Samuel Taliaferro "Sam" Rayburn - "Mr. Democrat" - the longest serving Speaker of the House

The other day I explored the career of a somewhat forgotten hero of American politics Hubert Humphrey. When I think of Humphrey I always think of Lyndon Johnson and when I think of Lyndon Johnson I think about his mentor and fellow Texan, Sam Rayburn. Rayburn was the consummate politician. He was born in Roane County, Tennessee, on January 6, 1882, graduated from Mayo College (now Texas A&M University-Commerce) and attended the University of Texas School of Law while teaching. In 1908, he was admitted to the State Bar of Texas. After serving in the Texas legislature, he was elected to Congress in 1912 and would serve in the House of Representatives for the next 48 years!

Rayburn was elected majority leader of the 75th Congress in 1937. In 1940, Rayburn was selected to replace the deceased William Bankhead as Speaker of the House, a position he held for a record number seventeen and half years. He also served as minority leader during the 80th and 83rd Congresses, the two periods of Republican majorities in the House of Representatives.

Between 1931 and 1937, he served as chairman of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. Sam Rayburn supported the majority of New Deal legislation proposed by the Roosevelt administration from 1933 to 1936. As chairman, Rayburn was instrumental in the passage of the Truth in Securities Act, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rayburn participated in the creation of the Federal Communications Commission, as well as the passage of the Public Utilities Holding Company Act, and the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act. Of particular importance to Rayburn was his work with Senator George W. Norris in sponsoring the Rural Electrification Act (Briscoe Center for American History)

In shaping legislation, Rayburn preferred working quietly in the background to being in the public spotlight. As Speaker, he won a reputation for fairness and integrity. In his years in Congress, Rayburn always insisted on paying his own expenses, even going so far as to pay for his own travel expenses when inspecting the Panama Canal when his committee was considering legislation concerning it, rather than exercising his right to have the government pay for it. When he died, his personal savings totaled only $15,000, and most of his holdings were in his family ranch.

Rayburn was well known among his colleagues for his after business hours "Board of Education" meetings in hideaway offices in the House. During these off-the-record sessions, the Speaker and powerful committee chairmen would gather for poker, bourbon, and a frank discussion of politics. Rayburn alone determined who received an invitation to these gatherings; to be invited to even one was a high honor. On April 12, 1945 Vice President Harry Truman, a regular attendee since his Senate days, had just arrived at the "Board of Education" when he received a phone call telling him to immediately come to the White House, where he learned that Franklin D. Roosevelt was dead and he was now President of the United States. (Wikipedia)

Known by most as "Mr. Democrat," Sam Rayburn was permanent chairman of the national Democratic convention in 1948, 1952, and 1956 and was named Honorary Chairman in 1960. 

The period between 1957 and 1961, the time Rayburn used the Rayburn Museum office, saw several significant achievements in American government. In 1957, Congress voted on the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the first Civil Rights legislation since Reconstruction. Another Civil Rights Act was passed in 1960. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established to provide civilian control over the nation's space program. Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as the 49th and 50th states in the United States. In 1958 the National Defense Education Act provided the first significant federal contribution to public education since Reconstruction. Also in 1958 was the passage of the Hospital Survey and Construction Act, the first legislation which provided federal grants for construction of hospitals and healthcare facilities. (Briscoe Center for American History)

To honor Sam Rayburn, everything from schools, to submarines and reservoirs have been named after him. In 2012 the ice cream maker Choco Taco released a "Sam Rayburn Centennial" bar in celebration of Rayburn's first term in Congress and of course the House Office building is named the Rayburn House Office Building. Yet, with all that I bet there are only a handful of people who could identify Sam Rayburn, and maybe that's just the way he would have wanted it!
Let's end with some quotes from Sam Rayburn:

        A jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

        If a man has common sense, he has all the sense there is

and one that many of the current members of the House should live by!

       No one has a finer command of language, than the person who keeps his mouth shut!