Joseph W. Byrns of Tennessee : a political biography / Ann B. Irish.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Irish, Ann B., 1934-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Byrns, Joseph Wellington, 1869-1936.

Byrns, Joseph Wellington.

United States. Congress. House--Speakers--Biography.

United States.

United States. Congress. House.

Legislators--United States--Biography.

Legislators.

United States. Congress. House--Biography.

New Deal, 1933-1939.

Tennessee--Politics and government--1865-1950.

Tennessee.

Politics and government.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 318 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, [2001]

Summary:

During a Congressional Career That Lasted Nearly Three Decades, Joseph W. Byrns (1869-1936) exercised significant influence in Washington. He served as chairman of both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the House Appropriations Committee before becoming Speaker of the House in 1935. In this first full-length biography, Ann B. Irish explores Byrns's life and career, detailing his achievements and assessing their impact.

After serving in the Tennessee General Assembly from 1895 to 1901, Byrns was elected to Congress in 1909. He was involved in tariff issues, World War I expenditures, economic development of impoverished areas, and farm policy. As a longtime senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, he played a major role in creating the first budget system for the U.S. government. Ever responsive to the needs of his constitutents, Byrns strove during the Depression years for two urgent but somewhat contradictory goals: a balanced budget and relief for the needy. In 1932, he was instrumental in defeating a proposed federal sales tax.

During Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term, Byrns was House Majority Leader for two years, then Speaker. As a moderate southern Democrat, he privately questioned some of Roosevelt's programs but nevertheless embraced the New Deal out of party loyalty. He introduced the bill creating the Civilian Conservation Corps and successfully maneuvered other major New Deal initiatives through Congress. His sudden death in 1936 cut short his career at the very point when he was most influential.

Drawing on extensive and meticulous research, Irish shows how Byrns's political skills as well as his reputation for fairness and consideration helped propel him into the House leadership. Her biography of this long-neglected figure will prove a valuable addition to the political history of both Tennessee and the nation.

Contents:

1 Joe Byrns and His Family 1

2 The Legislature and the Law 11

3 Early Years in Congress 32

4 The Wilson Years 59

5 The Republican 1920s 77

6 Byrns and the Great Depression 109

7 Depression Political Campaigns 137

8 Majority Leader Byrns 160

9 Winning the Speakership 189

10 Speaker Byrns 216.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-306) and index.

ISBN:

1572331313

OCLC:

45500170