Sam Rayburn

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Sam Rayburn

Samuel Taliaferro "Sam" Rayburn (born January 6, 1882 in Roane County , Tennessee , † November 16, 1961 in Bonham , Texas ) was an American politician . He represented the state of Texas in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Rayburn graduated from Mayo College (now Texas A&M University-Commerce ) in Commerce . A year after leaving school, he won the Texas House of Representatives elections . During his third term in office, at the age of 29, he was elected Speaker of the House. The following year he won the US House of Representatives elections as a Democrat in the fourth district of Texas. His political career in Congress began in 1913 when Woodrow Wilson became president . Rayburn served in the office for more than 48 years. In all this time he has never seen a Republican or any other serious challenger in his re-election.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

On September 16, 1940, Rayburn was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. His career as a speaker was only interrupted twice: 1947-1948 and 1953-1954, when the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives. During that time, Rayburn was a minority leader .

Rayburn grew up in a poor family and became an advocate for the interests of the poor. He was also a close friend of Lyndon B. Johnson and Johnson's father Sam Ealy Johnson , whom he knew from his time in the Texas House of Representatives. Rayburn assisted Lyndon on his way to the presidency, particularly through his exceptional and prompt rise to the position of Majority Leader , Johnson served more than four years in the Senate . Johnson also owed Rayburn his subsequent promotion to Majority Leader . However, Rayburn did not live to see Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency, he only became US President two years after his death (at the time of Rayburn's death he was Vice President ).

Rayburn, known for having a menacing and influential presence in the House of Representatives, was incredibly reserved outside of work. He married once and that was Metze Jones, the sister of the Texas MP John Marvin Jones and Rayburn's colleague, but the marriage broke up after a short period, and no one really knew why. The biographer DB Hardeman suspected that Rayburn's work schedule and long bachelorhood, combined with the two spouses' different views on alcohol, led to the rift. The divorce court record in Bonham , Texas was never found, and Rayburn avoided talking about his short marriage. He deeply regretted that he had not had a son or, as he put it in Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, "could take a flax-blond boy fishing with him".

Legendary reputation

Rayburn preferred to work quietly in the background instead of being in the spotlight. As a speaker, he gained a reputation for being a just and honest person. He despised lobbyists and refused any kind of gifts or money from third parties. He just said "I'm not for sale" and kept walking. Throughout the years in Congress, Rayburn insisted on his right to pay his own expenses, especially insofar as it was a question of paying for his own travel expenses incurred while surveying the Panama Canal . Before he could exercise his rights, the government paid these costs for him. When he passed, his personal savings were only $ 15,000, most of which was the family ranch value.

Rayburn was well known among his peers for his after-hours activities. Namely, he led the "Education Committee" conferences in the House of Representatives. During these unofficial sessions, the speaker and committee chairmen came together for poker, bourbon and a free discussion of politics. Rayburn alone decided who was invited to these gatherings. An invitation to one of these "educational committees" was a great honor.

Rayburn coined the term " Sun Belt ", which strongly supported the construction of US Route 66. Originally from Chicago , turning over Oklahoma and then westward through Texas to New Mexico and Arizona before ending on the coast of Santa Monica , California . After a dispute in favor of the project, it got off to a brilliant start so that America was fully connected, "the Frost Belt with the Sun Belt."

The saying, "Any donkey can kick a barn door, but it takes a carpenter to fix it," is credited to Rayburn. Rayburn died of pancreatic cancer in 1961 at the age of 79. Posthumously he was awarded the Congress Gold Medal for his life's work. At the time of his death, he was spokesman for twice as long as the previous record holder, Henry Clay . John W. McCormack was elected to succeed him.

Honors

Special stamp (1962)

Bibliographies

  • Robert A. Caro: The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power (1982).
  • Anthony Champagne and Floyd F. Ewing: "RAYBURN, SAMUEL TALIAFERRO (1882-1961)." Handbook of Texas Online (2005) online version
  • Anthony Champagne: Congressman Sam Rayburn. Rutgers University Press, 1984.
  • Anthony Champagne: Sam Rayburn: A Bio-Bibliography Greenwood 1988.
  • C. Dwight Dorough: Mr. Sam. 1962
  • Lewis L. Gould and Nancy Beck Young: The Speaker and the Presidents: Sam Rayburn, the White House, and the Legislative Process, 1941-1961. In: Raymond W. Smock and Susan W. Hammond (Eds.): Masters of the House: Congressional Leadership Over Two Centuries 1998. online version
  • DB Hardeman and Donald C. Bacon: Rayburn: A Biography. Texas Monthly Press, Austin 1987.
  • Alfred Steinberg: Sam Rayburn. Hawthorn 1975

Web links

Commons : Sam Rayburn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Times Magazine
  2. ↑ Rayburn freemason , on the homepage of the phoenixmasonry (accessed on February 12, 2013). From: Wiliam R. Denslow: 10,000 Famous Freemasons. Cornerstone Book Publishers.
personal data
SURNAME Rayburn, Sam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rayburn, Samuel Taliaferro (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 6, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Roane County , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH November 16, 1961
Place of death Bonham , Texas