The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974 Page: 341
568 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
President Wilson's Politician
turn of the century. Gregory supported Clark in 1892 and continued there-
after to oppose free silver. Colonel House, though a Hogg man in the early
nineties, avoided a stand but obviously cared little for the silver cause. More-
over, Travis County, which made up the bulk of Burleson's constituency,
was conservative on the money question, giving its vote to the Republican
William McKinley and the gold standard in the election of I896.
The young politician's first campaign for Congress, in 1898, reflected ad-
ditional evidences of agrarian liberalism. He called for a reduction in the
tariff, prison terms for violators of antitrust laws, restriction of immigration,
limitations on the use of injunctions against labor unions, and a constitu-
tional amendment allowing the enactment of an income tax. He denounced
national banks and repeated his plea for free coinage of silver. But he also
emphasized that he would "at all times oppose communism, paternalism
and socialism."'
Victory in the election of I898 opened the way to fourteen years of con-
gressional service. The list of legislation sponsored by Burleson during these
years reveals little except a readiness to seek government assistance for agri-
culture. Preoccupied with rural problems, he introduced bills dealing with
such matters as boll weevils, Johnson grass, cotton, oleomargarine, and mis-
tletoe.
More significant were Burleson's activities within the Democratic party
in Congress. He first called attention to his obsession with party discipline
in I90oI by demanding that the Democratic caucus of the House be bound
by the national party platform.8 Soon he secured recognition in House
Democratic councils, and by I907 speculation suggested that he might re-
place the embattled Democrat, House Minority Leader John Sharp Wil-
liams.'
The rumors were unfounded, but in I9o9 he did promote an abortive
revolt against the autocratic House rules and still more autocratic House
Speaker Joe Cannon, one of the Republican Old Guard.o0 Later, when a
Democratic-Republican insurgent coalition succeeded in revising the rules
in 9I0o, Burleson demonstrated his political partisanship. By offering a res-
6Austin Statesman, November 5, 1896.
7Houston Post, January 19, 1898; Austin Statesman, January 19, 1898 (quotation).
'Washington Post, November 29, 1901.
9Washington Herald, January 13, 1907.
1OBlair Bolles, Tyrant from Illinois: Uncle Joe Cannon's Experiment with Personal
Power (New York 1951), 173-182; Champ Clark, My Quarter Century of American
Politics (2 vols.; New York, I92o), II, 268-271; Kenneth W. Hechler, Insurgency: Per-
sonalities and Politics of the Taft Era (New York, 1964), 20o6-20o8.341
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974, periodical, 1973/1974; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117148/m1/391/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.