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Ownership
of the “tidelands,” or territory between the shoreline and “three
leagues Gulf ward” in Texas, or approximately 10.35 miles, became
the most contested state-federal issue of the twentieth century. In
the balance was 2,440,650 submerged acres. Here is the story as told
by Price Daniel himself.
When Texas joined the Union in 1845, the state retained all of the
Republic’s public domain as well as its debt. Congress was happy then
for Texas to keep its public lands so long as the Union had no role
in the settlement of Texas’ debt. This remained undisputed for a century,
and even then affected only the “tidelands,” after deposits of oil
and natural gas were discovered there. Since the state extracted significant
sums from private companies for exploration rights, they advocated
federal ownership and oversight. This appealed to Secretary of Commerce
Harold L. Ickes, who thought the tidelands should belong to the nation
anyway.
With the issue of such ownership raised, other states with potential
mineral deposits on their coastlines, especially California and Louisiana,
became concerned. Congress passed quitclaim legislation acknowledging
state ownership in 1946, but President Harry Truman vetoed it.
The dispute became an issue in the election of 1948, but Truman retained
the support of a majority of Texans because he acknowledged the difference
between Texas and other states involved based on its condition of
admission to the Union. But with the election over, Truman reversed
himself and supported the federal-ownership side.
More litigation resulted, when Texas Attorney General Price
Daniel represented all the states with coastlines. Justice Hugo
Black, writing for the Supreme Court’s majority, decided against the
states, citing the federal government’s likely need for the minerals
as greater than “mere property ownership.”
This even troubled citizens of states without coastlines, became a
major issue in the election of 1952, and is a principal reason why
Texas voted for Republican Dwight Eisenhower instead of Truman, because
Eisenhower said he would sign quitclaim legislation if Congress passed
it again during his administration.
Following Governor Allan
Shivers, a majority of Texans supported Eisenhower. Then, when
new Senator Price Daniel sponsored
the quitclaim legislation, Eisenhower did sign it. In the years since,
over 40 oil and nearly 400 gas wells located in Texas’ tidelands have
produced well over $2 billion dedicated dollars for the Texas school
fund.
© Archie
P. McDonald, PhD
All
Things Historical May
26, 2005 column
A syndicated column in over 40 East Texas newspapers
(Distributed as a public service by the East Texas Historical Association.
Archie P. McDonald is director of the Association and author of more
than 20 books on Texas.) |
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