Texas History - Allan Shivers
When:The 37th Governor of Texas was Robert Allan Shivers.
Accomplishments: Shivers set the stage for the emergence of Texas as a powerful modern state. He helped create the Legislative Council and Legislative Budget Board to put the making of laws on a more professional footing. He was able to pass tax increases to upgrade state services across the board. The most important issue faced by Shivers was his defense of state claims to the Tidelands, off-shore oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas had held title to the submerged lands of the Gulf since the Republic of Texas days, and had dedicated its revenues to the public school fund. After oil was discovered offshore, federal officials tried to seize the Tidelands of Texas and other oil-producing states. This action precipitated the biggest crisis between state and federal authority since the Civil War. In 1952, Shivers broke with the national Democratic party over the issue and helped deliver the state's electoral votes to Dwight Eisenhower, an event that marked the rebirth of the Republican party in Texas. Finally, the Tidelands were returned to the states through federal legislation.
He was born on October 05, 1907 in Lufkin, Texas and died on January 14, 1985 in Austin, Texas.
Accomplishments: Shivers set the stage for the emergence of Texas as a powerful modern state. He helped create the Legislative Council and Legislative Budget Board to put the making of laws on a more professional footing. He was able to pass tax increases to upgrade state services across the board. The most important issue faced by Shivers was his defense of state claims to the Tidelands, off-shore oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas had held title to the submerged lands of the Gulf since the Republic of Texas days, and had dedicated its revenues to the public school fund. After oil was discovered offshore, federal officials tried to seize the Tidelands of Texas and other oil-producing states. This action precipitated the biggest crisis between state and federal authority since the Civil War. In 1952, Shivers broke with the national Democratic party over the issue and helped deliver the state's electoral votes to Dwight Eisenhower, an event that marked the rebirth of the Republican party in Texas. Finally, the Tidelands were returned to the states through federal legislation.
He was born on October 05, 1907 in Lufkin, Texas and died on January 14, 1985 in Austin, Texas.