John W. McCormack
John McCormack | |
---|---|
45th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | |
In office January 10, 1962 – January 3, 1971 | |
Preceded by | Sam Rayburn |
Succeeded by | Carl Albert |
Leader of the House Democratic Caucus | |
In office January 10, 1962 – January 3, 1971 | |
Preceded by | Sam Rayburn |
Succeeded by | Carl Albert |
House Majority Leader | |
In office January 3, 1955 – January 10, 1962 | |
Deputy | Carl Albert |
Preceded by | Charles A. Halleck |
Succeeded by | Carl Albert |
In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953 | |
Deputy | Percy Priest |
Preceded by | Sam Rayburn |
Succeeded by | Charles A. Halleck |
In office September 16, 1940 – January 3, 1947 | |
Deputy | Patrick J. Boland Robert Ramspeck John Sparkman |
Preceded by | Sam Rayburn |
Succeeded by | Charles A. Halleck |
House Minority Whip | |
In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 | |
Leader | Sam Rayburn |
Preceded by | Leslie C. Arends |
Succeeded by | Leslie C. Arends |
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |
Leader | Sam Rayburn |
Preceded by | Leslie C. Arends |
Succeeded by | Leslie C. Arends |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts | |
In office November 6, 1928 – January 3, 1971 | |
Preceded by | James A. Gallivan |
Succeeded by | Louise Day Hicks |
Constituency | 12th district (1928–1963) 9th district (1963–1971) |
Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 3rd Suffolk district | |
In office 1923–1928 | |
Preceded by | William H. McDonnell |
Succeeded by | Henry Parkman Jr. |
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 11th Suffolk district | |
In office 1920–1922 Serving with James B. Troy | |
Preceded by | Patrick M. Costello, Michael J. Reidy |
Succeeded by | Hugh H. Garrity, Walter B. Grant |
Personal details | |
Born | West Roxbury, Massachusetts | December 21, 1891
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Harriet Joyce
(m. 1920; died 1971) |
Relatives | Camp Lee, Virginia |
Battles/wars | World War I |
John William McCormack (December 21, 1891 – November 22, 1980) was an American politician from
McCormack advanced through the leadership ranks to become majority leader before being chosen as the 45th speaker of the House. He served as speaker from 1962 until his 1971 retirement.
McCormack's congressional career was highlighted by his support for the
At 42 years and 58 days, as of 2022 McCormack's service in the U.S. House ranks 18th in terms of uninterrupted time. He is the longest-serving member of the U.S. House in Massachusetts history.
Early life
McCormack was born in Boston on December 21, 1891.
McCormack said for most of his life that his father died when McCormack was 13; other sources indicate that his father actually left the family and moved to Waldoboro, Maine, where he worked in the local granite quarries.[2] He died in 1929, and was buried in a pauper's grave at Waldoboro Rural Cemetery.[2]
McCormack attended the
Start of political career
As a young man, McCormack began his involvement in politics by making campaign speeches on behalf of local Democratic candidates.[8] In May 1917, McCormack was elected to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, representing the 11th Suffolk District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[9][10]
World War I
In June 1918, McCormack enlisted in the
Continued political career
After the war McCormack practiced law and resumed his political career.[11] He soon entered the state legislature, representing the 11th Suffolk District[13] in the House from 1920 to 1922 and serving in the Senate from 1923 to 1926, including holding the leadership position of Democratic floor leader in 1925 and 1926.[11] In 1926 he made an unsuccessful primary election run against incumbent Congressman James A. Gallivan.[11] McCormack made a favorable impression in a losing cause, leaving him well positioned for a future race.[14] He resumed practicing law, and built a successful career as a trial attorney, which enabled him to enjoy an income that reached $30,000 a year (approximately $400,000 in 2016).[15]
McCormack was selected as a delegate to every state Democratic convention from 1920 until his retirement.[16] In addition, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1932, 1940, 1944, and 1948.[16]
Congressional career
McCormack's opportunity to run for Congress again came after Gallivan died in 1928.[15] That November McCormack won both the special election to complete Gallivan's term in the U.S. House as well as the general election for a full term.[15] He was reelected 20 times, initially from the 12th District, and from the re-numbered 9th after 1963.[17] McCormack usually won reelection without difficulty, and he served in the House from November 6, 1928, to January 3, 1971 (the 70th to 91st Congresses).[17] He did not run for reelection in 1970.[18]
Early years in Congress
At the beginning of his House career, McCormack served on the Committee on Territories,[19] In his second term, Speaker John Nance Garner appointed McCormack to the powerful Ways and Means Committee, and he served there until 1941.[20]
McCormack maintained a consistently liberal voting record throughout his Congressional career, including support for the
Ascension to House leadership
When Sam Rayburn became Speaker in 1940, he backed McCormack for majority leader, a key factor in McCormack's victory over Clifton A. Woodrum.[22] For the next 21 years, McCormack was the second-ranking Democrat in the House;[20] he served as majority leader with Rayburn as Speaker when Democrats had the majority (1939–1947, 1951–1953, 1955–1961), and as minority whip with Rayburn as minority leader when the Republicans controlled the House (1947–1949, 1953–1955).[23]
Always staunch in his opposition to both Communism and Fascism, he played a key role in extending the military draft, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, when isolationist sentiment and opposition to U.S. involvement in World War II were still strong.[20][21]
He was chairman of the Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration in the
McCormack voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957,[25][26] and voted in favor of the initial House resolution for the Civil Rights Act of 1960 on March 24, 1960,[27] but did not vote on the Senate amendment to the bill on April 21, 1960.[28]
Speaker of the House
After Rayburn's death in November 1961, McCormack acted as Speaker until winning election to the post in early 1962; he served from January 1962 until retiring from the House in 1971.
McCormack was the first Catholic to be elected Speaker, and some critics complained that his religion sometimes showed in his leadership qualities.[20] As an example, during the 1961 debate on federal aid to schools, McCormack insisted that church schools should be included, and the bill died because of disagreement over this issue.[20] In 1963, McCormack changed his position, and oversaw passage of an aid bill devoted primarily to public schools.[20]
The latter part of McCormack's tenure increasingly focused on the debate over the Vietnam War, which he supported.[20] McCormack's demeanor changed during these years and he reminded some observers of a kindly elder relative attempting to provide wisdom and guidance to unruly younger family members.[20] According to House members, McCormack's strength was his personal consideration of members, which inspired them to return his affection and sparked a desire to work with him.[20] His weakness was that the seniority system created entrenched committee chairmen who wielded great power in the House, but could not be controlled by the Speaker.[20] As Speaker, McCormack pursued a national agenda; he was proud of fighting for passage of farm bills, though he said he did not have "more than five flower pots in my whole district."[20]
Between the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, and the swearing-in of Hubert Humphrey as Vice President on January 20, 1965, McCormack was first in the line of succession, thus he received Secret Service protection.[29]
In January 1969,
Retirement and death
McCormack lived in retirement in Boston.
Legacy
In 1983, the University of Massachusetts Boston established the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs.[11] In 1985, the university dedicated John W. McCormack Hall, which was named in McCormack's honor.[34] In 2003, the McCormack Institute was expanded into a graduate school.[35] In 2010, the school expanded its mission again, and it was renamed the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies.[35] The McCormack Graduate School's mission currently includes training in social justice, government accountability and transparency, and strengthening democratic institutions.[35]
The John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse in Boston was built in the early 1930s, and was renamed in McCormack's honor.[36] It was designated a Boston landmark by the city Landmarks Commission in 1998, and in 2011 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[37]
John W. McCormack Middle School in
A Massachusetts state government office building at Ashburton Place in Boston is also named for McCormack.[38]
Family
In 1920, McCormack married Marguerite Harriet Joyce (usually known as Harriet or M. Harriet); she was seven years older than McCormack and pursuing a career as an opera singer, a vocation she gave up after their wedding.[11]
The McCormacks had no children.[11]
While Congress was in session, they lived at the Washington Hotel.[11]
Stories about McCormack's devotion to his wife became legendary; his friends and colleagues claimed that they always had dinner together, no matter how late McCormack worked, and that they never spent a night apart.[11]
McCormack and his wife were devout
Harriet McCormack died at age 87 in December 1971, following a long hospitalization.[20][40] For more than a year, McCormack had spent every night in an adjoining hospital room.[20]
References
- ^ a b Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Irish Identity Politics", pp. 7–34.
- ^ "E. J. McCormack Dies; Speaker's Brother", p. 4.
- ^ Speaker McCormack's Brother Dies, p. 7.
- ^ a b c Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 3.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, pp. 2–3.
- ^ "Congressional Record". 1968. p. 3726. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 4.
- ^ Journal of the Constitutional Convention, pp. 7–8, 11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Souvenir of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, p. 94.
- ^ Public Officials of Massachusetts, 1920, p. 226.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, pp. 5, 7.
- ^ a b c Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 7.
- ^ a b Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, p. 1533.
- ^ a b Our Campaigns.com.
- ^ a b Congress A-Z, p. 299.
- ^ Historical Information of the Committee on Resources, p. 355.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Ex-House Speaker John McCormack Dies".
- ^ a b Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 9.
- ^ The Austin-Boston Connection, pp. 123–124.
- ^ The Austin-Boston Connection, pp. 124–125, 127–128.
- ^ a b "Read You Loud and Clear!", p. 28.
- ^ "House – June 18, 1957" (PDF). Congressional Record. 103 (7). U.S. Government Printing Office: 9518. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ "House – August 27, 1957" (PDF). Congressional Record. 103 (12). U.S. Government Printing Office: 16112–16113. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ "House – March 24, 1960" (PDF). Congressional Record. 106 (5). U.S. Government Printing Office: 6512. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ "House – April 21, 1960" (PDF). Congressional Record. 106 (7). U.S. Government Printing Office: 8507–8508. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ Four Days in November, p. 94.
- ^ a b c The Austin-Boston Connection, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Women in Congress, 1917–2006, p. 460.
- ^ Fighting for the Speakership, p. 294.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 20.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, p. Title.
- ^ a b c "The Lasting Legacy of John McCormack".
- ^ a b Biography, John W. McCormack, p. 15.
- ^ "John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse", p. 1.
- ^ "McCormack Building Occupant Handbook", p. 11.
- ^ The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts, p. 88.
- ^ Biography, John W. McCormack, pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b "Edward J. McCormack Jr., 73".
Sources
Magazines
- Nelson, Garrison (December 1, 1999). "Irish Identity Politics: The Reinvention of Speaker John W. McCormack of Boston". New England Journal of Public Policy. Boston, MA: John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs.
Books
- Bridgman, Arthur Milnor (1919). A Souvenir of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, Boston, 1917-18-19. Stoughton, MA: A. M. Bridgman.
- Champagne, Anthony (2009). The Austin-Boston Connection: Five Decades of House Democratic Leadership, 1937–1989. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-116-2.
- Tarr, David R.; O'Connor, Ann (199). Congress A-Z. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-57958-125-1.
- Howard, Richard T. (1920), Public Officials of Massachusetts, 1920, Boston, MA: The Boston Review
- Jenkins, Jeffery A.; Stewart, Charles (2013). Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-11812-3.
- Lapomarda, S.J., Vincent A. (1992). The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts (second ed.). Norwood, Massachusetts: Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council.
- Massachusetts Constitutional Convention (1919). Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Boston, MA: Wright & Potter Printing Co.
- Semple, Robert B. (2003). Four Days in November: The Original Coverage of the John F. Kennedy Assassination by the Staff of the New York Times. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-32161-1.
- Tsiao, Sunny (2008). "Read You Loud and Clear!": The Story of NASA's Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-080191-4.
- United States House of Representatives (2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-073176-1.
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Resources (2002). Historical Information of the Committee on Resources and its Predecessor Committees, 1807–2002 (PDF). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
- Wright, Paul M. (April 26, 1985). Biography, John W. McCormack: Prepared for the Dedication of John W. McCormack Hall at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts at Boston.
- Wasniewski, Matthew Andrew (2006). Women in Congress, 1917–2006. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 460. ISBN 978-0-16-076753-1.
Newspapers
- "E. J. McCormack Dies; Speaker's Brother". Desert Sun. Palm Springs, CA. United Press International. November 18, 1963.
- "Speaker McCormack's Brother Dies". The Express. Losk Haven, PA. Associated Press. January 8, 1966.
- Lyons, Richard L. (November 23, 1980). "Ex-House Speaker John McCormack Dies". The Washington Post. Washington, DC.
- Long, Tom (February 28, 1997). "Edward J. McCormack Jr., 73; influential politician, lawyer". The Boston Globe. Boston, MA. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017.
- Cash, David W. (December 19, 2016). "The Lasting Legacy of John McCormack". The Boston Globe. Boston, MA.
Internet
- "Candidate details, McCormack, John W." OurCampaigns.com. Glen Ellyn, IL: Randy Parker. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- "New England Region: John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse" (PDF). www.gsa.gov/. Washington, DC: US General Services Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 9, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- Office of Facilities Maintenance and Management (May 1, 2016). "John W. McCormack Building Occupant Handbook" (PDF). www.mass.gov/. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.
Bibliography
External videos | |
---|---|
Presentation by Garrison Nelson on John William McCormack: A Political Biography at the Massachusetts Historical Society, September 20, 2017, C-SPAN |
- Gordon, Lester I. (1976). John McCormack and the Roosevelt Era (Ph.D. diss.). Boston University. OCLC 48197458.
- Nelson, Garrison (2017). John William McCormack: A Political Biography. Bloomsbury Academic.
External links
- United States Congress. "John W. McCormack (id: M000364)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- John W. McCormack at Find a Grave