Texas Governor Price Daniel:

An Inventory of Governor Price Daniel General Files at the Texas State Archives, 1944-1945, 1954-1966, bulk 1957-1962

Agency History

The governor of Texas is the chief executive officer of the state, elected by the citizens every four years. The duties and responsibilities of the governor include serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces; convening special sessions of the legislature for specific purposes; delivering to the legislature at the beginning of each regular session a report on the condition of the state, an accounting of all public money under the governor's control, a recommended biennial budget, an estimate of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation, and any recommendations he deems necessary; signing or vetoing bills passed by the legislature; and executing the laws of the state. The governor can grant reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons, upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and revoke conditional pardons. He appoints numerous state officials (with the consent of the Senate), fills vacancies in state and district offices (except vacancies in the legislature), calls special elections to fill vacancies in the legislature, fills vacancies in the United States Senate until an election can be held, and serves as ex officio member of several state boards.

The office of governor was first established by the Constitution of 1845 and superseded the office of president of the Republic of Texas. The position now exists under authority of Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution of 1876 and Texas Government Code, Chapter 401. To be elected governor, a person must be at least thirty years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of Texas for at least five years preceding the election. In 1972, the term of office was extended from two to four years, effective in 1975. Since 1856 the governor has had the use of the Governor's Mansion.

In 1957 the Office of the Governor had 30 full-time equivalent employees including an executive secretary, a director of the Budget Division, and the state coordinator of civil defense and disaster relief.

Price Daniel Biographical Sketch

Price Daniel's political career spanned more than four decades and included all three branches of state government. Born in 1910 at Dayton, Texas, he was reared in Liberty and Fort Worth. After graduating from high school in Fort Worth, he attended Baylor University where he earned a degree in journalism. The following year, 1932, he received a law degree and returned to Liberty where he opened a law office.

During the next seven years, Price Daniel practiced law and assisted with publishing two local newspapers that he co-owned. In 1939 he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and became a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee. The following year he married Jean Houston Baldwin and they had four children. After serving three terms in the legislature, he was chosen Speaker of the House in 1943. However, he resigned to enlist in the army as a private, though he soon completed officer candidate school. Stationed in Japan and the Pacific, he attained the rank of captain when he was discharged in May 1946.

Upon his return to Texas, he entered the race for attorney general and won the election. Running unopposed, he was reelected twice. His five years as Attorney General were noted for efforts against organized gambling and for Texas' rights to the Tidelands, the hallmark of his career. Daniel was elected U.S. Senator in 1952, serving as chairman of the senate's judiciary subcommittee and continuing to argue for Texas' rights to three million acres of submerged lands. He sponsored a bill that would return the Tidelands to Texas. His efforts resulted in passage and it became a law with President Eisenhower's signature. After four years as senator Price Daniel was elected governor, an office he held for three consecutive terms, from 1957 to 1963. Attempting to run for an unprecedented fourth term, he was defeated by John Connally in the gubernatorial primaries.

Although he established law offices in Austin and Liberty, Price Daniel returned to politics after a brief respite. He served as director in the office of Emergency Preparedness during the presidential administration of Lyndon Johnson. Soon thereafter, he was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court, remaining an associate justice from 1971 until his retirement in 1979. Daniel served as a special assistant to the Texas Attorney General for the Texas v. Louisiana boundary case. Maintaining memberships in many legal professional organizations, he was also active in a variety of civic and church activities until his death on August 25, 1988.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

Price Daniel was governor of Texas from January 15, 1957 to January 15, 1963. The governor of Texas is the chief executive officer of the state. These records consist of correspondence, publications, and other record types and comprise some of the general files of Texas Governor Price Daniel. The records date 1944-1945, 1954-1966, bulk 1957-1962. They concern state government including the legislature and state agencies, programs of the federal government, governor's proclamations, taxes, and politics.

These records have not been processed. This folder inventory is a transcription of the original box and folder titles as they were received. Rough, non-exclusive groupings by title and date were formed to comply with the TARO project's file size restrictions. Researchers are advised to review all the finding aids for subjects of interest. Inconsistent titles and dates are evident. Misidentifications and misfilings are possible.

This finding aid describes the one series of Governor Price Daniel records. See Texas Governor Price Daniel records, Texas Attorney General Price Daniel records, and U.S. Senator Price Daniel papers for more records and papers.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Texas Governor Price Daniel general files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1989/250, 1989/251, 1989/260

Price Daniel transferred his records as Governor of Texas to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission at the close of his administration as Governor of Texas in 1963. Included with the gubernatorial records were the majority of Daniel's records as Texas Attorney General and a large quantity of his papers as the United States Senator from Texas.

The Texas State Library transferred these documents to the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in 1977. In 1989 Mrs. Price Daniel donated the private papers of Price Daniel as attorney general and governor in addition to his papers as U.S. Senator from Texas.

Processing Information

Carrie Griffin, April 1993

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Detailed Description of the Records