Thomas B. Reed | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Reed circa 1894 | |
| 32nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | |
| In office December 2, 1895 – September 4, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | Charles F. Crisp |
| Succeeded by | David B. Henderson |
| In office December 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | John G. Carlisle |
| Succeeded by | Charles F. Crisp |
| Leader of the House Republican Conference | |
| In office December 4, 1889 – March 3, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | James G. Blaine |
| Succeeded by | David B. Henderson |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – September 4, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | John H. Burleigh |
| Succeeded by | Amos L. Allen |
| Maine Attorney General | |
| In office 1870–1872 | |
| Governor | Joshua Chamberlain Sidney Perham |
| Preceded by | William P. Frye |
| Succeeded by | Harris M. Plaisted |
| Member of the Maine Senate from Cumberland County | |
| In office 1870 | |
| Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
| In office 1868–1869 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 18, 1839 Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1902 (aged 63) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Maine |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Susan P. Merrill (m. 1871) |
| Children | Katherine Reed Balentine |
| Alma mater | Bowdoin College |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States (Union) |
| Service | Union Navy |
| Years of service | 1864–1865 |
| Rank | Acting Assistant Paymaster |
| Unit | USS Sibyl |
| Wars | American Civil War |
Thomas Brackett Reed Jr. (October 18, 1839 – December 7, 1902) was an American attorney, author, parliamentarian and Republican Party politician from Maine who served as the 32nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1889 to 1891 and 1895 to 1899. He represented Maine's 1st congressional district in the House from 1877 to 1899 and, prior to his time in Congress, represented Portland in the Maine legislature and served as Attorney General of Maine. In 1876, he was elected to represent Cumberland and York counties in the U.S. House and was re-elected for twelve consecutive terms.[a]
As Speaker, Reed had greater influence over the agenda and operations of the House than any prior Speaker. His first term was marked by a dramatic expansion of the Speaker's formal authority through changes to the House Rules, and he remains one of the most powerful Speakers in House history. He set out to put into practical effect his dictum "The best system is to have one party govern and the other party watch"[1] and dramatically increased the power of the Speaker over the House by limiting the ability of the minority party to prevent the establishment of a quorum.[2][3] Reed helped pass the Lodge Bill, which sought to protect African American voting rights in the Southern United States, but the bill failed in the Senate and never became law.
In 1896, he ran for president on a hard currency platform but lost the Republican nomination to William McKinley. While serving as Speaker in 1899, Reed resigned from the House in opposition to growing American imperialism, which left him politically isolated following the American victory in the Spanish-American War and the passage of the Newlands Resolution.
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- ^ Thomas B. Reed (ME). "House of Representatives, Thursday, April 22, 1880." Congressional Record 10 (1880) p. 2661. (Text from: Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection); Accessed: May 9, 2020.
- ^ Sheingate, Adam (2009), Mahoney, James; Thelen, Kathleen (eds.), "Rethinking Rules: Creativity and Constraint in the U.S. House of Representatives", Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power, Cambridge University Press, pp. 168–203, ISBN 978-0-521-11883-5
- ^ Valelly, Richard M. (2009). "The Reed Rules and Republican Party Building: A New Look". Studies in American Political Development. 23 (2): 115–142. doi:10.1017/S0898588X09990022. ISSN 1469-8692. S2CID 145347980.