Henry Thomas Rainey (August 20, 1860 – August 19, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, he served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1903 to 1921 and from 1923 to his death. He rose to

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

, during the famous

Hundred days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in 1933.

Biography

Early years

Rainey attended the public schools and Knox Academy and Knox College,

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

. He transferred to, and graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1883 and then the

Union College of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, ...

, in Chicago which he graduated in 1885. He was admitted to the bar in 1885 and commenced practice in

Carrollton, Illinois Carrollton is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Illinois, Greene County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,484 as of the 2010 census. Geography Carrollton is located in south-central Greene County at (39.296662, -90.40 ...

Political career

Rainey was appointed master in chancery for

Greene County, Illinois Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 11,843. Its county seat is Carrollton. A notable archaeological area, the Koster Site, has produced evidence of ...

, from 1887 until 1895, when he resigned, and returned to private practice. He then decided to return to politics in 1902 getting elected to Congress and serving for nine terms before losing to Guy L. Shaw in 1920. Two years later, he won back his seat and served until his death.

Leadership

Due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the Republican party lost its majority in a landslide, and, with

John Nance Garner John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...

elevated to the Speakership, Rainey ran for, and defeated

John McDuffie John McDuffie (September 25, 1883 – November 1, 1950) was a United States representative from Alabama and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. Education and career Born on S ...

for the Majority leadership. McDuffie remained as Whip.

Speaker of the House

With Speaker Garner having been inaugurated Vice President on March 4, 1933, Rainey, being next in line, was elected Speaker of the House when President Roosevelt called a special session of Congress two days later. Rainey gave the Roosevelt administration carte blanche to do whatever it wanted, allowing almost the entire

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

to be passed with little or no changes. More reforms were passed during the regular session starting December. Rainey died of a heart attack the following summer, on the eve of his seventy-fourth birthday, before the new Congress could meet.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Henry T. 1860 births 1934 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Amherst College alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Illinois lawyers Illinois state court judges Knox College (Illinois) alumni Majority leaders of the United States House of Representatives Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni People from Carrollton, Illinois Speakers of the United States House of Representatives