Jim Wright
Encyclopedia
James Claude Wright, Jr. (born December 22, 1922), usually known as Jim Wright, is a former Democratic U.S.
Congressman from Texas
who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives
and was the Speaker of the House
from 1987 to 1989.
. Because his father was a traveling salesman, Wright and his two sisters were reared in numerous communities in Texas and Oklahoma
. He mostly attended Fort Worth and Dallas
public schools, eventually graduating from Oak Cliff High School
, then studied at Weatherford College
in his mother's hometown of Weatherford
, the seat of Parker County
west of Fort Worth and then at the University of Texas at Austin
, but he never received a bachelor's degree
. In December 1941, Wright enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces
, and after training was commissioned as an Air Corps 2nd Lt. in 1942. He trained as a bombardier
and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross flying combat in B-24 Liberator
s with the 530th Bomb Squadron, 380th Bomb Group (Heavy) in the South Pacific during World War II
. His retelling of his wartime exploits is contained in his 2005 book The Flying Circus: Pacific War — 1943 — As Seen through A Bombsight.
After the war, he made his home in Weatherford, where he joined partners in forming a Trade Show exhibition and marketing firm. As a Democrat, he won his first election without opposition in 1946 to the Texas House of Representatives
, where he served from 1947 to 1949. He was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1948, after a rival claimed that Wright was weak in opposing both communism
and interracial marriage
. He was the mayor
of Weatherford from 1950-1954. In 1953, he served as president of the League of Texas Municipalities.
, based in Fort Worth but also including Weatherford. He won despite the fervid opposition of Amon G. Carter
, publisher of the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper and later the benefactor of the Amon Carter Museum
. Carter supported the incumbent Democrat Wingate Lucas. Wright would be re-elected fourteen times, gradually rising in prominence in the party and in Congress. He developed a close relationship thereafter with Amon G. Carter, Jr. Wright often said that the easiest way to "defeat an enemy is to make him your friend." In 1956, Wright refused to join most of his regional colleagues in signing the segregationist Southern Manifesto
. In 1957, he voted for the Civil Rights Act
, which created the Division of Civil Rights within the U.S. Justice Department and the investigatory Civil Rights Commission. Signed by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, the law was pushed through Congress by U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
and Speaker
Sam Rayburn
. However, Wright refused to support the Civil Rights Act of 1964
, which authorized desegregation of public accommodations and established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
. It was signed into law by Wright's friend, President Johnson.
In 1961, Wright finished in third place in the special election called to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by then Vice President
Lyndon Johnson. Two finalists for the Senate emerged from a field of seventy-one candidates. College professor
John G. Tower, then of Wichita Falls
, narrowly defeated the interim appointee William Blakley, a Dallas industrialist, in a runoff election. Tower hence became the first Republican
senator from Texas since Reconstruction.
Wright continued to serve in the House and was elected House Majority Leader by one vote in December 1976, defeating Richard Bolling of Missouri
and Phillip Burton
of California
. Wright won the majority leadership position with the support of all but two Democrats from the large Texas delegation, all party members of the Public Works Committee, and virtually all other Southern representatives members as well. In 1987, he was elected the Speaker of the House. In 1988, he chaired the Democratic Party convention that nominated Michael Dukakis for president. During that convention, Wright introduced John F. Kennedy, Jr, for Kennedy's first televised speech.
In the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
, Jim Wright is known for the Wright Amendment
, a contentious law he sponsored that restricts air travel from Dallas's secondary airport, Love Field. Passed in 1979, the Wright Amendment
was originally designed to protect the fledgling Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The Amendment allows non-stop flights originating from or bound to any commercial airport within 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) of the DFW Airport Control Tower to serve only states bordering Texas. This requires any flight going to or coming from a destination within that 50 miles (80.5 km) radius (Dallas Love Field and the now defunct Greater Southwest International Airport
in Fort Worth were the only airports affected) to land in a contiguous (bordering) state before continuing on to its destination. This effectively limited traffic from Love Field and GSIA to small, regional airlines (and provided the springboard for the later success of Southwest Airlines
, which initially flew only within Texas) who were largely unable to compete with DFW Airport as a result. While the Amendment was welcomed at first, there were increasing doubts about its necessity as DFW grew into one of the three largest airports in the world. Many saw it as a boondoggle to benefit one particular group. Others saw it as an unlawful restraint of trade imposed against the two affected airports, and no others. However, the largest opposition came increasingly from people who simply felt that the Amendment had outlived its usefulness and was also an unwarranted intrusion on the free markets of the deregulated airline industry. In 2006 Congress passed the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006, which repealed the Wright Amendment in stages, with the last restrictions on travel from Love Field scheduled to be lifted in 2014.
Wright strongly supported the Superconducting Super Collider
project in Waxahachie
in Ellis County
, but the work was halted by the Bill Clinton
administration in 1993.
Pamela Small survived the attack, and reported it to the police. John Mack plead guilty to malicious wounding "with the intent to maim, disfigure, disable and kill" and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. However, after repeated correspondence with Rep. Wright, whose daughter was married to his brother, Mack was paroled after serving less than 27 months and given a job working for Wright on Capitol Hill. Critics, including feminist activist Andrea Dworkin
, alleged that Wright manipulated the legal system to get Mack off and, subsequently, protected him from media scrutiny. The story later broke in 1989, when Pamela Small gave an interview about her ordeal with the Washington Post. Amid media criticism, John Mack resigned from his post.
of Washington, and on June 30 Wright resigned his seat in Congress.
The incident itself was controversial and was a part of the increasing partisan infighting that has plagued the Congress ever since. The original charges were filed by Newt Gingrich
in 1988 and their effect propelled Gingrich's own career advancement to the Speaker's chair itself.
Michael Parenti
, critic of the national security state
, attributed Wright's forced resignation to the critical questions he was raising in the late 1980s with regard to CIA covert actions in Nicaragua
.
After his resignation from the House, Wright retired to Fort Worth. He serves as a professor at Texas Christian University
there, teaching a course titled "Congress and the Presidents". He has also written several books since his retirement. He is an avid reader but has been stricken with macular degeneration
.
In 2004, Wright was inducted into the Texas Trail Hall of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards
. His exhibit says "Fort Worth Loves Him!"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Congressman from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and was the Speaker of the House
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
from 1987 to 1989.
Early life
Wright was born in Fort WorthFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. Because his father was a traveling salesman, Wright and his two sisters were reared in numerous communities in Texas and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. He mostly attended Fort Worth and Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
public schools, eventually graduating from Oak Cliff High School
W. H. Adamson High School
William Hardin Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School, is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas . Adamson High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.- History :In 1891 the newly-incorporated...
, then studied at Weatherford College
Weatherford College
Weatherford College is a community college located in Weatherford, Parker County, Texas, with branch campuses in nearby Decatur and Mineral Wells...
in his mother's hometown of Weatherford
Weatherford, Texas
Weatherford is a city in Parker County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 19,000 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Parker County and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.-Geography:...
, the seat of Parker County
Parker County, Texas
As of the census of 2003, there were 98,495 people, 31,131 households, and 24,313 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 people per square mile . There were 34,084 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
west of Fort Worth and then at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, but he never received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
. In December 1941, Wright enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, and after training was commissioned as an Air Corps 2nd Lt. in 1942. He trained as a bombardier
Bombardier (air force)
A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross flying combat in B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s with the 530th Bomb Squadron, 380th Bomb Group (Heavy) in the South Pacific during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His retelling of his wartime exploits is contained in his 2005 book The Flying Circus: Pacific War — 1943 — As Seen through A Bombsight.
After the war, he made his home in Weatherford, where he joined partners in forming a Trade Show exhibition and marketing firm. As a Democrat, he won his first election without opposition in 1946 to the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
, where he served from 1947 to 1949. He was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1948, after a rival claimed that Wright was weak in opposing both communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and interracial marriage
Interracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
. He was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Weatherford from 1950-1954. In 1953, he served as president of the League of Texas Municipalities.
Career in Congress
In 1954, he was elected to Congress from Texas's 12th congressional districtTexas's 12th congressional district
Texas District 12 of the United States House of Representatives is a Congressional district that serves the western half of Tarrant County as well as all of Parker and Wise counties in the state of Texas. The current Representative from District 12 is Kay Granger.-List of representatives:-Election...
, based in Fort Worth but also including Weatherford. He won despite the fervid opposition of Amon G. Carter
Amon G. Carter
Amon G. Carter, Sr. was the creator and publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and a nationally known civic booster for Fort Worth, Texas. A legacy in his will was used to create Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum....
, publisher of the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper and later the benefactor of the Amon Carter Museum
Amon Carter Museum
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is located in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established by Amon G. Carter to house his collection of paintings and sculpture by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Carter’s will provided a museum in Fort Worth devoted to American art.When the museum opened...
. Carter supported the incumbent Democrat Wingate Lucas. Wright would be re-elected fourteen times, gradually rising in prominence in the party and in Congress. He developed a close relationship thereafter with Amon G. Carter, Jr. Wright often said that the easiest way to "defeat an enemy is to make him your friend." In 1956, Wright refused to join most of his regional colleagues in signing the segregationist Southern Manifesto
Southern Manifesto
The Southern Manifesto was a document written February–March 1956 by Adisen and Charles in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places. The manifesto was signed by 101 politicians from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South...
. In 1957, he voted for the Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957, , primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction following the American Civil War.Following the historic US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v...
, which created the Division of Civil Rights within the U.S. Justice Department and the investigatory Civil Rights Commission. Signed by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, the law was pushed through Congress by U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
and Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
. However, Wright refused to support the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, which authorized desegregation of public accommodations and established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an independent federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence,...
. It was signed into law by Wright's friend, President Johnson.
In 1961, Wright finished in third place in the special election called to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by then Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Lyndon Johnson. Two finalists for the Senate emerged from a field of seventy-one candidates. College professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
John G. Tower, then of Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
, narrowly defeated the interim appointee William Blakley, a Dallas industrialist, in a runoff election. Tower hence became the first Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
senator from Texas since Reconstruction.
Wright continued to serve in the House and was elected House Majority Leader by one vote in December 1976, defeating Richard Bolling of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and Phillip Burton
Phillip Burton
Phillip Burton was a United States Representative from California. A Democrat, he was instrumental in creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Burton was one of the first members of Congress to acknowledge the need for AIDS research and introduce an AIDS bill. He was the brother of...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Wright won the majority leadership position with the support of all but two Democrats from the large Texas delegation, all party members of the Public Works Committee, and virtually all other Southern representatives members as well. In 1987, he was elected the Speaker of the House. In 1988, he chaired the Democratic Party convention that nominated Michael Dukakis for president. During that convention, Wright introduced John F. Kennedy, Jr, for Kennedy's first televised speech.
In the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
, Jim Wright is known for the Wright Amendment
Wright Amendment
The Wright Amendment of 1979 is a federal law governing traffic at Dallas Love Field, an airport in Dallas, Texas. It originally limited most nonstop flights to destinations within Texas and neighboring states. The limits began phasing out in 1997 and 2005...
, a contentious law he sponsored that restricts air travel from Dallas's secondary airport, Love Field. Passed in 1979, the Wright Amendment
Wright Amendment
The Wright Amendment of 1979 is a federal law governing traffic at Dallas Love Field, an airport in Dallas, Texas. It originally limited most nonstop flights to destinations within Texas and neighboring states. The limits began phasing out in 1997 and 2005...
was originally designed to protect the fledgling Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The Amendment allows non-stop flights originating from or bound to any commercial airport within 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) of the DFW Airport Control Tower to serve only states bordering Texas. This requires any flight going to or coming from a destination within that 50 miles (80.5 km) radius (Dallas Love Field and the now defunct Greater Southwest International Airport
Greater Southwest International Airport
Greater Southwest International Airport was the commercial airport serving Fort Worth, Texas from 1953 until 1972. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport opened in 1974 on property adjacent to the north side of the airport.-Early history:...
in Fort Worth were the only airports affected) to land in a contiguous (bordering) state before continuing on to its destination. This effectively limited traffic from Love Field and GSIA to small, regional airlines (and provided the springboard for the later success of Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
, which initially flew only within Texas) who were largely unable to compete with DFW Airport as a result. While the Amendment was welcomed at first, there were increasing doubts about its necessity as DFW grew into one of the three largest airports in the world. Many saw it as a boondoggle to benefit one particular group. Others saw it as an unlawful restraint of trade imposed against the two affected airports, and no others. However, the largest opposition came increasingly from people who simply felt that the Amendment had outlived its usefulness and was also an unwarranted intrusion on the free markets of the deregulated airline industry. In 2006 Congress passed the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006, which repealed the Wright Amendment in stages, with the last restrictions on travel from Love Field scheduled to be lifted in 2014.
Wright strongly supported the Superconducting Super Collider
Superconducting Super Collider
The Superconducting Super Collider was a particle accelerator complex under construction in the vicinity of Waxahachie, Texas that was set to be world's largest and most energetic, surpassing the current record held by the Large Hadron Collider. Its planned ring circumference was with an energy...
project in Waxahachie
Waxahachie, Texas
Waxahachie is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States, and a southern suburb of Dallas. The population was 21,426 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ellis County....
in Ellis County
Ellis County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 111,360 people, 37,020 households, and 29,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile . There were 39,071 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
, but the work was halted by the Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
administration in 1993.
Aide controversy
In 1989, controversy arose from media reports that Jim Wright's main aide, John Mack, had violently attacked Pamela Small sixteen years earlier. Small was attempting to replace blinds in a store Mack managed, and he took her to the storeroom where he then asked her to lie down. When she refused, he repeatedly hit her in the head with a hammer, stabbed her with a steak knife, and slashed her throat, before putting her body in his car and going to see a movie.Pamela Small survived the attack, and reported it to the police. John Mack plead guilty to malicious wounding "with the intent to maim, disfigure, disable and kill" and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. However, after repeated correspondence with Rep. Wright, whose daughter was married to his brother, Mack was paroled after serving less than 27 months and given a job working for Wright on Capitol Hill. Critics, including feminist activist Andrea Dworkin
Andrea Dworkin
Andrea Rita Dworkin was an American radical feminist and writer best known for her criticism of pornography, which she argued was linked to rape and other forms of violence against women....
, alleged that Wright manipulated the legal system to get Mack off and, subsequently, protected him from media scrutiny. The story later broke in 1989, when Pamela Small gave an interview about her ordeal with the Washington Post. Amid media criticism, John Mack resigned from his post.
Ethics investigation and resignation
In 1988 Wright became the target of an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee. Their report in early 1989 implied that he had used bulk purchases of his book, Reflections of a Public Man, to earn speaking fees in excess of the allowed maximum, and that his wife, Betty, was given a job and perks to avoid the limit on gifts. Faced with an increasing loss of effectiveness, Wright tendered his resignation as Speaker on May 31, 1989, the resignation to become effective on the selection of a successor. He was the first Speaker to resign because of a scandal. On June 6, the Democratic Caucus brought Wrights's Speakership to an end by selecting his replacement, Tom FoleyTom Foley
Thomas Stephen Foley was the 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1989 to 1995. He represented Washington's 5th congressional district for 30 years as a Democratic member from 1965 to 1995....
of Washington, and on June 30 Wright resigned his seat in Congress.
The incident itself was controversial and was a part of the increasing partisan infighting that has plagued the Congress ever since. The original charges were filed by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
in 1988 and their effect propelled Gingrich's own career advancement to the Speaker's chair itself.
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti is an award-winning, internationally known American political scientist, historian, and culture critic who has been writing on a wide range of both scholarly and popular subjects for over forty years. He has taught at several universities and colleges and has been a frequent guest...
, critic of the national security state
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
, attributed Wright's forced resignation to the critical questions he was raising in the late 1980s with regard to CIA covert actions in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
After his resignation from the House, Wright retired to Fort Worth. He serves as a professor at Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
there, teaching a course titled "Congress and the Presidents". He has also written several books since his retirement. He is an avid reader but has been stricken with macular degeneration
Macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
.
In 2004, Wright was inducted into the Texas Trail Hall of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards
Fort Worth Stockyards
The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, north of the central business district. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in 1976...
. His exhibit says "Fort Worth Loves Him!"
Further reading
- Barry, John. The Ambition and the Power: The Fall of Jim Wright: A True Story of Washington. New York : Viking Press, 1989. ISBN 0-8317-8302-8. (Paperback: Penguin, 1992. ISBN 0-14-010488-7)
- Wright, Jim. Balance of Power: Presidents and Congress from the Era of McCarthy to the Age of Gingrich. Turner Publications, 1996. ISBN 1-57036-278-5.
- Wright, Jim. Reflections of a Public Man. Fort Worth, TX : Madison Publishing Company, 1984.
- Wright, Jim. The Flying Circus: Pacific War — 1943 — As Seen Through A Bombsight. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59228-656-9.
- Wright, Jim. The Coming Water Famine. New York: Coward-McCann, 1966.