John Jacob Rhodes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Jacob Rhodes Jr. (September 18, 1916 – August 24, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Rhodes was elected as a U.S. Representative from Arizona. He was the Minority Leader in the House 1973–81, where he pressed a conservative agenda.


Early life

Rhodes was born in
Council Grove, Kansas Council Grove is a city and county seat in Morris County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,140. It was named after an agreement between American settlers and the Osage Nation allowing settlers' wa ...
. He met
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
when he was eleven years old, and after shaking hands with the President, reportedly refused to wash his hand for a week. He attended public schools, and in 1938 graduated from
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
in
Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...
, where he was a member of
Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...
fraternity and also earned his
U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...
commission via the
Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
(ROTC). In 1941, he graduated from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was called to active duty with the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
, later re-designated the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
.


Career

He served at Williams Field, Arizona, from 1941 – 1946. After the war, he chose to settle in Arizona with his wife Elizabeth. From 1947 to 1952 he was the staff judge advocate of the
Arizona Air National Guard The Arizona Air National Guard (AZ ANG) is the aerial militia of the state of Arizona, United States of America. It is, along with the Arizona Army National Guard, an element of the Arizona National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the ...
, and from 1951 to 1952 he served as vice chairman of the
Arizona Board of Public Welfare Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four ...
.


Political career

In 1950, Rhodes ran for Attorney General of Arizona as a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. His friend,
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
, correctly predicted that Rhodes would lose; at that time, Arizona was over seventy-five percent Democratic. In 1952 Rhodes ran again, this time for , which at the time took in all of
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
and surrounding
Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...
. Despite limited campaign funds and facing the powerful 11-term Democratic incumbent
John Murdock John Murdock may refer to: *John R. Murdock (politician) John Robert Murdock (April 20, 1885 – February 14, 1972) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Arizona. Born in homestead near Lewistown, Missouri, Mu ...
, Rhodes prevailed by eight percent of the vote and was elected to the Eighty-third United States Congress. He was the first Republican ever elected to represent Arizona in the House. Additionally, he served as a member of the Arizona delegation to several
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
s; was Barry Goldwater's personal representative on the Platform Committee in 1964; was chairman of the Platform Committee in 1972; and was Permanent Chairman of the Convention in 1976 and 1980. Rhodes remained in office for thirty consecutive years (January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1983), serving in the 83rd to
97th Congress The 97th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 198 ...
es. His committee assignments included the following: Education and Labor (1953 – 1959); Interior and Insular Affairs (1953 – 1959); Appropriations, on which he became ranking minority member of the Public Works and Defense Subcommittees (1959 – 1973); Budget (1974 – 1975); Rules (1981 – 1983); and was chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee (1965 – 1973). Rhodes was elected, by acclamation, to be
House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...
on December 7, 1973, succeeding
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
when Ford became
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
. But House Republicans became unhappy with his strong but low-key leadership and in 1979 he announced he would not seek reelection as leader. Minority Whip Bob Michel replaced him in 1981, though Rhodes remained in the House for that Congress- a fact which he later termed a mistake. Over the years, Rhodes became very popular in his district, even though many of its residents had never been represented by a Republican before. He fended off a close contest for reelection in 1954, but was not seriously challenged again until 1974, when anger at
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
held him to only 51 percent of the vote. His district became even safer after a mid-decade redistricting in 1966 cut it back to the fast-growing and strongly conservative East Valley, including his home in
Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...
. Rhodes will be best remembered for two accomplishments while in office: first, being the driving force behind congressional authorization of the
Central Arizona Project The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the southern United States. The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River to the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge south portion of Lake Havasu ne ...
, which provides water from the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
to Arizona; and second, his presence at the August 7, 1974 meeting with President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
at which he, Goldwater, and Senator
Hugh Scott Hugh Doggett Scott Jr. (November 11, 1900 – July 21, 1994) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1959 and in the U.S. Senate, from 195 ...
informed Nixon that he no longer had enough support in Congress to prevent his impeachment and removal from office. (The President announced his resignation the next day.) Rhodes voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...
. Rhodes voted against the initial version of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
but voted in favor of the final version of the bill, while Rhodes voted in favor of the initial version of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applie ...
but voted against the final version. Rhodes himself had maintained his support for the president until the release of the "smoking gun" tape. Saying that "coverup of criminal activity and misuse of federal agencies cannot be condoned or tolerated," he said that he would vote to impeach Nixon when the articles came up for vote in the full House. In short order, all ten Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee announced they would follow suit and vote for impeachment on the full House floor. According to his obituary in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
,'' the decision of the House leader of Nixon's own party to break with Nixon and support impeachment was the "coup de grace" for Nixon. In 1976, Rhodes wrote a book titled ''The Futile System: How to Unchain Congress and Make the System Work Again,'' which argued that effective Congressional reforms "cannot be accomplished by the majority party.... The ins have little incentive to change. It is the outs -- the powerless minority -- who have the only real motivation to take a critical look at the system and determine a better way to run things." Rhodes retired from Congress at age sixty-six. Though still popular in his home district, Rhodes reasoned that "if e wereever going to do something else, eshould get started doing it." His retirement opened the door to a hotly contested Republican
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...
which was won by
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
in 1982; McCain went on to victory in November and would be elected to the Senate four years later.


Later life

After leaving Congress, Rhodes maintained an apartment in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
, to which he commuted from his home in Mesa. He practiced law in the Washington office of the
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
-based firm of Hunton & Williams. He also traveled extensively, worldwide; was a board member of the Taft Institute for Government and the Hoover Institution for War, Revolution, and Peace and served on the board of and was elected president of the
United States Association of Former Members of Congress FMC, the Association of Former Members of Congress is a non-partisan, non-profit organization of over 800 Former Members of the United States Congress. History The United States Association of Former Members of Congress was founded in 1970 as an ...
. On August 14, 2003,
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 ...
Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert (; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-se ...
awarded Rhodes one of the first Congressional Distinguished Service Medals, one of only a handful. Rhodes remarked to Hastert that he (Hastert) had the only job Rhodes had ever really wanted.


Personal life

In 1942, Rhodes was married to Elizabeth ("Betty") Harvey.Rhodes, 1995, 10. He died at his home, surrounded by family, on August 24, 2003, from complications related to
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. He was survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Betty; children John Jacob ("Jay") III, Thomas, Elizabeth, and James Scott ("Scott"); at the time of his death, twelve grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren. Over 100 newspapers carried his
obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
, and President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
delivered a statement via the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
's website.
Rhodes Junior High School Mesa Public Schools (incorporated as Mesa Unified School District #4) is the largest public school district in the state of Arizona. Its approximately 64,000 students enjoy opportunities such as Montessori, International Baccalaureate, dual-langua ...
in
Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...
is named in his honor.


Notes

* Rhodes, John J. ''I Was There''. Salt Lake City, UT: Northwest Publishing, 1995.


References

*"John J. Rhodes Dies; Led GOP In House During Watergate," https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/08/26/AR2005111001244_pf.html *Nelson, Garrison, with Mary T. Mitchell and Clark Bensen. ''Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1947 – 1992, Volume 2: Committee Histories and Member Assignments''. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1994. *Rhodes, John J. ''I Was There''. Salt Lake City, UT: Northwest Publishing, 1995. *Rhodes, John J. ''The Futile System: How to Unchain Congress and Make the System Work Again''. McLean, VA: EPM Publications, Inc., 1976. *Smith, J. Brian. ''John Rhodes: Man of the House''. Phoenix, AZ: Primer Publishers, 2005.


External links


"Arizona's Statesman: Congressman John J. Rhodes," an online exhibit of items from the John J. Rhodes Collection, housed at the Arizona State University Libraries Archives
* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, John J., Jr. 1916 births 2003 deaths People from Council Grove, Kansas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Minority leaders of the United States House of Representatives Conservatism in the United States Politicians from Mesa, Arizona 20th-century American politicians Kansas State University alumni Harvard Law School alumni United States Army Air Forces officers Arizona National Guard personnel Military personnel from Kansas United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Arizona