Dukes of Duval County: The Parr Family and Texas Politics
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.80 (914 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0806157712 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 440 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-01-06 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
“Many of the Parrs’ corrupt actions never made it into court records, and they and their minions knew better than to keep written records of their own. Most newspaper stories originated with reporters who were on the scene and able to find eyewitnesses who would talk—often anonymously, in the dead of night, out in the brush. Anthony Carrozza makes use of newspaper accounts and court records in this comprehensive, fully documented history of the incredibly venal eighty-year Parr dynasty in deep South Texas. It will appeal to both scholarly and general audiences, as well as anyone fascinated by Texas or political history.” —George Norris Green, author of The Establishment in Texas Politics: The Primitive Years, 1938–1957 . Their enemies were to
Further legal misadventures haunted George and his successor, Archer, but in the end it took the combined force of local, state, and federal governments and the courageous efforts of private citizens to overthrow the Parr family. Carrozza reveals the innermost workings of the Parr dynasty, a political machine that drove South Texas politics for more than seventy years and critically influenced the course of the nation.. The influence of the Parr political machine peaked during the 1948 senatorial primary, when election officials found the infamous Ballot Box 13 six days after the polls closed. That box provided a slim eighty-seven-vote lead to Lyndon B. Archie Parr, his son George, and his grandson Archer relied on violence and corruption to deliver the votes that propelled their chosen candidates to office. In this first comprehensive study of the Parr family’s political activities, Anthony R. The notorious Parr family manipulated local politics in South Texas for decades. Archie’s son George, who expanded the Parrs’ dominion to include jobs, welfare payments, and public works, became a county judge thanks to his father’s influence—but when George was arrested and imprisoned for accepting payoffs, only a presidential pardon advocated by then-congressman Lyndon Johnson allowed George to take office once more. president.Dukes of Duval County begins with Archie Parr’s organization of the Mexican Amer