Sam Rayburn politician american

Sam Rayburn, pe deplin Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, (născut la 6 ianuarie 1882, județul Roane, Tenn. SUA - a murit la 16 noiembrie 1961, Bonham, Texas), lider politic american, care a ocupat funcția de vorbitor al Casei SUA din Reprezentanți de aproape 17 ani. A fost ales pentru prima dată în Cameră în 1912 și a servit acolo continuu timp de 48 de ani 8 luni, ceea ce la momentul morții sale era un mandat record. A fost ales în Congres de 25 de ori consecutiv. Clădirea de birouri Rayburn House, o clădire de birouri a Congresului de pe Capitol Hill, a fost numită în memoria sa.

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Viaţă

Familia lui Rayburn, de origine predominant scoțiană, s-a mutat din Tennessee în Texas în 1887, iar acolo Rayburn a crescut într-o fermă de 40 de acri. Și-a lucrat prin East Texas Normal College (acum Texas A&M University — Commerce), a predat școala și a devenit avocat. El a servit în Camera Reprezentanților din Texas timp de șase ani (1907-13) și în 1911 a fost ales președinte. În anul următor a fost ales în Congresul SUA, unde a rămas aproape o jumătate de secol.

Energetic, studios, ambițios și afectabil, Rayburn a devenit rapid influent în culisele guvernului și în politica de partid. În calitate de președinte (1931–37) al puternicului Comitet al Camerei pentru Interstate și Comerț Exterior, a fost un arhitect major al New Deal. În calitate de membru al Camerei Reprezentanților, el a fost coautor al șase legi importante - Legea privind transportul pe căile ferate de urgență, Legea „Adevărul în valori mobiliare”, Legea bursei, Legea privind comunicațiile federale, Legea privind electrificarea rurală și una dintre cele mai amar contestate dintre toate legile New Deal, Public Utility Holding Act.

Rayburn was elected Democratic leader of the House of Representatives in 1937 and became speaker of the House on Sept. 16, 1940. He held the latter office for almost 17 years, exceeding by a wide margin the previous record set by Kentucky statesman Henry Clay in the first quarter of the 19th century. Noted for his tart common sense, his honesty, and his unflagging patriotism, Rayburn was a trusted adviser to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. A dedicated party man who described himself as a Democrat “without prefix, without suffix, and without apology,” Rayburn was often called “Mr. Democrat.” He was permanent chairman of the Democratic National Convention in 1948, 1952, and 1956. After he won the battle in 1961 to enlarge the House Committee on Rules—the hardest internal House struggle in 50 years—Rayburn’s health failed quickly. Before Congress adjourned that year, he went home to Bonham, Texas, where he died.

Legacy

At the time of his death, Rayburn was regarded as an extraordinarily able legislator who had gone on to become the most effective speaker of the House since Joe Cannon was divested of his power in 1910. That assessment of Rayburn did not change in the decades following his death. His pivotal role in the House as a broker between the Northern and Southern wings of the Democratic Party, however, was later better understood and appreciated. During Rayburn’s tenure, power in the House was lodged in the hands of committee chairs who gained their positions through seniority. Because the American South still was overwhelmingly Democratic and the Republican Party was not competitive there, Southern Democrats in the House—with their seniority and their control over chairs of committees—tended to have great power. Northern Democrats tended to be more liberal than their Southern counterparts, but their lack of seniority and committee chairs diminished their influence in the House. Rayburn brokered the interests of both wings of the Democratic Party.

Although the office of speaker at that time lacked great formal powers, Rayburn used the limited influence of the office to maximum advantage. He also relied heavily on his personal prestige, his skill at persuasion, and personal friendships built up over decades in the House to bridge the regional differences within the Democratic Party and to forge a working majority in the House. His leadership style usually resulted in congenial relations not only between the Northern and Southern wings of the Democratic Party but also between Rayburn and the Republican leadership of the House—a considerable accomplishment, especially when viewed in the light of the divisive House of Representatives in the early 21st century.