Texas Politics

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Texas Politics

ProgressivismProgressivism is social reform (change) through the power of government.Reformers wanted the government to improve life and reduce corruption.

This movement included Womens Suffrage (Vote) and the Temperance movement (against alcohol)

James S. HoggElected Governor in 1890, James Hogg was a very popular progressive Texan.

He created the Texas Railroad Commission in 1891. It regulated the railroad and ended price fixing and other unfair practices. It also would regulate the oil industry.

James HoggRailroad TrustGovernor Hogg went after the Texas Traffic Association which was a railroad trust. A Trust is a group of companies that work together to set prices and reduce competition. They could control the market and make sure prices stayed high.

Hogg argued that the trust caused an unfair monopoly in the railroad industry Texas passed an Antitrust law which made the trust illegal.

James S. Hoggs Daughter

Ima HoggProgressive changesWomen received the right to vote in 1920 with the passing of the 19th Amendment

Laws were passed to protect Texas Laborers:A limit of hours was set an employee could work a day (40 hr work week)Child labor outlawed

The Fergusons James Pa Ferguson was elected the governor of Texas in 1914 running against prohibition. Ferguson was a popular governor but was often accused of corruption by political opponents.

Some of his opponents were professors at the University of TexasFerguson wanted them fired, when they were not he vetoed the funding bill for the school.Pa FergusonSeveral days later it was announced that Ferguson had been charged for corruption. The Legislator voted in a court of impeachment and by the vote of 25 to 3 convicted Ferguson and prevented him from holding public office in Texas again.

If we cant have Pa, why not ma?James Ferguson being banned from office wasnt going to stop him. James wife, Miriam "Ma" Ferguson ran and won the governors office in 1925.During the campaign she said she would follow the advice of her husband and that Texas would get "two governors for the price of one."

Miriam "Ma" FergusonMa Ferguson, who was Texas first female governor, was accused of corruption like her husband . She lost reelection because of scandals concerning excessive pardons and political bribery. She was re-elected in 1932 but once again lost her reelection bid

"MA" FERGUSONMany of the corruption accusations had to do with pardons like this one, for Texas prisoners"Pappy" O'Daniel Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel made a fortune in the flour industry. Daniels started a band to promote his company called the Light Crust Doughboys

Daniels ran for governor in 1938 and won by using the radio and his new band Pat O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys

In 1941, O'Daniel ran for the United States Senate. He defeated Lyndon Johnson by 1,306 votes in one of the more controversial elections in state history

Lyndon B. Johnson Born in 1908, Johnson is one of the most famous Texas politicians of all time.First serving in the U.S. house from 1937-1949 before joining the Senate from 1949-1961.During his time in the Senate he served as the Democratic leader starting in 1953.

Johnson in his helicopterIn 1961 he was elected Vice President with John F. Kennedy and assumed the president when Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963 in Dallas.

Johnson being sworn in as president after the assassination on Air Force One at Love Field Airport in DallasJohnson started his Presidency with some of the biggest reforms in history, including the Civil Rights Act. But the War in Vietnam he inherited grew out of control and he became unpopular.

The Changing Democratic PartyOver the course of the early 1900s, many Texans didnt like the big government that the Progressive Era created.They especially didnt like Democrat Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, a large government program designed to defeat the Great Depression in the 1930s

Franklin RooseveltA group of Texas Democrats that called themselves the Texas Regulars opposed the re-election of Roosevelt in 1944. (He won anyway)

These conservative Democrats eventually started calling themselves Dixiecrats.They were determined to protect the Southern way of life.

Rise of the Republican Party in TexasIn 1979, Republican Bill Clements became the first Republican Governor since Reconstruction. The Republican Party had become more conservative and many Texans felt the Democrats had become too liberal. In addition from the 1980s onward the Republican Party was backed by Christian Conservatives.

Bill ClementsFamous Republican Texas PoliticiansGeorge H.W. BushServed in the U.S. House from TX41st President of the U.S.

George W. BushGovernor of Texas (1995-2000)43rd President of the U.S.

Kay Bailey HutchinsonU.S. Senator since 1993