James A Baker III (born 1930) A statue of James A Baker III stands in a Houston, Texas, park. The sculpture faces another statue nearby, of fellow Texan and Baker’s longtime friend, George H.W. Bush, the 41st U.S. President. It was Baker’s service to Bush and three other Presidents that made him an international figure.

James Baker was born in Houston in 1930. He attended a private school in Pennsylvania and went on to Princeton University. Baker graduated from Princeton in 1952 and then served two years in the U.S. Marines. He earned his law degree from the University of Texas in 1957 and joined a Houston law firm. Baker worked in the firm until 1975.

As a young man, Baker showed little interest in politics or public service. In 1970, however, Congressman George Bush asked Baker to help manage his Senate campaign. Bush lost that election, but after joining President Gerald Ford’s administration in 1974, Bush secured Baker a high-level post in the Commerce Department.

Bush decided to run for President in 1979, and Baker managed his friend’s campaign. When that failed, Baker helped Bush become Ronald Reagan’s Vice-President. Impressed by Baker’s political skills, President Reagan tapped him to be presidential chief of staff. Baker was one of Reagan’s closest advisors and became secretary of the treasury in 1985.

After Baker managed Bush’s successful run for President in 1988, Bush named him secretary of state. World events soon made the post the highlight of Baker’s career. When the Soviet Union fell in 1989, Baker played a key role in the peaceful transition from communism to democracy in Eastern Europe. After Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait in 1991, Baker helped put together the group of nations that defeated the Iraqis in the first Gulf War.

President Bush was criticized for letting Saddam Hussein stay in power at the end of that war. Baker defended the decision. He warned that Saddam’s ouster would lead to a long U.S. military involvement in Iraq. Baker’s prophecy was correct. His service to a fourth President, George W. Bush, began after the second Gulf War in 2002. Bush called on Baker to help find a way to end the long U.S. involvement in Iraq.

After retiring from public service, Baker still advised members of the government, published his memoirs, and continued his law work. He also received many prestigious awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Identifying Identify at least three contributions that Baker made to government and society.

Raul A. Gonzalez Jr.(born 1940) Raul A. Gonzalez Jr., was the first Hispanic appointed or elected to statewide office in Texas. He was born in Weslaco, a small Texas town in the Rio Grande valley.

Gonzalez was the second of five children. His parents were migrant workers who had come from Mexico. As a child, Gonzalez worked alongside his family—parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles—in the fields picking cotton, tomatoes, onions, and cabbage. “I have fond memories…of being out in the fields when they were out in the fields,” he says. “We would get up at 5:30 in the morning, and a truck would pick us up….”

However, education was the most important thing in Gonzalez’s childhood. He recalls, “My Mom planted in all our heads that if we were ever going to break that cycle of poverty, it was going to be through education.”

Gonzalez graduated from Weslaco High School in 1959. That summer, his mother sent him to California to find work. He became a champion apricot picker, and he also made boxes for shipping tomatoes. At night, he slept on a cardboard box in the attic of the packing shed near some railroad tracks. “I think the valuable lessons that were taught me were…the hard work ethic, responsibility, and a fierce drive to succeed,” he says.

That fall, Gonzalez enrolled at the University of Texas. While there, he joined the Texas Young Democrats and became involved with the civil rights movement. After earning a B.A. in government, Gonzalez went on to get a law degree at the University of Houston. He also married a childhood friend, Dora Champion. They became the parents of four children.

During his career, Gonzalez worked as an attorney in both the public and private sectors. In 1978, he was appointed to his first judgeship. In 1984, he became the first Hispanic member of the Texas Supreme Court. He also continued his education, earning a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia in 1986.

Gonzalez served on the Texas Supreme Court until 1998, when he retired. Over the years, he received numerous awards for his work. An elementary school in his hometown is named for him. He and his wife are active in their church, in educational programs, and in their community.

Identifying What contribution has Gonzalez made as a leader in Texas?

Kay Bailey Hutchison (born 1943)

When Kay Bailey Hutchison graduated from law school, no law firm would hire her because she was a woman. Despite that setback, she went on to enjoy a long career in politics and government. During her years of service, she achieved a number of firsts for Texas women in government.

Hutchison was born Kathryn Ann Bailey in Galveston, Texas, in 1943 and grew up in nearby La Marque. After graduating from high school, she entered the University of Texas. She quit her studies after three years and enrolled in the university’s law school, where she received her law degree in 1967.

When Hutchison could not find a job as a lawyer, she went to work for Houston’s KRPC TV news, reporting on state government in Austin. This job sparked her interest in politics. In 1972, Hutchison became the first Republican woman ever elected to the Texas House of Representatives. She served two terms before President Gerald Ford appointed her to the National Transportation Safety Board in 1976. She returned to Texas in 1978 and married Ray Hutchison, with whom she had served in the Texas legislature.

Hutchison spent much of next decade working in private business. She returned to government in 1990 when she was elected Texas state treasurer—the first Republican women to hold a statewide office. During her two years as treasurer, she increased the money earned from the state’s financial investments.

In 1993, Hutchinson was elected to serve the rest of Senator Lloyd Benston’s term when President Bill Clinton named Benston secretary of the treasury. Hutchinson’s victory made her the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas. She was reelected to a full term in 1994 and returned to office again in 2000 and 2006. She worked hard in the Senate to bring defense contracts to Texas and to keep military bases, the nation’s space program, and other large federal projects operating in the state. Her efforts meant billions of additional dollars for Texas.

In 2010, Hutchison tried to unseat the Texas Republican governor, Rick Perry. She was soundly defeated by Perry in the state’s Republican primary election. That loss, coupled with unsettling trends in Republican politics, caused Hutchison to leave the Senate at the end of her third six-year term. She retired from government in 2012 to devote more time to her family.

Identifying What contributions did Kay Bailey Hutchison make to Texas as state treasurer and U.S. senator?

Barbara Jordan (1936–1996)

“I never intend to be a run-of-the-mill person,” said Barbara Jordan, and she kept her word. Instead, as an African American woman who grew up in an era of segregation, Jordan broke barrier after barrier during a life of public service.

Jordan was born in Houston, Texas, into a close-knit family. Her father was a minister and warehouse clerk; her mother was a domestic worker. Jordan was the youngest of three girls. Also living in the household were Jordan’s two grandfathers. One of them, John Patten, had a junk business. Jordan spent her free time helping him and learning from him. She never forgot his advice: to learn from every aspect of life.

Jordan attended segregated public schools. At the Phyllis Wheatley High School, she became a good public speaker and a member of the honor society. She was known for her “booming” voice and persuasive manner. In 1956, she graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern University. Jordan then earned a law degree from Boston University, where she was one of only two women in her class.

Jordan then returned to Texas and started a law practice from her parents’ home. She became involved in politics while helping to register African American voters in the 1960 presidential election. In 1960, she was the first woman elected to the Texas Senate. While there, she addressed environmental and urban issues and also worked to erase discrimination in state business contracts.

In 1972, Jordan was elected to the U.S. Congress as a representative from Texas. She became nationally known as a member of the committee holding impeachment hearings on President Richard Nixon. In a powerful speech, she said, “My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to…the destruction of the Constitution.”

Jordan gave the keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic convention. She was the first woman and the first African American to be chosen for this role. Her speech focused on the themes of unity, equality, accountability, and American ideals.

After Jordan retired from Congress, she took a position at the University of Texas. During these years, she was elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Despite poor health, she remained active in politics and education until her death in 1996.

Identifying Why was Barbara Jordan an important Texas leader?