Editing Sam Rayburn (section)

==U.S. House of Representatives==
Due to a series of lucky events for Rayburn, the House district of his home county of Fannin County, the [[Texas's 4th congressional district|fourth district]], was open for him to run. Senator [[Joseph Weldon Bailey]] was rocked by allegations of corruption and bribery involving oil companies so he announced his resignation effective January 1913. The longtime incumbent representative of the fourth district, [[Choice B. Randell]], ran for Bailey's open senate seat in the July 1912 primary election and lost. Rayburn won election to the House of Representatives in 1912 after a bruising Democratic primary where he won by only 490 votes. He won the general election afterwards and became a Representative. He entered Congress in 1913 at the beginning of [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s presidency and served in office for almost 49 years (more than 24 terms), until the beginning of [[John F. Kennedy]]'s presidency.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|last=Shanks|first=Alexander G|date=1968|title=Sam Rayburn in the Wilson Administrations, 1913-1921|url=https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1147&context=ethj|journal=East Texas Historical Journal|volume=6|pages=9}}</ref>

[[File:World War I Draft Registration Card for Sam Rayburn - NARA - 641779.gif|thumb|left|200px|Rayburn's World War I draft registration card. In 1917 all 21- to 30-year-old men were required to register for the draft. In August 1918 it was expanded to 18- to 45-year-old men.]]

Rayburn was a protégé of then-Representative [[John Nance Garner]]. Despite Rayburn's freshman status, in 1913, Garner helped him become a member of the powerful [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee]], which handled legislation pertaining to commerce, bridges, coal, oil, communication, motion pictures, securities exchanges, holding companies and the [[U.S. Coast Guard|Coast Guard]]. Rayburn learned how to make deals and how to deal with adversity during his first two decades in the House. While he was a young representative he introduced and helped pass numerous anti-trust and railroad-related legislation such as the [[Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914]], the [[Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914]] and the [[Esch–Cummins Act|Esch–Cummins Transportation Act]] (The Railway Stock and Bond Bill that was originally introduced in 1914 was the first ever major legislation that was crafted and proposed by Rayburn. In 1920 it finally became law in the Esch-Cummins Act).<ref name="auto"/><ref name="Fannin County Historical Commission 1961">{{cite web | title=Congressman Rayburn | website=Fannin County Historical Commission | date=November 16, 1961 | url=http://fannincountyhistory.org/congressman-rayburn.html | access-date=August 9, 2019 | archive-date=August 9, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809012500/https://www.fannincountyhistory.org/congressman-rayburn.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

As a signal of things to come for Rayburn, after only eight years in the House he was elected to be [[Democratic Caucus Chairman of the United States House of Representatives|House Democratic Caucus Chairman]]. He served as chairman from 1921 to 1923. At only age 39 when he was elected chairman he was the youngest person ever elected to that position. During the 1920s, Rayburn kept a low profile due to the Republican dominance of Congress and the Presidency under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. Rayburn's biggest contribution in this decade was to help create the [[U.S. Highway System]] in 1926, the first major victory of his lifelong dream to make paved roads available for all Americans.

[[File:DenisonDam 01-2006.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Denison Dam]] located in Rayburn's House district was authorized by the [[Flood Control Act of 1938]]. The dam created [[Lake Texoma]].]]

Rayburn worked as Garner's campaign manager during the [[1932 United States presidential election|1932 presidential election]] and released Garner's delegates to vote for Roosevelt after a deal was made to make Garner the vice-presidential nominee.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1932 |title=Roosevelt Nominated on Fourth Ballot; Garner Expected to be His Running Mate; Governor Will Fly to Convention Today |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/320702convention-dem-ra.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204033443/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/320702convention-dem-ra.html |archive-date=February 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Donnelly |first=Thomas |date=1935 |title=The 1932 Campaign: An Analysis |publisher=[[Farrar & Rinehart]]}}</ref>

From 1931 to 1937, Rayburn was Chairman of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. Due to his position and influence on this committee he helped pass landmark [[New Deal]] bills such as the [[Securities Act of 1933|Truth in Securities Act]], the bills that established the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] and the [[Federal Communications Commission]], the [[Public Utilities Holding Company Act]], the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act, and the [[Rural Electrification Act]].<ref name="Famous Texans 1913">{{cite web | title=Sam Rayburn | website=Famous Texans | date=April 7, 1913 | url=http://www.famoustexans.com/samrayburn.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001022015309/http://www.famoustexans.com/samrayburn.htm | url-status=usurped | archive-date=October 22, 2000 | access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref>

Rayburn was a big supporter of projects that helped make life easier for farmers and rural Americans like dams and [[farm-to-market road]]s. His role in creating new lakes such as [[Lake Texoma]] and changing old rural dirt roads into fully paved roads ensured lifelong support from his congressional district constituents. The dams in rural America controlled rivers from flooding and also generated electricity. The [[Flood Control Act of 1936]] combined with the Rural Electrification Act helped to bring electricity to 90% of rural America by 1959, compared to only 3% in the early 1930s. In 1943–44, Rayburn helped to establish in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Louisiana the [[Southwestern Power Administration]], which became a "mini-[[Tennessee Valley Authority]]" in the region. The main difference from the TVA was the SWPA only involved federal dams constructed by the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]]. He also helped pass laws that established the [[Natural Resources Conservation Service|Soil Conservation Service]] and the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]. These two agencies were primarily engaged in [[erosion control|water and soil erosion control]] due to the negative effects of farming in America that led to catastrophes like the [[Dust Bowl]].<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 30240993|title = Sam Rayburn and the Development of Public Power in the Southwest|journal = The Southwestern Historical Quarterly|volume = 78|issue = 2|pages = 140–154|last1 = Brown|first1 = D. Clayton|year = 1974}}</ref><ref name="Anderson 1935">{{cite web | last=Anderson | first=Paul E. | title=Sam Rayburn and Rural Electrification | website=East Texas History | date=May 11, 1935 | url=https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/73 | access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Turner |first=David P |date=1965 |title=Sam Rayburn and New Deal Legislation 1933–1936 |type=MA |publisher=North Texas State University |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc699720/ |access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref>