Joseph Gurney Cannon
Encyclopedia
Joseph Gurney Cannon 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. Cannon is also (still) the longest serving Republican House of Representatives member ever, the second longest serving Republican member of congress ever, as well as first member of congress, of either party, ever to surpass 40 years of service (non-consecutive), ending his career with 46 years of cumulative congressional service, a record that held until 1959. He was the subject of the first Time
cover ever published, appearing on March 3, 1923.
, 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 Gulielma (née Hollingsworth) and Horace Franklin Cannon, a country doctor. Horace Cannon drowned August 7, 1851 when Joseph was fifteen years old as he tried to reach a sick patient by crossing Sugar Creek. Young Cannon took charge of the family farm. 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.
In 1858, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Terre Haute, Indiana
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. There, he became State's attorney
for the twenty-seventh judicial district of Illinois, holding the position from March 1861 to December 1868. He was one of the charter members of Tuscola's Masonic Lodge No. 332, which was founded on October 2, 1860. In 1876 Cannon moved to Danville, Illinois
, where he resided for the rest of his life. He and his wife Mary P. Reed, whom he married in 1862, had two daughters.
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".
Cannon 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.
, 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 them, 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 the 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.
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 an 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.
and US entry into World War I. He was also an outspoken critic of Wilson's League of Nations
.
Cannon declined to run in the 1922 Congressional election, and retired at the end of his last term in 1923; he was featured on the cover of the first issue of Time
magazine on the last day of his last term in office.
, 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 in 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."
Joseph Cannon died in his residence in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois
. He had a weakened heart and also suffered from the general effects of old age. Cannon died at noon on November 12, 1926 while in a deep sleep. He was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and leader of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Cannon served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer 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
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
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
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
, who passed him on June 1, 2006. Cannon is also (still) the longest serving Republican House of Representatives member ever, the second longest serving Republican member of congress ever, as well as first member of congress, of either party, ever to surpass 40 years of service (non-consecutive), ending his career with 46 years of cumulative congressional service, a record that held until 1959. He was the subject of the first Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
cover ever published, appearing on March 3, 1923.
Early life
Cannon was born in Guilford, Guilford County, North CarolinaGuilford County, North Carolina
Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimated the county's population to be 491,230. Its seat is Greensboro. Since 1938, an additional county court has been located in High Point, North Carolina, making Guilford one of only a handful...
, and in 1840 moved with his parents to Annapolis, Indiana, about 30 miles north of Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
. He was the elder of two sons of Gulielma (née Hollingsworth) and Horace Franklin Cannon, a country doctor. Horace Cannon drowned August 7, 1851 when Joseph was fifteen years old as he tried to reach a sick patient by crossing Sugar Creek. Young Cannon took charge of the family farm. His brother William would become a successful banker and realtor.
John Palmer Usher
John Palmer Usher was a U.S. administrator who served in the Cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War....
, future Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, 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
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
to attend a semester of law school at the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
law school.
In 1858, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
but was disappointed when Usher refused to offer him a place in his office. That year he relocated to Tuscola, Illinois
Tuscola, Illinois
Tuscola is a city in Douglas County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,480 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Douglas County.-Geography:Tuscola is located at ....
. His choice of a new hometown was somewhat involuntary, taking place whilst he was travelling from Shelbyville, Illinois
Shelbyville, Illinois
Shelbyville is a city in Shelby County, Illinois, along the Kaskaskia River. As of the 2010 census, the population was at 4700. It is the county seat of Shelby County...
, 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
Mattoon, Illinois
Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,555 as of the 2010 census. It is a principal city of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.Mattoon was the site of the "Mad Gasser" attacks of the 1940s....
; 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. There, he became State's attorney
State's Attorney
In the United States, the State's Attorney is, most commonly, an elected official who represents the State in criminal prosecutions and is often the chief law enforcement officer of their respective county, circuit...
for the twenty-seventh judicial district of Illinois, holding the position from March 1861 to December 1868. He was one of the charter members of Tuscola's Masonic Lodge No. 332, which was founded on October 2, 1860. In 1876 Cannon moved to Danville, Illinois
Danville, Illinois
Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...
, where he resided for 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 LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
during the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. After Lincoln was elected President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
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
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
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
United States Post Office Department
The Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the Postmaster General....
(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
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, who Cannon remarked had "no more use for the Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
than a tomcat has for a marriage license".
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
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 CommitteeUnited States House Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules, or Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. Rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, as most other committees are, it is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor...
, 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 them, 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 the 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
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. 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.
Revolt
On March 17, 1910, after two failed attempts to curb Cannon's absolute power in the House, NebraskaNebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
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
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
, 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 an attempt to rally enough votes for Cannon, the Speaker's allies initiated a filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
in the form of a point of order
Point of order
A point of order is a matter raised during consideration of a motion concerning the rules of parliamentary procedure.-Explanation and uses:A point of order may be raised if the rules appear to have been broken. This may interrupt a speaker during debate, or anything else if the breach of the rules...
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 the 1920 Congressional Elections. He was a critic of President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and US entry into World War I. He was also an outspoken critic of Wilson's League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
.
Cannon declined to run in the 1922 Congressional election, and retired at the end of his last term in 1923; he was featured on the cover of the first issue of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine on the last day of his last term in office.
Personal life
Born a QuakerReligious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, he became a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
after leaving Congress. However, he may have been effectively a Methodist long before this. After marrying Mary Reed in a Methodist service in 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."
Joseph Cannon died in his residence in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois
Vermilion County, Illinois
Vermilion County is a county located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties...
. He had a weakened heart and also suffered from the general effects of old age. Cannon died at noon on November 12, 1926 while in a deep sleep. 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 congressmenCannon House Office BuildingThe Cannon House Office Building, completed in 1908, is the oldest congressional office building as well as a significant example of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture...
outside of the United States CapitolUnited States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
building was named after Cannon. - Cannon signed the Sixteenth AmendmentSixteenth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on Census results...
which established Congress' right to impose a Federal income tax.
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