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James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 20th governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservativism New South Creed which became popular following the U.S. Civil War, and was also associated with populism. He was the first Texas Governor to have been born in Texas. Jim Hogg County is named after him.
Hogg is often remembered for naming his daughter Ima Hogg, 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 an urban legend.
Hogg's time as governor was notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive reforms. Governors and the Progressive Movement By David R. Berman, 2019, P.123-126 General laws of the State of Texas yr.1892 Speeches and state papers of James Stephen Hogg, ex-governor of Texas : with a sketch of his life The Making of a Modern City By Patricia Evridge Hill, 2010 Texas Politics Project Biography on James S. Hogg Wood County Democrat 31 Oct 1974
In 1866, Hogg went to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to study. Upon returning to Texas, he became a printer's devil at the Rusk Chronicle. In 1867, Hogg walked from East Texas to Cleburne, where he found a job with the Cleburne Chronicle. Soon after his arrival the building which housed the Cleburne 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 the Longview News and founded the Quitman News.
In 1876, he was defeated by John S. Griffith for a seat in the Texas legislature. He returned to public service in 1878 when he was elected Wood County's attorney, and he went on to serve from 1880 to 1884 as Texas' seventh district's attorney.
Hogg was one of the men responsible for making Smith County a Democratic stronghold during the 1884 national elections, as he helped convince the African American vote for the Democratic party. Although encouraged to run for a seat in the United States Congress, Hogg declined and practiced law in Tyler.
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. Under his guidance, Texas became the second state to pass a workable antitrust law.
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 watered , to regulate the issuance of county and municipal bonds, and to regulate alien land ownership.Hendrickson (1995), p. 124. 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, the Jeffersonian Democrats, and nominated Clark for governor. Hogg was easily nominated as the Democratic candidate by the remaining delegates.
The Republican Party endorsed Clark, and the Populist Party nominated lawyer Thomas Lewis Nugent. Hogg won a plurality 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.
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.Hendrickson (1995), p. 125.Hendrickson (1995), p. 126. 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 the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the commission in Reagan v. Farmers Loan and Trust in 1894, this law helped them to be fully equipped to fight the power of the railroads.
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 The law was full of loopholes and did not have the effect that Hogg wanted.
In 1894, Texas filed a lawsuit against John D. Rockefeller's Standard 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 be extradition 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.Hendrickson (1995), p. 127.
Hogg championed the causes of individuals Wood County Democrat 17 Aug 1988 and presided over a series of progressive reform measures during his tenure. Governors and the Progressive Movement By David R. Berman, 2019, P.123-126 General laws of the State of Texas yr.1892 Amongst others, these included a lien law, The Making of a Modern City By Patricia Evridge Hill, 2010 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. Texas Politics Project Biography on James S. Hogg 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.” Wood County Democrat 31 Oct 1974
According to Democrat Edward M House, a Texas politician and top advisor to President Woodrow Wilson, Texas was “the pioneer of successful progressive legislation,” citing Hogg’s tenure as the catalyst:
In a National Geographic article in 1961, Stanley Walker wrote that Hogg was "remembered as a man of uncommon ability" and was one of Texas' greatest governors.
He spoke on behalf of William Jennings Bryan in Tammany Hall in 1896 and 1900. Hogg also became interested in the idea of what became the Panama 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 in Waco, 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 corporate ".
In 1901, Hogg founded the Texas Company, predecessor to Texaco, with Joseph S. Cullinan, John Warne Gates, and Arnold Schlaet.
Jim Hogg's popularity extended beyond Texas, particularly in New York. The "Man in the Street" column in the edition of September 6, 1903, of The New York Times related the following anecdote regarding him:
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 in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas.Hendrickson (1995), p. 131.
Jim Hogg County southeast of Laredo is named after him.
In addition James S. Hogg Middle School in Norhill, Houston, of the Houston Independent School District, is named after him.
The Texas town of San Saba claims to be "The Pecan Capital of the World". Several other American towns and regions host annual events celebrating the pecan harvest.
Public service
In 1873, Hogg was named Justice of the Peace at Quitman. The following year he married Sarah Ann Stinson. They had four children, Will Hogg (1875), Ima Hogg (1882), Michael (1885), and Thomas Elijah (1887). Ima was named for the heroine of the poem The Fate of Marvin, written by Hogg's older brother Tom in 1873.Hendrickson (1995), p. 130. Although urban legend states that the Hoggs also had a daughter named Ura, that allegation is false.
Attorney general
Hogg was elected state Attorney General in 1886 with the platform of railroad regulation reform. 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.Hendrickson (1995), p. 122. He also put an end to Railroad pool and suggested that the legislature propose a constitutional amendment to create the Railroad Commission of Texas. In 1888 Hogg sued the rail companies for attempting to create a monopoly, among other charges. Hogg won, defeating the powerful rail baron Jay Gould and creating for himself a name in Texas politics.
Governor
With the support of farmers, ranchers, and small merchants, Hogg won the election for Governor of Texas in 1890. At the same time, voters approved the constitutional amendment allowing for a Railroad Commission by a wide margin. On April 3, 1891, the legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill to create the Railroad Commission. Hogg appointed Lafayette L. Foster and William Pinckney McLean as commissioners, with John H. Reagan, creator of the Interstate Commerce Act, as chairman.Hendrickson (1995), p. 123. Hogg also named an old friend, Captain Bill McDonald, to succeed Samuel A. McMurry as the captain of Texas Rangers Company B, Frontier Battalion, a position that he retained until 1907.
Later years
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.
(2025). 9780876112366, Texas State Historical Association. ISBN 9780876112366
Burial
Hogg asked that a pecan 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". His wish was carried out and this brought more attention to pecan trees. In 1919, the Legislature made the pecan tree the state tree of Texas.
Removal of statue
In the early morning of August 22, 2017, the University of Texas at Austin removed three Confederate monuments and a statue of Hogg. The university president said the removal was because of the violent protests at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In December 2018, the statue was reinstalled on the east side of the university's Main building.
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Categories: Democratic Party Governors Of Texas, American People Of Scottish Descent, American Businesspeople In The Oil Industry, Businesspeople From Texas, Texas Oil Boom People, 1851 Births, 1906 Deaths, American Political Bosses From Texas, People From Rusk, Texas, People From Brazoria County, Texas, People From Cherokee County, Texas, Texas Attorneys General, Burials At Oakwood Cemetery, 19th-century American Businesspeople, Left-wing Populism In The United States, Railway Accident Deaths In The United States
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