Nicholas Longworth
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Nicholas Longworth (November 5, 1869 - April 9, 1931) was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century. He served as House Majority Leader from 1923 to 1925 and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1925 to 1931.
Early years and education
Longworth was born into an old, prominent, and wealthy Cincinnati, Ohio family. The Longworths dominated Cincinnati life as the Lytle family did before them and the Taft family would after them.Nicholas Longworth attended Harvard College, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Harvard, he attended Harvard Law School for one year, but transferred to and received his law degree from Cincinnati Law School in 1894.
A gifted musician, Longworth was considered by Efrem Zimbalist and others as one of the most talented amateur violinists in the United States (Longworth owned a 1690 Stradivarius). He also sang and played piano, which made him a welcome parlor guest.
Professional life and entry into politics
Longworth began a law practice in Cincinnati after being admitted to the Ohio bar in 1894. His political career began with a position on the city's Board of Education in 1898.As the protégé of Republican boss George Cox, Longworth was elected to the Ohio state legislature, serving in the lower house in 1899 and 1900, then in the State Senate from 1901 to 1903. In 1902, Longworth was elected to the United States House of Representatives from a Cincinnati-area district.
The new representative, still a bachelor, quickly became a popular bon vivant in Washington, D.C. society. He successfully wooed Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt; they married in a White House ceremony in 1906.
Already well-known for his social success, Longworth first came to political prominence in 1910, when he led the successful Republican revolt against the autocratic rule of House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon. Throughout his political career, Longworth was a workhorse, especially on issues regarding foreign affairs and the protective tariff.
As the insurgent (or "Progressive") Republicans pulled apart from the conservatives in 1910-12, Longworth sided with the conservatives. Theodore Roosevelt, Longworth's father-in-law, led the Progressives, and bolted the Republican convention in the 1912 election to set up a third party. However, many of Roosevelt's closest political allies, including Longworth, supported conservative standard-bearer President William Howard Taft. Longworth's decision caused a permanent chill in his marriage to Roosevelt's daughter, Alice. For men like Longworth expecting a future in politics, bolting the Republican party ticket was simply too radical a step. Also, Longworth agreed more with Taft than Roosevelt on critical issues like an independent judiciary and support for business.
Because the Progressive party ran a candidate in his district, Longworth was defeated (by only 105 votes) in 1912. (Longworth's wife appeared at a speech by his Progressive opponent and would thereafter joke that it was she who cost her husband at least 100 of those 105 votes.) Longworth returned to Congress in 1914, serving until his death, and became Majority Leader of the House in 1923.
After an effective term as Majority Leader, Longworth moved up to become Speaker in 1925 after Frederick Gillett took a seat in the United States Senate. Ironically, his first act as speaker was to restore much of the power to the office that had been stripped away during the revolt he had led against Cannon. He served as speaker until the Republicans lost their House majority in the election of 1930.
Longworth reached across the aisle to democrats forging a productive relationship with John Nance Gardner, the minority leader, who relied upon informal methods to strengthen his party's influence. He enjoyed a close rapport with Gardner sayin of him, "I was the heathen and Nick was the aristocrat." Together they hosted a daily gathering of Democrat and Republican congressman in a small room, deep in the bowels of the Capitol, which became known as the "Bureau of Education." This unofficial club provided a place for politicians to relax and get to know one another over a friendly drink. The "bureau" also served as an informal forum for cross party communications and negotiations. In the "bureau' Longworth said that Garner operated as "a one man cabal."
While visiting his friend Dwight Filley Davis (of Davis Cup fame), in Aiken, South Carolina, Longworth caught pneumonia and died unexpectedly. His wife, Alice brought his body back to Cincinnati, where it was interred in Spring Grove Cemetery.
Legacy
Nicholas Longworth strengthened the power of the House of Representatives. He was popular on both sides of the aisle, and his years of leadership are commemorated in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill.Besides his widow, Longworth left one child, Paulina.
Notes
See also
- Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 1st District
- Alice Roosevelt Longworth - his wife
- Paulina Longworth - his daughter
- Clara Longworth de Chambrun - his sister
- Longworth House Office Building Congressional office building
- Longworth family
External Links
- http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000433 Official US House of Representatives site and short biography
References
- Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography, vol. 13, "Longworth, Nicholas". New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Bacon, Donald C. "Nicholas Longworth: The Genial Czar" in Raymond W Smock and Susan W Hammond, eds. Masters of the House: Congressional Leadership Over Two Centuries (1998) pp 119-44
- De Chambrun, Clara Longworth. The Making of Nicholas Longworth; Annals of an American Family. New York: Ray Long and Richard R. Smith, Inc., 1933. Reprint, Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, [1971] - Note. Clara detested Nick's wife Alice Roosevelt Longworth and she's not even mentioned or pictured in her book on her famous brother.
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LONGWORTH, Nicholas, (nephew of Bellamy Storer), a Representative from Ohio; born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 5, 1869; attended the Franklin School in Cincinnati, and was graduated from Harvard University in 1891; spent one year at Harvard Law School and was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1894; was admitted to the bar in 1894 and commenced practice in Cincinnati, Ohio; member of the board of education of Cincinnati in 1898; member of the State house of representatives in 1899 and 1900; served in the State senate 1901-1903; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1903-March 3, 1913); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress; elected to the Sixty-fourth and to the eight succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1915, until his death; majority leader (Sixty-eighth Congress), Speaker of the House of Representatives (Sixty-ninth through Seventy-first Congresses); died in Aiken, S.C., while on a visit, April 9, 1931; interment in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.
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