| dc.description.abstract | Since first winning public office in 1938, Price Daniel has held more high state elective positions than any person in Texas history. He began as a state legislator, then in 1943 became speaker of the House of Representatives. Three years later he was elected attorney general and served three terms before winning a seat in the United States Senate. In 1956 he won the governorship and remained in office until January, 1963. Then in 1971 he became an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court. During that portion of his career covered by this study Daniel never accurately fit any political label. He was characterized most clearly, however, by his devotion to principle, his penchant for taking firm stands. For example, as a state legislator he fought vehemently against a sales tax and, despite strong opposition from Governor W. Lee O'Daniel and some large business interests, refused to waver. Then, while attorney general, he waged influential crusades against price-fixing and organized gambling. Most important, however, was his defense of the Texas tidelands, his belief that the state, according to the terms upon which it entered the Union, was entitled to all submerged lands and minerals three leagues into the Gulf of Mexico. Although losing in the Supreme Court, he continued to fight for legislation which would verify the Texas claim and to oppose resolutely any form of compromise. In 1953, as a member of the Senate, he brought his struggle to a successful conclusion by co-sponsoring legislation which confirmed state ownership. Throughout his Senate years, especially as an advocate of stringent narcotics legislation, he continued to labor unswervingly for those causes which he deemed right. The author relied heavily on several primary sources. Contemporary newspaper accounts as well as numerous interviews with Daniel and other key people were invaluable. For attorney general and Senate information, the Daniel Papers in the Texas State Archives were especially helpful. In addition, Daniel's personal files at his Liberty, Texas residence proved indispensable in preparing the sections on tidelands and narcotics developments. | |
