative Democrat
Notes
References
*
*
*
Further reading
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, James
1871 births
1944 deaths
20th-century American politicians
American bankers
Burials at Texas State Cemetery
Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election
Democratic Party governors of Texas
First Ladies and Gentlemen of Texas
Impeached United States officials removed from office
People from Salado, Texas
Impeached governors removed from office