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Joseph Gurney Cannon
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Joseph Gurney Cannon |
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| Political Biography: Joseph Cannon |
(b. Guilford, North Carolina, 7 May 1836; d. 12 Nov. 1926) US; Speaker of the House of Representatives 1903 – 11 "Cannonism" refers to Joseph Cannon's arbitrary management of business as Speaker in the US House of Representatives. He is also notable for being dethroned from his post, as a result of rebellion by disaffected Congressmen. When he was a child his family moved to Indiana and he became a lawyer. After serving as a state attorney in the strongly Republican state of Illinois, he was elected as a Republican to Congress in 1873, and served until 1891. He was ousted in the 1890 elections, a good year for the Democrats. Already his abrasive manner had earned him the title of "foul mouthed Joe". He was returned to the House in 1893 and served until 1913, and again from 1915 until 1923, when he retired. There was some support from him in 1908 at the Republican presidential convention. He was elected Speaker in the new Congress of 1903 and re-elected until his overthrow in 1910, though continuing in office until 1911. Cannon dominated the business in the house and presidents had to defer to him. At this time the Republican Party was increasingly divided between Progressive supporters of Theodore Roosevelt and the conservatives. He was deeply reactionary, opposing most progressive measures. His iron rule in the House was matched in the Senate by that of Nelson Aldrich. Cannon wielded his power through the Congressional Campaign Committee, which granted funds to or withheld them from Republican candidates for the House, and the Rules Committee, which determined the business of the House. He also ruthlessly exploited his power to appoint members and chairs of committees to punish rebellious or reformist congressmen. Increasingly, he alienated sufficient number of Democrats and Republicans to provoke a revolt and he was unseated in 1910 as reformers, led by Norris, sought to break the hold of the conservative establishment in Congress.
| Biography: Joseph Gurney Cannon |
Joseph Gurney Cannon (1836-1926) was the American politician whose arbitrary, often dictatorial, methods as Speaker of the House gave rise to the term "Cannonism."
Joseph Cannon was born in Guilford, N.C., on May 7, 1836, of old English and Huguenot stock. He grew up in Annapolis, Ind., studied 6 months at the Cincinnati Law School, and entered practice in Shelbyville, Ill., in 1858. He married Mary P. Reed in 1862.
A brilliant stump speaker in a racy, colloquial way, Cannon liked to pose as an untutored countryman. "I am," he said," one of the great army of mediocrity which constitutes the majority." More a standpatter than a reactionary, he was also a spoilsman, a protectionist, and an unqualified nationalist. "This country," he sometimes expostulated, is one "hell of a success."
After a long stint as an Illinois attorney general, Cannon was elected to Congress in 1872 and remained until 1923, except for the congresses of 1891-1893 and 1913-1915. He was known as "the hayseed member from Illinois," "foulmouthed Joe," and, in later life, "Uncle Joe," He served 8 years as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and 8 more as Speaker of the House, distinguishing himself in both posts for his high-handed geniality. In 1898, in a supreme moment of arrogance, he put through a $50,000,000 defense bill without consulting the other members of the Appropriations Committee.
Cannon had clashed with Theodore Roosevelt when the latter was civil service commissioner, and he was personally unsympathetic to much of the program of Roosevelt as president. Yet Cannon supported Roosevelt loyally until midway through the President's second administration. Cannon let some measures pass without opposing them, modified others, and worked to secure the enactment of still others. In 1906 he aided the passage of a number of reforms, including the Pure Food and Drug Bill. Conversely, his unwillingness to compromise on tariffs was largely responsible for the President's decision to abandon plans to reduce them. Holding that the government should spend "not one cent for scenery," Cannon fought Roosevelt's conservation program.
As Roosevelt became more progressive, Cannon parted with him completely. He fought bitterly and openly during Roosevelt's last 2 years in office, and in 1912 he was one of four Republicans to support consideration of an anti-third-term resolution aimed at Roosevelt. Cannon's relations with President William Howard Taft, whom he charged with being too nonpartisan, were bad from the beginning. Cannon's criticism of the tariff reciprocity treaty with Canada, the President complained, was "the lowest politics I have ever seen in Congress."
Cannon's power derived from the strength of his personality and from his control of the House Committee on Rules, which had authority to appoint all other House committees. He became increasingly arbitrary as he aged, and in 1910 George W. Norris of Nebraska pushed through a resolution which stripped him of his seat on the Rules Committee and provided for election of the committee by the House. An effort to declare the speakership vacant failed, however, and Cannon continued in that position until 1911.
Defeated for reelection to Congress in 1912, Cannon was returned to office in 1914. Though the former bitterness gradually passed, he was never again a powerful factor in the House. He reluctantly voted for entrance into World War I in 1917 and scornfully attacked the League of Nations in 1919. He retired from Congress in 1923 and died on Nov. 12, 1926.
Further Reading
A political biography of Cannon is William R. Gwinn, Uncle Joe Cannon, Archfoe of Insurgency: A History of the Rise and Fall of Cannonism (1957). Blair Bolles, Tyrant from Illinois: Uncle Joe Cannon's Experiment with Personal Power (1951), concentrates on Cannon as Speaker of the House. Richard Lowitt, George W. Norris: The Making of a Progressive, 1861-1912 (1963), offers the most authoritative account of the stripping of Cannon's power. L. White Busbey, Uncle Joe Cannon: The Story of a Pioneer American… (1927), is a discursive reminiscence by Cannon's private secretary.
Additional Sources
Bolles, Blair, Tyrant from Illinois; Uncle Joe Cannon's experiment with personal power, Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press 1974, 1951.
| US Government Guide: Joseph G. Cannon |
• Born: May 7, 1836, Guilford, N.C.
• Political party: Republican
• Education: studied law at the Cincinnati Law School
• Representative from Illinois: 1873–91, 1893–1913, 1915–23
• Speaker of the House: 1903–13
• Died: Nov. 12, 1926, Danville, III.
The most powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives, Joseph G. Cannon represented the Republican conservative Old Guard during the Progressive Era. Uncle Joe looked like a crusty old farmer, but he ruled the House with an iron fist. The growth of big business did not worry Cannon, and he used his control of the House rules to suppress debate on government regulation of the railroads and other industries. “The country don't need any legislation,” he insisted in typically earthy style.
On March 19, 1910, 149 Democrats and 42 progressive Republicans banded together to overthrow Cannon's power. Representative George Norris (Republican–Nebraska) made a motion for the House to elect members of the Rules Committee, rather than let the Speaker appoint them, and to bar the Speaker from being a member of the committee. Cannon offered to resign, but the House voted to keep him as Speaker, now that his powers had been trimmed. Despised by progressives (especially those outside of Congress), Cannon remained personally popular with members of the House. Despite the “revolt” against him, the House named its first office building in his memory.
See also Norris, George W.; Rules committees; Speaker of the House
Sources
- Richard B. Cheney and Lynne V. Cheney, Kings of the Hill: Power and Personality in the House of Representatives (New York: Continuum, 1983)
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Joseph Gurney Cannon |
Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836-1926, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1903-11), b. Guilford co., N.C. A lawyer in Illinois, Cannon served as a Republican in Congress from 1873 to 1923, except for the years 1891-93 and 1913-15, when first the Populists and then the Progressives were able to defeat him. As speaker he carried the traditional power of his office to appoint all legislative committees to its ultimate arbitrary extremes, dictatorially ruling the House in the interest of his fellow "Old Guard" Republicans and suppressing minority groups. In Mar., 1910, insurgent Republicans, led by George W. Norris and supported by all the Democrats, passed a resolution that, by providing that the House itself should appoint the important Committee on Rules with the speaker ineligible for membership, broke Cannon's power.
Bibliography
See C. R. Atkinson, The Committee on Rules and the Overthrow of Speaker Cannon (1911); L. W. Busbey, Uncle Joe Cannon (1927, repr. 1971); B. Bolles, Tyrant from Illinois (1951, repr. 1974); W. R. Gwinn, Uncle Joe Cannon, Archfoe of Insurgency (1957).
| Quotes By: Joseph Cannon |
Quotes:
"In the last analysis sound judgment will prevail."
"Sometimes in politics one must duel with skunks, but no one should be fool enough to allow skunks to choose the weapons."
| Wikipedia: Joseph Gurney Cannon |
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Joseph Gurney Cannon
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| In office November 9, 1903 – March 4, 1911 |
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| President | Theodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft |
| Preceded by | David B. Henderson |
| Succeeded by | Champ Clark |
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| In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1883 (14th) March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891 (15th) March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 (15th) March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1903 (12th) March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1913 (18th) March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1923 (18th) |
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| Preceded by | None; 14th district created Samuel W. Moulton Samuel T. Busey John J. McDannold Thomas M. Jett Frank T. O'Hair |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan H. Rowell Samuel T. Busey Benjamin F. Marsh Charles E. Fuller Frank T. O'Hair William P. Holaday |
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| Born | May 7, 1836 Guilford County, North Carolina |
| Died | November 12, 1926 (aged 90) Danville, Illinois |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary P. Reed Cannon |
| Alma mater | University of Cincinnati |
| Profession | Law |
- For other people named Joseph Cannon see Joseph Cannon (disambiguation)
Joseph Gurney Cannon (May 7, 1836 – November 12, 1926) was a United States politician from Illinois and leader of the Republican Party. Cannon served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911, and historians generally consider him to be the most dominant Speaker in United States history, with such control over the House that he could often control debate. Cannon is the second-longest continuously serving Republican Speaker in history, having been surpassed by fellow Illinoisan Dennis Hastert, who passed him on June 1, 2006. He was also the first Congressman to surpass 40 years of service (non-consecutive), ending his career with 48 years of cumulative congressional service, a record that held until 1958. He was the subject of the first Time cover.
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Early life
He was born in Guilford, Guilford County, North Carolina, and in 1840 moved with his parents to Annapolis, Indiana, about 30 miles north of Terre Haute, Indiana. He was the elder of two sons of Horace Cannon, a country doctor. Horace Cannon drowned when Joseph was ten years old as he tried to reach a sick patient by crossing Sugar Creek. Young Cannon took charge of the family farm. Gulielma (Hollingsworth) was his mother; his brother William would become a successful banker and realtor.
Asked by Terre Haute politician and lawyer John Palmer Usher, future Secretary of the Interior under President Abraham Lincoln, to testify in a slander case, Cannon became fascinated with the law. Eventually, he asked Usher if he could study law under him and moved to Terre Haute. At age 19 he traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to attend a semester of law school at the University of Cincinnati law school.
He was admitted to the bar in 1858 and commenced practice in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1858, but was disappointed when Usher refused to offer him a place in his office. That year he relocated to Tuscola, Illinois. His choice of a new hometown was somewhat involuntary, taking place whilst he was travelling from Shelbyville, Illinois, to Chicago to find more clients for his law firm. During the trip, he ran out of money. He boarded a Chicago-bound train in Mattoon, Illinois; after the train had started, he was asked for his ticket. Because Cannon did not have a ticket, he was removed from the train in Tuscola.[1] There, he became State's attorney for the twenty-seventh judicial district of Illinois, holding the position from March 1861 to December 1868. In 1876 moved to Danville, Illinois, where he resided the rest of his life. He and his wife Mary P. Reed, whom he married in 1862, had two daughters.
Political career
He became a follower of Abraham Lincoln during the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. After Lincoln was elected President in 1860, Cannon received an appointment as a regional prosecutor. Cannon, a member of the Republican Party, was elected as to the United States House of Representatives from Illinois to the Forty-second and to the eight succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1873–March 4, 1891), and was the chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Forty-seventh Congress), Committee on Appropriations (Fifty-first Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress, but was elected to the Fifty-third and to the nine succeeding Congresses that sat between 1893 and 1913. He attempted to gain the Speakership four times before succeeding. His antic speaking style, diminutive stature and pugnacious manner were his trademarks. The newspapers frequently lampooned him as a colorful rube. "Uncle Joe", as he was known, often clashed with fellow Republican Theodore Roosevelt, who Cannon remarked had "no more use for the Constitution than a tomcat has for a marriage license".
Joseph was chairman to the Committee on Appropriations (Fifty-fourth through Fifty-seventh Congresses), Committee on Rules (Fifty-eighth through Sixty-first Congresses), and Speaker of the House of Representatives (Fifty-eighth through Sixty-first Congresses). He received fifty-eight votes for the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1908.
Speaker of the House
Cannon wielded the office of Speaker with unprecedented power. At the time of Cannon's election the Speaker of the House concurrently held the chair of the Rules Committee, which determined under what rules and restrictions bills could be debated, amended, and voted on, and in some cases whether they would be allowed on the floor at all. As such, Cannon effectively controlled every aspect of the House's agenda: Bills reached the floor of the house only if Cannon approved of it, and then in whatever form he determined -- with he himself deciding whether and to what extent the measures could be debated and amended.
Cannon also reserved to himself the right to appoint not only the chairs of the various House committees, but also all of committees' members, and (despite the seniority system that had begun to develop) used that power to appoint his allies and proteges to leadership positions while punishing those who opposed his legislation. Crucially, Cannon exercised these powers to maintain discipline within the ranks of his own party: the Republicans were divided into the conservative "Old Guard," led by Cannon, and the progressives, led by President Theodore Roosevelt. His committee assignment privileges ensured that the party's Progressive element was essentially powerless in the House, and his control over the legislative process obstructed progressive legislation.
One anecdote at the time stated that when a constituent wrote to his representative asking for a copy of the House rules, the representative responded by sending back a photograph of Cannon.
Revolt
On March 17, 1910, after two failed attempts to curb Cannon's absolute power in the House, Nebraska Representative George Norris led a coalition of 42 progressive Republicans and the entire delegation of 149 Democrats in a revolt. With many of Cannon's most powerful allies absent from the Chamber, but enough Members on hand for a quorum, Norris introduced a resolution that would remove the Speaker from the Rules Committee and strip him of his power to assign committees.
While his lieutenants and the House sergeant-at-arms left the chamber to collect absent members in attempt to rally enough votes for Cannon, the Speaker's allies initiated a filibuster in the form of a point of order debate. When Cannon supporters proved difficult to find (many of the staunchest were Irish and spent the day at various St. Patrick's Day celebrations), the filibuster continued for 26 hours, with Cannon's present friends making repeated motions for recess and adjournment. When Cannon finally ruled the resolution out of order at noon on March 19, Norris appealed the resolution to the full House, which voted to overrule Cannon, and then to adopt the Norris resolution.
Cannon managed to save some face by promptly requesting a vote to remove him as Speaker, which he won handily since the Republican majority would not risk a Democratic speaker replacing him. However, his iron rule of the House was broken, and Cannon lost the Speakership when the Democrats won a majority later that same year.
Post-Speaker
Cannon was defeated in 1912 but returned in 1914 and was re-elected through 1922. He was a critic of President Woodrow Wilson and US entry into World War I. He was also an outspoken critic of Wilson's League of Nations. Cannon retired in 1922; he was featured on the cover of the first issue of Time magazine on the last day of his term in office.
Personal Life
Born a Quaker, he became a Methodist after leaving Congress. However, he may have been effectively a Methodist long before this. After marrying Mary Reed in a Methodist service 1862, a Quaker encouraged him to express regret for this, to which Cannon replied, "If you mean that I am to get up in meeting and say that I am sorry I married Mary, I won't do it. I'm damned if I'm sorry and I'm damned if I will say I am." [2] Joseph Cannon died in his residence in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois.[3] He had a weakened heart and also suffered from the general effects of old age. Cannon expired at noon on November 12, 1926 while in a deep sleep.[4] He was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.
Legacy
- Cannon brought a federal Veterans Administration Hospital to Danville; it continues to serve military veterans.
- The first building of offices for congressmen outside of the United States Capitol building was named after Cannon.
- Cannon was the first person to be featured on the cover of Time magazine, appearing in its first issue (1923).
- Cannon signed the 16th Amendment which established Congress' right to impose a Federal income tax.
See also
- List of people on the cover of Time Magazine: 1920s - 3 Mar. 1923
External links
Notes
- ^ "Joseph G. Cannon's Tuscola, Illinois, Connection", Illinois History, April 1994.
- ^ Bolles, Blair. Tyrant from Illinois. pp. 42. OCLC 656722.
- ^ Greetings from Danville, Ill.: A History in Postcards. Danville, Illinois: Vermilion County Museum Society. 1997. pp. 39. ISBN 0-9654976-1-5.
- ^ "'Joe' Cannon Dies in Danville at 90; 46 Years in House", The New York Times, November 13, 1926.
Further reading
- Bolles, Blair. Tyrant from Illinois: Uncle Joe Cannon's Experiment with Personal Power (1951)
- Busbey, L. White. Uncle Joe Cannon, The Story of a Pioneer American (1927)
- His autobiography, Uncle Joe Cannon, (1927)
- Roger, Scott William. "Uncle Joe Cannon: The Brakeman of the House of Representatives, 1903–1911" in Raymond W Smock and Susan W Hammond, eds. Masters of the House: Congressional Leadership Over Two Centuries (1998) pp 33–62
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