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Sam Rayburn, u potpunosti Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, (rođen 6. siječnja 1882, okrug Roane, Tenn., SAD - umro 16. studenog 1961, Bonham, Texas), američki politički vođa, koji je bio govornik američkog doma Predstavnici gotovo 17 godina. U Dom je prvi put izabran 1912. i neprekidno je tu služio 48 godina 8 mjeseci, što je u vrijeme njegove smrti bilo rekordno vrijeme. Za Kongres je bio izabran 25 puta zaredom. Uredska zgrada kuće Rayburn, kongresna uredska zgrada na brdu Capitol, nazvana je u njegovo sjećanje.
Kviz
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Život
Obitelj Rayburn, pretežito škotskog podrijetla, preselila se iz Tennesseeja u Teksas 1887. godine i tamo je Rayburn odrastao na farmi od 40 hektara. Proputovao je Normalni koledž u Istočnom Teksasu (danas Sveučilište u Teksasu A&M — trgovina), predavao školu i postao pravnik. Šest godina (1907–13) bio je u teksaškom Zastupničkom domu, a 1911. je izabran za govornika. Sljedeće godine izabran je u američki Kongres, gdje je ostao gotovo pola stoljeća.
Energičan, marljiv, ambiciozan i susretljiv, Rayburn je brzo postao utjecajan iza kulisa u vladi i u stranačkoj politici. Kao predsjednik (1931–37) moćnog Odbora za međunarodnu i vanjsku trgovinu, bio je glavni arhitekt New Deal-a. Kao član Zastupničkog doma bio je koautor šest važnih zakona - Zakona o željezničkom prometu u nuždi, Zakona o istini u vrijednosnim papirima, Zakona o burzi, Federalnog zakona o komunikacijama, Zakona o elektrifikaciji ruralnih područja i jednog od najoštrije osporenih svih zakona o New Deal-u, Zakona o komunalnom vlasništvu.
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.
