Charles Allen Culberson papers

Collection

Identifier: urn:taro:utexas.cah.01721

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Charles Allen Culberson Papers, 1896, 1901, 1916, contain letters written by Culberson, pertaining to his activities as governor of Texas and United States Senator. The bulk of the papers document his Senate career, including one letter from 1901 and a letterpress book containing official letters from 1916. In addition, the papers include a letter, written in German, to Otto von Bismarck in 1896, when Culberson was governor, discussing bimetallism.

Dates

Creation: 1896
Creation: 1901
Creation: 1916

Creator

Culberson, Charles A. (Charles Allen), 1855-1925 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no use restrictions on this collection. Publisher is responsible for complying with copyright law.

Biographical Note

Charles Allen Culberson (1855-1925), son of prominent lawyer and legislator, David Browning Culberson, was a Texas state attorney general, Texas governor, and a United States senator. After attending the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia law school, Culberson was elected county attorney of Marion County, Texas, in 1877. Culberson and his wife, Sally Harrison, moved to Dallas in 1887, where he practiced law. From 1890 to 1894, Culberson served two terms as Texas state attorney general. A conservative, Culberson was elected governor in 1894 with the help of Edward Mandel House, a prominent Austin banker and landowner. In 1899, the Texas Congress made Culberson a United States Senator. In his twenty-four year senatorial career (1899-1922), he served as Senate Democratic minority leader (1907-1910) and sat on many committees, including the Committee on the Judiciary (1913-1919). His ill health and alcoholism forced him to resign as minority leader in 1910 and earned him the nickname of “sick man of the senate.” Increasingly over the next twelve years, Culberson relied on his friends and status as an incumbent to win reelection. In 1922, his health and dislike of the Ku Klux Klan caused him to lose his seat in the Senate.

Source: Wagner, Robert L. “Culberson, Charles Allen.” Handbook of Texas Online. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fcu2.html.

Extent

2 inches

Language of Materials

English

German

Additional Description

Abstract

The Charles Allen Culberson Papers, 1896-1901, 1916, contain letters written by Culberson, pertaining to his activities as Governor of Texas and United States Senator. The bulk of the papers document his Senate career, including one letter from 1901 and a letterpress book containing official letters from 1916.

Accession Number(s)

1923; 1991-266

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.