#30: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch
Q&A #30: Who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the longest period of time?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class, but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress
Members, Offices, and Staff
Q&A #30: Who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the longest period of time?
Sam Rayburn, of Texas, who was a member of the House for 48 years and 8 months, served as Speaker for 17 years and 2 months. However, the record for the longest continuous service as Speaker is held by Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, of Massachusets, who served consecutively for 10 years, thus surpassing John McCormack (8 years, 11 months, and 23 days; Champ Clark (7 years, 10 months, and 29 days); and Joseph G. Cannon (7 years, 3 months, and 24 days).
My Thoughts
Our American Government was last published in 2003, so I’m mentioning the tenures of Dennis Hastert (7 years, 359 days - consecutive) and Nancy Pelosi (7 years, 364 days) here, who served since then. Also, Henry Clay was Speaker for 10 years, 196 days from 1811 until 1823, so I’m not sure why he’s excluded in the official answer above. In any event, no one has come close to Sam Rayburn’s tenure from 1940 to 1961 with a short break in the early 1950’s. He served under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower.
As a fun fact, Theodore M. Pomeroy had the shortest tenure as Speaker serving for just one day: March 3, 1869 to March 4, 1869. His tenure was so short since he was appointed to fill in the gap left by the resignation of Speaker Schuyler Colfax (who became Vice President on March 4, 1869), but Pomeroy himself was leaving Congress on March 5, 2869.
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Back next time with Q&A #31: Who presides over the Senate?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
December 23, 2024