Nicholas Longworth
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| Nicholas Longworth | |
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| In office December 7, 1925 – March 4, 1931 |
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| Preceded by | Frederick H. Gillett |
| Succeeded by | John Nance Garner |
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| In office 1915–1931 |
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| Preceded by | Stanley E. Bowdle |
| Succeeded by | John B. Hollister |
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| Born | November 5, 1869 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Died | April 9, 1931 Aiken, South Carolina |
| Political party | Republican |
- See also Nicholas Longworth (1783 - 1863)
Nicholas Longworth (November 5, 1869 - April 9, 1931) was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century. He served as House Majority Leader from 1923 to 1925 and subsequently as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1925 to 1931.
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[edit] Early years and education
Longworth was born into an old, prominent, and wealthy Cincinnati, Ohio family. The Longworths dominated Cincinnati life as the Lytle family did before them and the Taft family would after them.
Nicholas Longworth attended Harvard College, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Harvard, he attended Harvard Law School for one year, but transferred to and received his law degree from Cincinnati Law School in 1894.
A gifted musician, Longworth was considered by Efrem Zimbalist and others as one of the most talented amateur violinists in the United States (Longworth owned a 1690 Stradivarius). He also sang and played piano, which made him a welcome parlor guest.
[edit] Professional life and entry into politics
Longworth began a law practice in Cincinnati after being admitted to the Ohio bar in 1894. His political career began with a position on the city's Board of Education in 1898.
As the protégé of Republican boss George Cox, Longworth was elected to the Ohio state legislature, serving in the lower house in 1899 and 1900, then in the State Senate from 1901 to 1903. In 1902, Longworth was elected to the United States House of Representatives from a Cincinnati-area district.
The new representative, still a bachelor, quickly became a popular bon vivant in Washington, D.C. society. He successfully wooed Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt; they married in a White House ceremony in 1906.
Already well-known for his social success, Longworth first came to political prominence in 1910, when he led the successful Republican revolt against the autocratic rule of House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon. Throughout his political career, Longworth was a workhorse, especially on issues regarding foreign affairs and the protective tariff.
As the insurgent (or "Progressive") Republicans pulled apart from the conservatives in 1910-12, Longworth sided with the conservatives. Theodore Roosevelt, Longworth's father-in-law, led the Progressives, and bolted the Republican convention in the 1912 election to set up a third party. However, many of Roosevelt's closest political allies, including Longworth, supported conservative standard-bearer President William Howard Taft. Longworth's decision caused a permanent chill in his marriage to Roosevelt's daughter, Alice. For men like Longworth expecting a future in politics, bolting the Republican party ticket was simply too radical a step. Also, Longworth agreed more with Taft than Roosevelt on critical issues like an independent judiciary and support for business.
Because the Progressive party ran a candidate in his district, Longworth was defeated (by only 105 votes) in 1912. (Longworth's wife appeared at a speech by his Progressive opponent and would thereafter joke that it was she who cost her husband at least 100 of those 105 votes.)
[edit] Majority Leader and Speaker
Longworth returned to Congress in 1914, serving until his death, and became Majority Leader of the House in 1923.
After an effective term as Majority Leader, Longworth moved up to become Speaker in 1925 after Frederick Gillett took a seat in the United States Senate. Ironically, his first act as speaker was to restore much of the power to the office that had been stripped away during the revolt he had led against Cannon.
Longworth began his tenure by punishing 13 self-styled Progressives, who supported Robert LaFollette instead of Calvin Coolidge in 1924. He expelled the rebels from the GOP caucus, and stripped even the committee chairmen among them of all seniority. Longworth took control of the Steering Committee and Committee on Committees and placed his own men on the Rules Committee, guaranteeing that he controlled the work of the House.
Ignoring the left wing of the party, Longworth passed legislation that aimed for balanced budgets and major tax reductions, resisting any new programs that would expand the role of government. However, Longworth defied President Herbert Hoover in 1931 by supporting the long-stalled veterans bonus bill; it passed but Hoover vetoed it, setting up the Bonus March of 1932.
Longworth reached across the aisle to Democrats, forging a productive relationship with John Nance Garner, that party's House minority leader, who relied upon informal methods to strengthen his party's influence. He enjoyed a close rapport with Garner, who said of Longworth, "I was the heathen and Nick was the aristocrat." Together they hosted a daily gathering of Democrat and Republican congressmen in a secluded room in the Capitol, which became known as the "Bureau of Education." This unofficial club provided a place for politicians to relax with a drink and get to know and work with one another across party lines.[1]
[edit] Final Days and Death
Longworth served as speaker until 1931, after the Republicans lost their House majority in the election of 1930. Journalist Frank R. Kent of the Baltimore Sun concluded of him:
- "Without any revision of the rules he completely recovered the power of the speakership and was the undisputed leader of the House with as autocratic control as either Reed or Cannon. It is true he exercised this power with infinitely more tact and grace and gumption and without that touch of offensive arrogance that characterized former House Czars. But he was just as much a Czar. What Mr. Longworth clearly proved was this matter of leadership depends not so much on the rules but on the man.[2]
While visiting his friend Dwight Filley Davis (of Davis Cup fame), in Aiken, South Carolina, Longworth caught pneumonia and died unexpectedly. His wife, Alice brought his body back to Cincinnati, where it was interred in the Spring Grove Cemetery.
One historian sums up Longworth: "Debonair and aristocratic, given to wearing spats and carrying a gold-headed cane, he was anything but a typical politician. He was perpetually cheerful, quick with a joke or witty retort, and unfailingly friendly. He seemed never to have a care and made hard decisions with such ease and detachment that some people wondered if anything at all really mattered to him." [3]
[edit] Legacy
Nicholas Longworth strengthened the power of the House of Representatives. He was popular on both sides of the aisle, and his years of leadership are commemorated in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill.
Besides his widow, Longworth left one child, Paulina. They apparently destroyed his papers, and no major biography has been written.
[edit] Notes
[edit] See also
- Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 1st District
- Alice Roosevelt Longworth - his wife
- Paulina Longworth - his daughter
- Clara Longworth de Chambrun - his sister
- Longworth House Office Building Congressional office building
- Longworth family
[edit] External links
- http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000433 Official US House of Representatives site and short biography
[edit] References
- Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography, vol. 13, "Longworth, Nicholas". New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Bacon, Donald C. "Nicholas Longworth: The Genial Czar" in Raymond W Smock and Susan W Hammond, eds. Masters of the House: Congressional Leadership Over Two Centuries (1998) pp 119-43.
- De Chambrun, Clara Longworth. The Making of Nicholas Longworth; Annals of an American Family. New York: Ray Long and Richard R. Smith, Inc., 1933. Reprint, Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, [1971] - Note. Clara detested Nick's wife Alice Roosevelt Longworth and she's not even mentioned or pictured in her book on her famous brother.
| Preceded by Frederick H. Gillett |
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives December 7, 1925–March 4, 1927; December 5, 1927–March 4, 1929; April 15, 1929–March 4, 1931 |
Succeeded by John Nance Garner |
| Speakers of the United States House of Representatives |  |
|---|---|
| Muhlenberg • Trumbull • Muhlenberg • Dayton • Sedgwick • Macon • Varnum • Clay • Cheves • Clay • Taylor • Barbour • Clay • Taylor • Stevenson • Bell • Polk • Hunter • White • Jones • Davis • Winthrop • Cobb • Boyd • Banks • Orr • Pennington • Grow • Colfax • Pomeroy • Blaine • Kerr • Randall • Keifer • Carlisle • Reed • Crisp • Reed • Henderson • Cannon • Clark • Gillett • Longworth • Garner • Rainey • Byrns • Bankhead • Rayburn • Martin • Rayburn • Martin • Rayburn • McCormack • Albert • O'Neill • Wright • Foley • Gingrich • Hastert • Pelosi |
| Majority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives |  |
|---|---|
| Payne • Underwood • Kitchin • Mondell • Longworth • Tilson • Rainey • Byrns • Bankhead • Rayburn • McCormack • Halleck • McCormack • Halleck • McCormack • Albert • Boggs • O'Neill • Wright • Foley • Gephardt • Armey • DeLay • Blunt (acting) • Boehner • Hoyer |
