DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'm just the one riding shotgun while it unfolds. Now settle in, because this one's about a man who walked the halls of power longer than just about anybody in American history — and he started out as a farm boy in Fannin County, Texas. Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn was born in Tennessee on January 6th, 1882.
He was five years old when his family packed up and came to north Texas in 1887. A lot of people arrive in Texas and make a quiet life. Sam Rayburn arrived and apparently decided that wasn't quite enough.
His political career got moving in 1906 with his election to the Texas House of Representatives. That's where he first learned the machinery — who talks, who listens, who actually runs the room. And before long, Rayburn was running the room.
He was Speaker of the Texas House for the 1911 to 1913 session. Speaker. And he wasn't done warming up yet.
In 1912 — that same stretch of time — Rayburn was elected to the United States Congress from the 4th District. That was the first of his twenty-five consecutive terms. Twenty-five.
In a row. Let that settle over you like a West Texas dusk. He moved through the ranks the way a river finds the sea — steadily and with real conviction.
By 1921 he was chairman of the Democratic party caucus. Then came the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, which he headed from 1931 to 1937. After that, Majority Leader from 1937 to 1940.
In those years, Rayburn sponsored much of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. The New Deal — the great sweeping effort to pull a country back from the edge — and Sam Rayburn from north Texas had his hand in making it happen.
Then came September 16th, 1940. That is the date to remember. On that day, Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.
And except for the 80th Congress — that's 1947 to 1949 — and the 83rd, running 1953 to 1955, when he served as Minority Leader, Rayburn held the speakership until 1961. Longer than anyone in the nation's history. Longer than anyone.
That's not a Texas boast — that's the record. He chaired the Democratic National Conventions of 1948, 1952, and 1956. Three of them.
The man was a fixture, a landmark in his own right, a kind of gravitational center around which the whole business of American governance tended to orbit. Sam Rayburn died on November 16th, 1961. And here's where you know the measure of a life — look at who comes to say goodbye.
Presidents Harry S Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy were there. So was Lyndon B.
Johnson. Four names that between them nearly define the American twentieth century, all gathered in mourning for the boy who came out of Tennessee and grew up in north Texas. He is buried in Willow Wild Cemetery.
A long way from Capitol Hill — and exactly where he belonged.
What the marker says
Born in Tennessee on Jan. 6, 1882, Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn came to north Texas with his parents in 1887. His political career began in 1906 with his election to the Texas House of Representatives, where he was Speaker of the 1911-13 Session. Rayburn was elected to the U.S. Congress from the 4th District in 1912, the first of his 25 consecutive terms there. Rising quickly to a leadership position, he was chairman of the Democratic party caucus in 1921. As head of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee (1931-37) and then Majority Leader (1937-40), Rayburn sponsored much of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. On Sept. 16, 1940 Rayburn was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Except for the 80th (1947-49) and 83rd (1953-55) Congresses, when he was Minority Leader, Rayburn held the speakership until 1961, longer than anyone in the nation's history. A party leader as well, he was chairman of the Democratic National Conventions of 1948, 1952, and 1956. Rayburn died on Nov. 16, 1961, and Presidents Harry S Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy, along with Lyndon B. Johnson, were among national figures at his funeral. He is buried in Willow Wild Cemetery. (1975)