The Dukes of Duval County by Anthony R. Carrozza Book Review In order to explain how the Parr organization used race relations to gain and keep power in South Texas, Anthony R. Carrozza had to dig deep into newspaper articles, magazines and live coverage of the Parr family. The author paces the book in a chronological order and weaves in the hearsay of others that could better explain what had been written in the media.
Carrozza, also used several comparisons in his book to emphasize that the methods used by the Parr family were similar to those used in other parts of the country by many political bosses, such as, the quote he used in the Senate review of poll tax misuse or abuse, “If you will let those Mexicans alone, they would be just …show more content…
Carrazzo explains the ballot box stuffing which would indeed guarantee a win for a candidate that would support their local laws and maintain the race relations George had with the Mexican American population. On page thirty-nine the author states, “The backbone of the political machine continued to be the Mexican American voter, and that population continued to hover around 90 percent, giving its patron a power base that was virtually unbeatable at the voting booth.” With this in mind, he also quotes from an interview of one of George’s lieutenants, “Go to every house and give them the poll tax (receipt) free.” George then had his men stuff the ballot boxes by adding as many poll tax receipts that remained and keeping a list of voters over the age of sixty who were exempt or had passed away that were not recorded by the poll tax (p. 40). This evidence by the author showed that the politicians in office would then be answering to the beck and call of the patroness in which case allowing them to have rule over their constituents and keeping the Mexican American race illiterate, unskilled and …show more content…
With a family member in each entity, the Parr organization had its hands in every part of the Mexican Americans way of living. If any person needed medicine and could not afford it the need would get reported to one of the Parr’s and the means of paying them back would be created as a payback in the future. Givens Parr was Duval County Judge in 1915 and later vice president of Texas State Bank along with his sister Lillian and later Atlee Parr was named President of the same bank which was the sole depository for the city and school funds. (p. 153) making them the leading lending source of money to anyone wanting to improve their conditions. Next, was Marie Parr that served as a National Convention delegate with her father in order to get support for the pardon of her brother George that was serving a prison term for several violations mentioned in the book to some extent? Others served on school boards, district committees and were in control of placing the grand jury members that decided whether someone should be indicted. Anthony Carrazzo provides several instances in his book about the overseeing of Duval County by the Parr family and the influence they had to the end of George Parr’s
Carrozza, also used several comparisons in his book to emphasize that the methods used by the Parr family were similar to those used in other parts of the country by many political bosses, such as, the quote he used in the Senate review of poll tax misuse or abuse, “If you will let those Mexicans alone, they would be just …show more content…
Carrazzo explains the ballot box stuffing which would indeed guarantee a win for a candidate that would support their local laws and maintain the race relations George had with the Mexican American population. On page thirty-nine the author states, “The backbone of the political machine continued to be the Mexican American voter, and that population continued to hover around 90 percent, giving its patron a power base that was virtually unbeatable at the voting booth.” With this in mind, he also quotes from an interview of one of George’s lieutenants, “Go to every house and give them the poll tax (receipt) free.” George then had his men stuff the ballot boxes by adding as many poll tax receipts that remained and keeping a list of voters over the age of sixty who were exempt or had passed away that were not recorded by the poll tax (p. 40). This evidence by the author showed that the politicians in office would then be answering to the beck and call of the patroness in which case allowing them to have rule over their constituents and keeping the Mexican American race illiterate, unskilled and …show more content…
With a family member in each entity, the Parr organization had its hands in every part of the Mexican Americans way of living. If any person needed medicine and could not afford it the need would get reported to one of the Parr’s and the means of paying them back would be created as a payback in the future. Givens Parr was Duval County Judge in 1915 and later vice president of Texas State Bank along with his sister Lillian and later Atlee Parr was named President of the same bank which was the sole depository for the city and school funds. (p. 153) making them the leading lending source of money to anyone wanting to improve their conditions. Next, was Marie Parr that served as a National Convention delegate with her father in order to get support for the pardon of her brother George that was serving a prison term for several violations mentioned in the book to some extent? Others served on school boards, district committees and were in control of placing the grand jury members that decided whether someone should be indicted. Anthony Carrazzo provides several instances in his book about the overseeing of Duval County by the Parr family and the influence they had to the end of George Parr’s