Skip to main content

The Inauguration of a Texas Governor

By
Next week, when Governor-Elect Greg Abbott is sworn in as the 48th Governor of the State of Texas his inauguration will mark the first time in fifteen years that Texas will have a new chief executive.  In December 2000, Rick Perry assumed the office of governor after George W. Bush’s resignation following his election to the U.S. Presidency.  Since taking office, Governor Perry has presided over eight legislative sessions, vetoed 335 bills, and issued 80 executive orders. 

Thanks to Texas’ colorful history, it also had numerous presidents during the Spanish Texas period (1691-1821), the Mexican Texas period after Mexico gained its independence from Spain (1821-1835), interim leaders during the Texas Revolution, followed by  five presidents serving as leaders of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846). After annexation into the United States, James Pickney Henderson became the first governor of the State of Texas in 1846.


Through the Texas Legislative Reference library, you can explore not the executive materials produced by the Governors of Texas like messages, orders, speeches and proclamations (http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/governors/search.cfm).  Of particular interest this week though, is the Legislative Reference Library’s collection of inaugural materials from 1846 to the most recent in 2011. This inaugural collection includes the text of the inaugural addresses made by each governor since 1846, as well as special materials like programs of inauguration ceremonies and invitations to inaugural festivities.

 Texans who glance through the words of the incoming governors, reading their goals and vision for the state may be surprised. Despite the great changes in all aspects of life in Texas, it is remarkable to see how Texas’ self-image remains unchanged: a steadfast sense of pride, devotion to independence, and fierce ambition for continued progress. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Amazing, but True, Deportation Story of Carlos Marcello

By
Earlier this week, the University of Houston Law Center was fortunate to have as its guest Professor Daniel Kanstroom of Boston College of Law. An expert in immigration law, he is the Director of the International Human Rights Program, and he both founded and directs the Boston College Immigration and Asylum Clinic. Speaking as the guest of the Houston Journal of International Law’s annual Fall Lecture Series, Professor Kanstroom discussed issues raised in his new book, Aftermath: Deportation Law and the New American Diaspora . Professor Michael Olivas introduced Professor Kanstroom to the audience, and mentioned the fascinating tale of Carlos Marcello, which Professor Kanstroom wrote about in his chapter “The Long, Complex, and Futile Deportation Saga of Carlos Marcello,” in Immigration Stories , a collection of narratives about leading immigration law cases. My interest piqued, I read and was amazed by Kanstroom’s description of one of the most interesting figures in American le...
1 comment
Read more

This Day in Legal History -- Roy Cohn

By
Big lawyers have big personalities, and few had as big a personality as Roy Cohn who was born on this day in New York City in 1927. Cohn’s career was spent in the Washington DC—New York axis, famous in the press for his legal and social exploits, his list of famous and infamous clients, and as the poster-boy for every stereotype of the dishonest grasping lawyer. The legal career of Roy Cohn is an object lesson on the use, and abuse, of the lawyer’s power. Roy Cohn was born on February 20, 1927 in New York City. His father was a justice in the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court and was well connected politically. These connections, along with a precocious intelligence which allowed him to graduate from Columbia law school at age 20, paved the way for a bright legal career. Cohn’s first job (after waiting until he turned 21 to be admitted to the bar) was as an assistant U.S. Attorney in New York. He first came to prominence in his role as a prosecutor in the Rosenberg espi...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Bar Exam: Some History & Comparison

By Lauren Schroeder
It's that time of year again...time for two to three days of squeezing out all the material that hopeful lawyers have been pounding into their heads over several months - the bar exam. To mark the occasion, here is a brief history of the exam itself, as well as a taste of what is required to become an attorney elsewhere. Prior to the mid-1800s, there were no written bar exams. Instead, the path to becoming a lawyer led hopefuls through "apprenticeships, self-directed reading, and oral examinations." The next phase made use of a diploma privilege, which remained until the ABA began requiring exams in the 1920s. (A diploma privilege does still exist in Wisconsin, however.) The first state to employ a written version of the bar exam was Massachusetts, in 1855. (See Riebe, A Bar Review for Law Schools: Getting Students on Board to Pass Their Bar Exams , 45 Brandeis L. J. 269 (2007) for quoted material and historical information.) Bar exams consisted only of essays until...
Post a Comment
Read more