Sam Rayburn americký politik

Sam Rayburn, v plném rozsahu Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, (narozen 6. ledna 1882, Roane County, Tenn., USA - zemřel 16. listopadu 1961, Bonham, Texas), americký politický vůdce, který sloužil jako mluvčí amerického domu Zástupci téměř 17 let. Poprvé byl zvolen do Parlamentu v roce 1912 a sloužil zde nepřetržitě po dobu 48 let, 8 měsíců, což bylo v době jeho smrti rekordním držením. Byl zvolen do kongresu 25krát za sebou. Ve své paměti byl pojmenován kancelář Rayburn House Office Building, kongresová kancelářská budova na kopci Capitol.

Kvíz

Studie historie: Fakta nebo fikce?

Diamant naděje je dnes menší než v minulých stoletích.

Život

Rayburnova rodina, převážně skotského původu, se v roce 1887 přestěhovala z Tennessee do Texasu a tam Rayburn vyrostl na 40 akrové farmě. Pracoval na východním Texasu Normal College (nyní Texas A&M University - Commerce), vyučoval školu a stal se právníkem. Působil v texaské sněmovně zástupců po dobu šesti let (1907–13) a v roce 1911 byl zvolen řečníkem. Následující rok byl zvolen do amerického Kongresu, kde zůstal téměř půl století.

Energický, pilný, ambiciózní a přívětivý, Rayburn rychle se stal vlivným za scénami ve vládě a ve stranické politice. Jako předseda (1931–1937) mocného sněmovního výboru pro mezistátní a zahraniční obchod byl hlavním architektem New Deal. Jako člen Sněmovny reprezentantů byl spoluautorem šesti důležitých zákonů - zákona o nouzové železniční dopravě, zákona o pravdě v cenných papírech, zákona o burze cenných papírů, zákona o federálních komunikacích, zákona o elektrifikaci venkova a jednoho zákona ze všech nejhorších sporů ze všech zákonů o nových obchodech, zákona o veřejné holdingové společnosti.

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.