Texas Politics In The Early 20Th Century Essays - Texas, Old Right

Texas Politics In The Early 20Th Century Conservative Texas In the book, The Establishment in Texas Politics, by George Norris Green, Mr. Green describes how, since 1939, fiscal and social conservatives have governed Texas. Anglo-Texas nationalism supported the idea of Texas independence from groups including the federal government as it pertains to laws overseeing business practices. From the traditionalistic-individualistic scheme of Texas politics emerged a philosophy of material self-interest above anything that might be considered fair to other groups within the borders of the state. To make matters worse (or better, depending on your own political persuasion) Texas at that time was a one-party system, and the powers that be relied on a consistently low level of voter participation and the powerful influence of special interest lobby groups. Interest groups sprang forth from the business landscape tilled by capitalist pioneers such as H.L. Hunt, Sid Richardson and Clint Murchison. These independent millionaires were concerned with preserving capital and enhancing shareholder value by reducing the interference by governmental socialists who sought to redistribute wealth though the use of social programs. These men, and many more like them, cared little about government and wanted no intervention in their economic affairs. Their attitudes were consistent with the popular values of the Jeffersonian Democrats of the nineteenth century: The less government the better, local control of what little government there was, and freedom from economic regulation, or laissez-faire. Three men, W. Lee O'Daniel, Coke Stevenson and Beauford Jester came to epitomize Texas conservatives during this period of Texas history. Each man, whether they knew it or not, practiced a type of pseudo laissez-faire that would later be known as Social-Darwinism; the belief that individuals who prosper and rise to the top of the socioeconomic ladder are worthy and deserve their riches, while those who sink to the bottom are unworthy and deserve their poverty. Social-Darwinist argue that people become rich and powerful because they are intelligent, energetic and self-disciplined, whereas those who become or remain poor do so because they are stupid, lazy or otherwise given to embrace certain destructive vices. Socio-economic status, thus, was thought to be a result of natural selection. Further, it was thought that as business flourished so would everyone flourish. As it has been stated, A rising tide lifts all boats. Wilbert Lee (Pappy) O'Daniel was born in Malta, Ohio on March 11 1890. O'Daniel was educated in public schools in Kansas, he later completed a two year curriculum at Salt City Business College in Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1908. Upon graduation he worked his way up as a stenographer, bookkeeper and sales manager of a flour milling company. He organized his own flour concern in 1935 in Fort Worth. He began a series of radio shows featuring the Light Crust Dough Boys. At the urging of his radio fans, O'Daniel ran for the govennorship of Texas in 1938. His entire platform consisted of the Ten Commandments, the virtues of his own Hillbilly Flour, tax cuts for business and the industrialization of Texas. Given O'Daniel's business background, his philosophy was that of no corporate taxes and he was of course, anti-labor. He instead offered up a tax plan, secretly written by manufacturing interest groups that amounted to a multiple sales tax (a regressive tax borne by people least able to pay). He also sought to attack labor unions by writing the O'Daniel Anti-Violence Act but the courts discarded most of the provisions. At this time, O'Daniel began replacing members of the University of Texas Regents in an attempt to limit academic freedom and to eliminate communists who he saw as behind the pro labor movement. One of the more interesting characters in Texas political history would have to be Coke Stevenson. Born in a log cabin in Mason county Texas, Coke started his business career early. As a teenager he hauled freight from Junction to Brady. He worked his way up from rancher, banker, lawyer and legislator. After he won the governorship Stevenson began to demonstrate his fiscal and socially conservative ideology. He had amassed lucrative oil lease income and he opposed any tax levied on it, he also opposed gas rationing Texas during the second World War, the obvious implication here was oil prices would increase with greater