There were many – still are – but my number one candidate for Strong Woman would have to be Miriam “Ma” Ferguson.
When her husband Governor Jim Ferguson was impeached, his bank failed and they were penniless. Miriam held things together with butter and egg money.
In 1924 Jim tried to run again but the counts barred him. So Miriam entered the race as “Ma” Ferguson and was elected governor, defeating Republican George Butte. She was Texas’ first woman governor and nearly the first woman governor in the US – Nellie Ross of Wyoming was inaugurated 2 weeks before Ma was.
Her first term didn’t go well – she issued many pardons and was accused of taking bribes. She was elected again in 1932, nosing out Governor Ross Sterling who was blamed for the depression (sound familiar?).
Ma Ferguson fought the KKK and opposed prohibition. She continued to issue pardons, acceptable because she was reducing State expenses. Likely she did not say, “If English was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for the children of Texas.”
Ma hated the Texas Rangers. When she deposed Governor Sterling, most Rangers resigned in protest. Two who did not – Tom Hickman and Manual Gonzuallas – had the onerous task of escorting her to her inauguration. She promptly fired them, along with all remaining Rangers. She then appointed her own Rangers.
Subsequently, under the next Governor (James Allred), the Department of Public Safety was created and the Texas Rangers safely ensconced there. Walter Prescott Webb, in his classic history The Texas Rangers, thought that the move effectively abolished the Rangers.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Can we thank “Ma” Ferguson for de-politicizing the Rangers?
Dac Crossley
1/13/2011
“Maybe the Old West wasn’t so uncivilized after all. A Colt six-shooter required great skill to us; a 9 mm Glock with a 33-round clip allows a deranged weakling to become an efficient killer. ” – Jim Barnes, Awards Director, Independent Publisher.