Sam Rayburn politico americano

Sam Rayburn, in pieno Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, (nato il 6 gennaio 1882, contea di Roane, Tenn., Stati Uniti - è morto il 16 novembre 1961, Bonham, Texas), leader politico americano, che è stato relatore della Camera degli Stati Uniti Rappresentanti per quasi 17 anni. Fu eletto per la prima volta alla Camera nel 1912 e vi prestò servizio ininterrottamente per 48 anni e 8 mesi, che al momento della sua morte fu un incarico record. Fu eletto al Congresso 25 volte consecutive. Il Rayburn House Office Building, un edificio per uffici congressuale a Capitol Hill, è stato nominato in sua memoria.

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Vita

La famiglia di Rayburn, di origine prevalentemente scozzese, si trasferì dal Tennessee al Texas nel 1887, e lì Rayburn crebbe in una fattoria di 40 acri. Si è fatto strada nell'East Texas Normal College (ora Texas A&M University — Commerce), ha insegnato a scuola ed è diventato avvocato. Ha prestato servizio nella Camera dei Rappresentanti del Texas per sei anni (1907-1913) e nel 1911 è stato eletto relatore. L'anno seguente fu eletto al Congresso degli Stati Uniti, dove rimase per quasi mezzo secolo.

Energico, studioso, ambizioso e affabile, Rayburn divenne rapidamente influente dietro le quinte nel governo e nella politica di partito. Come presidente (1931-1937) del potente comitato della Camera sul commercio interstatale e straniero, fu un grande architetto del New Deal. Come membro della Camera dei rappresentanti, è stato coautore di sei leggi importanti: la legge sul trasporto ferroviario di emergenza, la legge sulla verità in titoli, la legge sulla borsa valori, la legge federale sulle comunicazioni, la legge sull'elettrificazione rurale e una del più duramente contestato di tutte le leggi del New Deal, il Public Utility Holding Company Act.

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.