Texas. Governor (1935-1939 : Allred)

James V (V was his middle name, not an initial) Allred served as Governor of Texas for two terms during the Great Depression from 1935 to 1939. He was born in Bowie, Texas on March 29, 1899, graduated from Bowie High School in 1917 and enrolled at Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston but was forced to withdraw after one semester for financial reasons. He worked for the United States Immigration Service and later enlisted in the Navy during World War I. After the war he worked as a law clerk in a Wichita Falls law office. He received an LL.B. from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1921 and returned to Wichita Falls to practice law.

In 1923 Governor Pat Neff appointed Allred to fill an unexpired term as district attorney for the Thirtieth Texas District, encompassing Archer, Wichita and Young counties. He earned a reputation as "the fighting district attorney" for his outspoken opposition to the Ku Klux Klan. He ran for state attorney general in 1926 but lost in a close election and ran again successfully in 1930. As attorney general he gained public approval campaigning against monopolies and the influence of big businesses on state taxation and fiscal policies.

In 1934 he successfully ran for governor. Issues in his platform included regulation of public utilities, a graduated tax on large chain stores to preserve competitive balance for small independent operators, and opposition to a state sales tax as a revenue generating device with more of an emphasis on property valuations instead. During his first term he worked closely with agencies of the federal government to provide relief from the Depression. Legislation during his first term provided for additional highway construction, educational support, old age pensions and expanded state welfare services. Governor Allred supported law and order issues. He helped to create the Board of Pardons and Paroles in 1935 and reformed the parole system which had been abused under earlier administrations. He convened the First Southwestern States Parole Conference in Galveston in September 1936 to discuss issues and share ideas with high ranking law enforcement officials from Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. He also oversaw the creation of the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1935, which took over responsibility of the Texas Rangers from the Adjutant General's Office and ran the Highway Patrol.

During this time Allred rose to national prominence. In large part because of his support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal national relief measures, the National Junior Chamber of Commerce named him its "Outstanding Young Man in America in 1935." At the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in June 1936 he gave the nominating speech for his friend, Vice President John Nance Garner.

Allred easily won reelection in 1936 with the enthusiastic endorsement of President Roosevelt. Accomplishments of his second term included the establishment of a state teacher retirement system, the repeal of pari-mutuel betting in the state, and the use of the Texas Rangers to suppress labor unrest around the state. He continued to push for increased funding for social security and welfare programs and the expansion of state services but had difficulties in getting the state legislature to cooperate in funding his programs.

Towards the end of Allred's second term as governor President Roosevelt nominated him to a federal district judgeship. He was confirmed and after he left office in January 1939 served on the federal bench until 1942 when he resigned to run for the U.S. Senate. He was defeated by W. Lee ( Pappy ) O'Daniel, who had succeeded him as governor, and returned to Houston to practice law. In 1943 Senator O'Daniel opposed Allred's appointment to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1949 President Harry Truman reappointed Allred to the federal bench where he remained until his death in 1959.

Allred died on September 24, 1959 and was buried in Wichita Falls.

From the guide to the Records, 1931-1939, (bulk 1935-1938), (Texas State Archives)