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Dukes of Duval County: The Parr Family and Texas Politics
Contributor(s): Carrozza, Anthony R. (Author)
ISBN: 0806157712     ISBN-13: 9780806157719
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
OUR PRICE:   $32.62  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: March 2021
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Political
- History | United States - State & Local - Southwest (az, Nm, Ok, Tx)
- Political Science | American Government - Local
Dewey: B
LCCN: 2017005485
Physical Information: 1.5" H x 6" W x 9.1" (1.65 lbs) 440 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 20th Century
- Geographic Orientation - Texas
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

The notorious Parr family manipulated local politics in South Texas for decades. 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. 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. Johnson, initiating the national political career of the future U.S. president.

Dukes of Duval County begins with Archie Parr's organization of the Mexican American electorate into a potent voting bloc, which marked the beginning of his three-decade campaign for control of every political office in Duval County and the surrounding area. 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. 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.

In this first comprehensive study of the Parr family's political activities, Anthony R. 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.


Contributor Bio(s): Carrozza, Anthony R.: - After a career in mainframe computer programming, Anthony R. Carrozza began writing novels and biographies, including William D. Pawley: The Extraordinary Life of the Adventurer, Entrepreneur, and Diplomat Who Cofounded the Flying Tigers. He lives in upstate New York.