Jim Hogg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 20th Governor of Texas | |
| In office January 20, 1891 – January 15, 1895 | |
| Lieutenant | George C. Pendleton Martin McNulty Crane |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Sullivan Ross |
| Succeeded by | Charles Allen Culberson |
| 22nd Attorney General of Texas | |
| In office November 2, 1886 – November 4, 1890 | |
| Governor | Lawrence Sullivan Ross |
| Preceded by | John D. Templeton |
| Succeeded by | Charles Allen Culberson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Stephen Hogg March 24, 1851 Cherokee County, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 1906(1906-03-03) (aged 54) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sarah Ann Stinson |
| Children | 4, includingIma |
| Parent(s) | Joseph L. Hogg Lucanda McMath |
| Profession | Lawyer,newspaperman,public servant |
_(page_116_crop).jpg)
James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851 – March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the20th governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895. He was born nearRusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of theconservativeNew South Creed which became popular following theU.S. Civil War, and was also associated withpopulism. He was the first Texas Governor to have been born in the state.
Hogg is often remembered for naming his daughterIma, an odd name which derived from a poem written by James's brother,Thomas Elisha Hogg. The story that she had a sister or sisters with odd names (proposed names including "Hoosa", "Ura" and "Wera") is anurban legend.
Hogg's time as governor was notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive reforms.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Hogg was born inCherokee County, Texas. His parents,Joseph L. Hogg and Lucanda McMath had moved toTexas in late 1836.[7][8] During theCivil War, his father served as a brigadier general in theConfederate States Army. Joseph Hogg died in 1862, and Lucanda died the following year. Hogg and his two brothers were raised by their sister, Frances. The family had little money, and Hogg received only a basic education before being asked to go to work.[7]
In 1866, Hogg went toTuscaloosa, Alabama, to study.[8] Upon returning to Texas, he became aprinter's devil at theRusk Chronicle. In 1867, Hogg walked fromEast Texas toCleburne, where he found a job with theCleburne Chronicle. Soon after his arrival the building which housed theCleburne Chronicle burned down, and Hogg returned to East Texas. For the next several years he worked as a farmhand and studied law. He later ran theLongview News and founded theQuitman News.[7]
In 1873, Hogg was namedJustice of the Peace atQuitman.[7] The following year he married Sarah Ann Stinson. They had four children,William Clifford (1875),Ima (1882), Michael (1885), and Thomas Elijah (1887). Ima was named for the heroine of the poemThe Fate of Marvin, written by Hogg's older brother Tom in 1873.[9] Althoughlegend states that the Hoggs also had a daughter named Ura, that allegation is false.[9]
In 1876, he was defeated by John S. Griffith for a seat in theTexas legislature.[8] He returned to public service in 1878 when he was electedWood County's attorney, and he went on to serve from 1880 to 1884 as Texas' seventh district's attorney.[7][8]
Hogg was one of the men responsible for making Smith County aDemocratic stronghold during the 1884 national elections, as he helped convince theblack vote for the Democratic party. Although encouraged to run for a seat in theUnited States Congress, Hogg declined and practiced law inTyler.[8]
Hogg was electedstate Attorney General in 1886 with the platform of railroad regulation reform.[7] At that time, the state had the power to regulate the transportation industry, but existing laws were either unenforced or inadequate. Through "various legal maneuvers", Hogg forced the out-of-state corporations operating the railroads to establish operating offices in the state.[10] He also put an end topooling by the railroads and suggested that the legislature propose aconstitutional amendment to create theRailroad Commission of Texas.[10] In 1888 Hogg sued the rail companies for attempting to create a monopoly, among other charges. Hogg won, defeating the powerful rail baronJay Gould and creating for himself a name in Texas politics.
Hogg also endeavored to rein in abuses by other large corporations. He tackled the "wildcat" insurance companies, forcing several of them to leave the state and requiring others to operate within the parameters of the law.[10] Under his guidance, Texas became the second state to pass a workable antitrust law.[10]
With the support of farmers, ranchers, and small merchants, Hogg won the election forGovernor of Texas in 1890. At the same time, voters approved the constitutional amendment allowing for a Railroad Commission by a wide margin.[10] On April 3, 1891, the legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill to create the Railroad Commission. Hogg appointedLafayette L. Foster andWilliam Pinckney McLean as commissioners, withJohn H. Reagan, creator of theInterstate Commerce Act, as chairman.[11] Hogg also named an old friend, Captain Bill McDonald, to succeed Samuel A. McMurry as the captain ofTexas Rangers Company B, Frontier Battalion, a position that he retained until 1907.[12]
Hogg campaigned for a second term in 1892 on five principles: to uphold the state constitution, to support the Railroad Commission, to stop the railroads from issuing wateredstocks, to regulate the issuance of county and municipalbonds, and to regulate alien land ownership.[13] When his opponent for the Democratic nomination, George Clark, realized that Hogg would likely win the nomination, Clark's supporters left the Democratic convention and went to a new location. There they formed a new party, theJeffersonian Democrats, and nominated Clark for governor. Hogg was easily nominated as the Democratic candidate by the remainingdelegates.[13]
TheRepublican Party endorsed Clark, and thePopulist Party nominated lawyer Thomas Lewis Nugent.[14] Hogg won aplurality of the votes to gain a second term as governor, but it was the first time in state history that the winning Democratic candidate did not receive a majority of the votes.[13]
During his second term, Hogg endorsed three constitutional amendments. Voters defeated the proposals to charter state banks and to provide a pension for indigent Confederate veterans, but approved the amendment to allow for public election of the railroad commissioners.[15][16] At his urging, the legislature passed a law allowing the Railroad Commission to fix rates based on fair valuation and to stop many of the practices the railroad companies had used to manipulate stocks. When theSupreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the commission inReagan v. Farmers Loan and Trust in 1894, this law helped them to be fully equipped to fight the power of the railroads.[15]
In April 1893, the legislature passed a law requiring that communities which issued bonds should also have a plan to collect sufficient taxes to pay the interest. Hogg's final campaign promise was fulfilled when the legislature passed the Perpetuities and Corporation Land Law, which required private corporations to sell all land they had held for speculative purposes within 15 years[15] The law was full of loopholes and did not have the effect that Hogg wanted.[16]
In 1894, Texas filed a lawsuit againstJohn D. Rockefeller'sStandard Oil Company and its Texas subsidiary, the Waters-Pierce Oil Company of Missouri. Hogg and his attorney general argued that the companies were engaged in rebates,price fixing, consolidation, and other tactics prohibited by the state's 1889 antitrust act. The investigation resulted in a number of indictments, including one for Rockefeller. Hogg requested that Rockefeller beextradited from New York, but the New York governor refused, as Rockefeller had not fled from Texas. Rockefeller was never tried, but other employees of the company were found guilty.[17]
Hogg championed the causes of individuals[18] and presided over a series of progressive reform measures during his tenure.[19][20] Amongst others, these included a lien law,[21] an act that restricted (as noted by one study) “the amount of indebtedness by bond issues that county and municipal groups could legally undertake,” a law forcing land corporations to sell of their holdings in 15 years, a railroad stock and bond law to cut down on watered stock, and a Railroad Commission.[22] An alien land law was also introduced that guaranteed (as noted by one study) “Texas lands to be safe from ownsership without taxation by foreigners.” Public school systems were also upgraded while towns and cities were kept “from imposing extravagant public debts on the people.”[23]
According to DemocratEdward M House, a Texas politician and top advisor to PresidentWoodrow Wilson, Texas was “the pioneer of successful progressive legislation,” citing Hogg’s tenure as the catalyst:
The great measures which Governor Hogg advocated, like the Railroad Commission, the Stock and Bond law, were largely written into national law later. Texas was the pioneer of successful progressive legislation, and it was all started during Hogg's administrations....I see it stated from time to time that California, Wisconsin, and other States were the first to impress the progressive movement upon the nation. This is not true; Texas was the first in the field, and the others followed.[24]
In aNational Geographic article in 1961,Stanley Walker wrote that Hogg was "remembered as a man of uncommon ability" and was one of Texas' greatest governors.[25]: 172
Hogg's term as governor ended in 1895, the same year his wife died. Although he was not wealthy when he left office, through his connections he became involved in land and oil deals and amassed a large fortune.[9]
He spoke on behalf ofWilliam Jennings Bryan inTammany Hall in 1896 and 1900. Hogg also became interested in the idea of what became thePanama Canal; having done well as an oil investor, Hogg had interest for a shipping route to open between Texas and South America, as well as between Texas and Asia. On April 19, 1900, he gave a speech inWaco, where he said the now legendary words: "Let us have Texas, the Empire State, (be) governed by the people, not Texas, the truckpatch, ruled by corporatelobbyists".
In 1901, Hogg founded the Texas Company, predecessor toTexaco, withJoseph S. Cullinan,John Warne Gates, andArnold Schlaet.[26]
Jim Hogg's popularity extended beyond Texas, particularly in New York. The "Man in the Street" column in the edition of September 6, 1903, ofThe New York Times related the following anecdote regarding him:
Ex-Gov. Hogg of Texas, who has a reputation for liking to play a practical joke every time he gets a chance, says he has been cured of the habit. The last time he was in New York the joke he tried to perpetrate was turned back at him in great style. It happened that he wanted a shoe shine. The bootblack, a small-sizedItalian, began to chatter at him after he had taken his seat in the high chair. Not being in a conversational frame of mind, the portly Governor thought it would be a good plan to feign that he was deaf and dumb. So he responded by signs to everything the bootblack said.
This proceeding naturally caused the desired silence on the part of the Italian, and the Governor was wrapped in his own thoughts, when suddenly a little newsboy ran up and asked him if he wanted a paper. Before he could reply the bootblack turned to the boy and said:
- "You nota talka to him. He deaf."
The newsboy looked him over, says the Governor, and then remarked in a loud voice:
- "Well, say, he's a fat old hog, ain't he?"
The Governor, who weighs 300 pounds or more, relishes telling the story, but he adds feelingly that he kept up his bluff after hearing the brutal comment of the newsboy.
— "Man in the Street",New York Times, 1903
In January 1905, Hogg was injured in a railroad accident while on a business trip. He never completely recovered and died in his sleep on March 3, 1906, at the age of 54. He is buried inOakwood Cemetery inAustin, Texas.[27]
Jim Hogg County southeast ofLaredo is named after him.
In addition James S. Hogg Middle School inNorhill, Houston, of theHouston Independent School District, is named after him.[28]
Hogg asked that apecan tree be planted at his grave instead of a traditional headstone, requesting that the seeds be distributed throughout the state to make Texas a "Land of Trees".[29] His wish was carried out and this brought more attention to pecan trees. In 1919, the Legislature made the pecan tree thestate tree of Texas.
The Texas town ofSan Saba claims to be "The Pecan Capital of the World".[30] Several other American towns and regions host annual events celebrating the pecan harvest.
Jim Hogg County, Texas is named after him.
Astatue of Hogg was sculpted by Italian American sculptorPompeo Coppini. The sculpture was commissioned in 1919 byGeorge W. Littlefield to be included in theLittlefield Fountain on the campus of theUniversity of Texas at Austin.[1]
A statue of Hogg was unveiled and erected inRusk, Texas in October 2025.[31]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Texas 1890,1892 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Texas 1890–1894 | Succeeded by Charles Allen Culberson |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Texas 1891–1895 | Succeeded by |
  | Republic of Texas (1836–45) | |
|---|---|---|
| State of Texas (1846–present) |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
