Texas is known for its colorful political landscape. We’ve included both men and women in our election process, once women got the right to vote.
The words “all men are created equal” led to a literal interpretation that “men” meant only “men”. Silly result, that one. In all fairness, this was not only a Texas issue. Arguments about voting went something like this: “Well, don’t make a Federal case out of it.” Significant clarification ensued, in the form of the 19th Amendment, ratified by Texas in 1919, and women became voters. So, sometimes it pays to make a Federal case out of it.
Ma Ferguson: First Woman Governor of Texas.
Back in the day, Texas had a woman governor, Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, who became governor when her husband, Jim, was impeached, convicted and barred from seeking the governorship again. This was quite an intelligent decision by Ma, because otherwise, the Fergusons would have to vacate the governor’s mansion.
And don’t you hate an unplanned move? For Ma, the governorship was just a nice extra.
There was quite a long pause between Ma, who became governor in 1924, and the next woman governor of Texas, Ann Richards. Richards and her opponent, Clayton Williams, spent a record $50 million on the race. Alas, Claytie had a serious case of boot-in-mouth disease and committed some memorable gaffes, including a joke about rape that likened the crime to bad weather–“if it’s inevitable just relax and enjoy it”–thereby costing him the women’s vote,
(he forgot about the 19th Amendment),
allowing Ann to overcome a 20-point, come-from-behind deficit in the polls. She was elected governor in 1990.
In the interim, the governorship was occupied by men, bless them, of all stripes and abilities. Alcohol and corruption were part of the mix. One governor, W. Lee “Pass the biscuits, Pappy” O’Daniel, was a hillbilly flour salesman. Another, George T. Woods, refused to wear socks. During The Unpleasantness with the Northern Neighbors,
you know, the Civil War,
Pendleton Murrah fled to Mexico before completing his term. Edmund Davis, who narrowly escaped hanging by Confederates, became the first GOP governor of Reconstruction Texas in 1869. He lost his re-election bid in 1873, barricaded himself in his office, and called for backup from the United States president, Ulysses S. Grant. In one of his more sanguine decisions, Grant wisely said no and Davis gave up.
This is where the origin of the phrase, “Some matters are best left to states” came from.
