ustxtxb_obs_1979_06_08_50_00025-00000_000.pdf

THE ESTABLISHMENT IN TEXAS POLITICS THE PRIMITIVE Y tARS, 1938-1957 GEORGE \\ORRIS GREEN The Establishment in Texas Politics: The Primitive Years, 1938-1957 by George Norris Green Before the 1930s, the governing of Texas was shared among politicians, reform movements, and corporate interest groups. THE ESTABLISHMENT IN TEXAS POLITICS: THE PRIMITIVE YEARS, 1938-1957 is an examination of the formative decades of modern Texas politics which began in the late 1930s when the corporations got a grip on the state that they have yet to relinquish. Beginning with the campaign of W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel, the first governor who served the Establishment, George Norris Green traces the unbroken line of conservative governors and legislatures by which Texans have been ruled ever since. The “mature” Establishment of the 1960s and 1970s seldom engages in the demagoguery common during the primitive period. But Green shows that it is still firmly in control and, despite the state’s great wealth, that it fails to provide the social services needed by its citizens. GEORGE NORRIS GREEN is Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Arlington. His articles have appeared in such journals as Labor History, Florida Historical Quarterly, and the Journal of MexicanAmerican History. ContentsTexas, Our Texas The Rise of Conservatism “Pass the Biscuits, Peppy”: The O’Daniel Era Rebellion Against the New Deal, 1944 Thunder on the Right, 1940s The Martin Dies Story The Coke Stevenson Period “The People’s Path”: The Jester Years Red Scare Politics, 1950s “Oil Folks at Home”: The Shivers Administration The ShiversYarborough -Shootout, 1954 Turning Points, 1956-1957 Whither the Establishment? Published by Greenwood Press, 306 pages, list price $22.50 Observer subscribers may obtain THE ESTABLISHMENT IN TEXAS POLITICS from the Texas Observer Bookstore, 600 W. 7th, Austin 78701, at a 20 percent discount: $18.90 \(sales tax inTHE ESTABLISHMENT IN TEXAS POLITICS should be read by every student of the political process, and its voting tables should be studied by every labor business agent in Texas. While others write of generals and politicians, and quote millionaires and public relations firms, Dr. Green gives us history, not fiction or fantasy. Dr. Green is a pioneer in history. His historical work parallels Maxim Gorki’s maxim that “The basic hero of our books should be labor; that is, man organized by the processes of labor.” Years ago, Dr. Green was a leader in the creation of the Labor Archives at the University of I exas at Ariirigtor 1, LI only historical archives of the workers who built Texas in any university in Texas. Ralph W. Yarborough THE ESTABLISHMENT IN TEXAS POLITICS deals with a period of Texas history which, although colorful and fascinating, has not been adequately covered previously. George Green has researched carefully, interviewed many principal participants in the events he describes, and has made a close study of published and unpublished reference sources. Many colorful chapters of Texas history come alive again in the pages of this book … including the floury campaigns of Pappy O’Daniel, the indignation of the Texas regulars, Shivers-Yarborough contests, and many other deeds and misdeeds. Dave Allred A Public Service Message from the American Income Life Insurance Co.Executive Offices, Waco, TexasBernard Rapoport, Chairman of the Board