James W. Riddlesperger – författare

This volume, from the Policy Studies Organization, examines the role of presidential leadership in the development and implementation of civil rights policy in the United States. Covering a broad time period, the work takes a social scientific approach to the understanding of civil rights, utilizing both quantitative and archival research. The editors attempt to place and analyze civil rights in context—as a policy arena representative of broader presidential leadership concerns—and look at the development of civil rights policy since Brown v. Board of Education from the perspectives of (1) the public, (2) government institutions, and (3) particular policy arenas.

January 6, 1955. It was on the occasion of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s third annual State of the Union message. The president unexpectedly began his speech by mentioning that it was January 6 and the 72nd birthday of the venerable Speaker of the House, and publicly wishing for Mr. Rayburn many happy returns of the day.Instantly, the crowd that filled the House chamber was on its feet, noisily cheering, whistling, and stamping its feet and clapping its hands in a reverberating approval of the Speaker. Visitors in the galleries could not distinguish Republican from Democrat. - Speaker Jim WrightPrepared on the seventy-fifth anniversary of his election as Speaker of the US House of Representatives, this collection includes valedictory thoughts about Mr. Rayburn by two of the most significant leaders of Fort Worth history—Speaker Jim Wright and Dee J. Kelly—as well as essays by academics about Mr. Rayburn’s lasting impact on his district, on major legislation, and on Texas. Taken together, this readable collection offers an assessment of Rayburn that gives readers an understanding of the man who may be the greatest legislator in US history.

Reflections on Wright is a collection of essays on Jim Wright from his early years through his retirement from the House of Representatives. Wright was one of the most influential members of Congress in the latter part of the twentieth century and had a major role in policies such as the interstate highway system and American policy in Central America. Foreclosed from moving to the Senate, Wright eventually sought to become Majority Leader and won in a hotly contested race against California’s Phil Burton. Both as Majority Leader and as Speaker, Wright proved himself an exceptionally strong leader. Indeed, Wright pushed his agenda so strongly that it led to grumbling among members of his caucus. With attacks on his ethics by Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich, attacks that heralded a new level of viciousness between the two parties in the House, Wright resigned and returned to Fort Worth. For most of the remainder of his life, he taught at Texas Christian University.

This book celebrates the long and distinguished career of one of the most prominent editorial cartoonists in the country for more than half a century beginning in the mid-1950s. Etta Hulme was the most prominent woman editorial cartoonist of her time and offered insightful commentary on Fort Worth, Texas, American, and international politics over that entire time. The book is an attempt to offer some of her finest work across all of these categories and over the span of her career. With more than 8000 cartoons in her collection, trying to understand her essence with only about 180 examples is a daunting task.Hulme was a provocative artist—she addressed the enduring problems of American democracy head on. She delighted in exposing hypocrisy in public officials and spared no one from pointed criticism. Her distinctive drawings served as a lightening rod for readers of the Fort Worth Star Telegram. She embraced critiques of her often libral perspectives and celebrated her many admirers.This book begins with a short biographical sketch of Hulme. It is then divided into 6 distinct chapters evaluating her political cartoons—U.S. presidents, American politics and policy, Texas governors, Texas politics and policy, Texas and Fort Worth Congressional leaders, and international politics. The depth and breadth of her work is evident in the cartoons selected and together they offer insightful looks at a half century of American politics and at Hulme’s creative take on the issues of her time.

For the more than fifty years that Democrats controlled the U.S. House of Representatives, leadership was divided between Massachusetts and Texas. When the Speaker was from Texas (or nearby Oklahoma), the Majority Leader was from the Boston area, and when the Speaker was from Boston, the Majority Leader was from Texas. The Austin-Boston Connection analyzes the importance of the friendships (especially mentor-protégé relationships) and enmities within congressional delegations, regional affinities, and the lynchpin practice of appointing the Democratic Whip.