Editing Sam Rayburn (section)

{{Short description|American politician (1882–1961)}}
{{about|the politician|the football player|Sam Rayburn (American football)|things named after the politician|#Named in his honor}}
{{Redirect|Mr. Democrat|general uses of the term|Democrat (disambiguation){{!}}Democrat}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birthname           = Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn
| image               = File:Sam Rayburn.jpg
| office              = 43rd [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]]
| term_start          = January 3, 1955
| term_end            = November 16, 1961
| predecessor         = [[Joseph W. Martin Jr.]]
| successor           = [[John W. McCormack]]
| term_start2         = January 3, 1949
| term_end2           = January 3, 1953
| predecessor2        = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| successor2          = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| term_start3         = September 16, 1940
| term_end3           = January 3, 1947
| predecessor3        = [[William B. Bankhead]]
| successor3          = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| office4             = 37th [[Dean of the United States House of Representatives]]
| term_start4         = January 3, 1953
| term_end4           = November 16, 1961
| predecessor4        = [[Robert L. Doughton]]
| successor4          = [[Carl Vinson]]
| order5              = [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|House Minority Leader]]
| term_start5         = January 3, 1953
| term_end5           = January 3, 1955
| deputy5             = [[John W. McCormack]]
| predecessor5        = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| successor5          = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| term_start6         = January 3, 1947
| term_end6           = January 3, 1949
| deputy6             = John W. McCormack
| predecessor6        = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| successor6          = Joseph W. Martin Jr.
| office7             = Leader of the [[House Democratic Caucus#Caucus Leader|House Democratic Caucus]]
| term_start7         = September 16, 1940
| term_end7           = November 16, 1961
| predecessor7        = [[William B. Bankhead]]
| successor7          = [[John W. McCormack]]
| order8              = [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|House Majority Leader]]
| term_start8         = January 3, 1937
| term_end8           = September 16, 1940
| deputy8             = [[Patrick J. Boland]]
| predecessor8        = [[William B. Bankhead]]
| successor8          = John W. McCormack
| order9              = Chair of the [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce]]
| term_start9         = March 4, 1931
| term_end9           = January 3, 1937
| predecessor9        = [[James S. Parker]]
| successor9          = [[Clarence F. Lea]]
| office10            = [[Democratic Caucus Chairman of the United States House of Representatives|Chair of the House Democratic Caucus]]
| leader10            = [[Claude Kitchin]]
| term_start10        = March 4, 1921
| term_end10          = March 4, 1923
| predecessor10       = [[Arthur Granville Dewalt|Arthur G. DeWalt]]
| successor10         = [[Henry T. Rainey]]
| state11             = [[Texas]]
| district11          = [[Texas's 4th congressional district|4th]]
| term_start11        = March 4, 1913
| term_end11          = November 16, 1961
| predecessor11       = [[Choice B. Randell]]
| successor11         = [[Ray Roberts (politician)|Ray Roberts]]
| office12            = [[Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives]]
| term_start12        = January 10, 1911
| term_end12          = January 14, 1913
| predecessor12       = John Wesley Marshall
| successor12         = Chester H. Terrell
| state_house13       = Texas
| district13          = [[Texas's 34th House of Representatives district|34th]]
| term_start13        = January 8, 1907
| term_end13          = January 14, 1913
| predecessor13       = Rosser Thomas
| successor13         = Robert Reuben Williams
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1882|1|6}}
| birth_place         = [[Kingston, Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1961|11|16|1882|1|6}}
| death_place         = [[Bonham, Texas]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Metze Jones|1927|1927|end=div}}
| alma_mater          = [[Texas A&M University–Commerce|East Texas Normal College]]<br>[[University of Texas School of Law]]
| profession          = [[Lawyer]]
| caption             = Rayburn in 1950
}}
'''Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn''' (January 6, 1882 – November 16, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 43rd [[speaker of the United States House of Representatives]]. He was a three-time House speaker, former House majority leader, two-time House minority leader, and a 24-term congressman, representing [[Texas's 4th congressional district]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] from 1913 to 1961. He holds the record for the [[List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives#Speakers by time in office|longest tenure as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]], serving for over 17 years (among his three separate tenures).

Born in [[Roane County, Tennessee]], Rayburn moved with his family to [[Windom, Texas]], in 1887. After a period as a school teacher, Rayburn won election to the [[Texas House of Representatives]] and graduated from the [[University of Texas School of Law]]. He won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1912 and continuously won re-election until his death in 1961, serving a total of 25 terms. Rayburn was a protégé of [[John Nance Garner]] and a mentor to [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].

Rayburn was elected House Majority Leader in 1937 and was elevated to the position of Speaker of the House after the death of [[William B. Bankhead]]. He led the House Democrats from 1940 to 1961, and served as Speaker of the House from 1940 to 1947, 1949 to 1953, and 1955 to 1961. Rayburn also served twice as House Minority Leader (1947 to 1949 and 1953 to 1955) during periods of Republican House control. He preferred to work quietly in the background and successfully used his power of persuasion and charisma to get his bills passed due to having to navigate the post-[[Joseph Gurney Cannon|Joseph Cannon]] era when each individual committee chairman had immense power in the House.

Along with Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson and most of the Texan Representatives, Rayburn refused to sign the 1956 [[Southern Manifesto]] and helped shepherd the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]] and [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]], the first civil rights bills passed by the U.S. Congress since the [[Enforcement Acts]] and the [[Civil Rights Act of 1875]] during [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] (1865–1877).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hardeman|first1=D.B.|last2=Bacon|first2=Donald C.|year=1987|title=Rayburn: A Biography|place=Austin, TX|publisher=Texas Monthly Press|pages=418–422|isbn=0932012035}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hardeman|first1=D.B.|last2=Bacon|first2=Donald C.|year=1987|title=Rayburn: A Biography|place=Austin, TX|publisher=Texas Monthly Press|page=431|isbn=0932012035}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – March 12, 1956|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=102|issue=4|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=4459–4461|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3-1.pdf|access-date=April 12, 2023}}</ref> Rayburn was also influential in the construction of [[U.S. Route 66]]. He served as Speaker until his death in 1961, and was succeeded by [[John W. McCormack]]. He is the most recent Speaker of the House to die in office.