Roosevelt�s election allowed many Texas Democrats to rise in positions of national leadership. Texans like John Nance Garner, Jessie H. Jones, Wright Patman and Sam Rayburn became powerful figures in Washington. Rayburn served as Speaker of the House for most of the period from 1940 to 1961. With the support of Texas Democrats, much of Roosevelt�s New Deal was successfully carried out in the state.

Minority groups also suffered from the Depression. Many minorities who supported Roosevelt�s New Deal began to change their party allegiance from Republican to Democrat. Some Texas leaders wanted African Americans and Mexican Americans excluded from the New Deal programs. To counter leaders who discriminated, two organizations that would fight for minority rights throughout the 20th century began to gain support during the depression.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) pressured local Texas leaders to include African Americans in New Deal programs. A. Maceo Smith became active in the Dallas chapter of the NAACP and remained a prominent leader in the organization through the 1960s. Along with the support of other NAACP leaders, he challenged Texas� all-white primary. In the past, the Democratic party in the Lone Star State had decided that only whites could vote in its primary elections. In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled in Smith v. Allwright that the white primary was unconstitutional.

Mexican Americans also strove to gain benefits from New Deal programs. The New Deal did not provide aid to immigrants, and many illegal immigrants were deported back to Mexico. A group of business leaders in South Texas organized the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to fight segregation and discrimination. By 1948, LULAC had won a number of lawsuits that ended the legal segregation of Mexican Americans in public facilities in Texas. After going to Congress in 1937, Lyndon Johnson became one of Mexican Americans most consistent advocates. In turn, their support helped him win a United State�s Senate seat in 1948.

1. Name four powerful national politicians from Texas who supported the New Deal.(7.7:B,D)
2. What position did Sam Rayburn hold in the U.S. Congress?(7.18:B)
3. Who was James V. "Jimmy" Allred and what did he accomplish?(7.7:B,D)
4. Who was Pappy O�Daniel?
5. Why was Lyndon Johnson known as one of "Roosevelt�s Boys"?
6. How did the NAACP try to help African Americans in Texas?(7.7:B,C,D)
7. Who was A. Maceo Smith?(7.7:B,C,D)
8. What did the Supreme Court rule in Smith vs. Allwright?(7.7:B,C,D)
9. What was the major purpose of LULAC?(7.7:B,C,D)