John William McCormack

John William McCormack ( born December 21, 1891 in Boston, Massachusetts, † November 22, 1980 in Dedham, Massachusetts ) was an American politician. He practiced from 1962 to 1971 from the office of Speaker of the House and was a member of the Democratic Party. The Congress he was a member since 1928.

Life

McCormack was born in Boston, the son of a bricklayer. His grandparents had immigrated from Ireland to the United States. Since his father died early, he had the age of 14 with relief work, including as a newspaper carrier and errand boy, earning a living for the family. After he found a job with a lawyer, who encouraged him to make in evening schools trained as lawyers. In 1913 he was admitted to the Bar Association of Massachusetts in court. After he opened a law practice in Boston, in 1917 he took part in the Constitutional Convention of Massachusetts. In World War I he was then also active.

McCormack was a member of the Democratic Party, for which he sat from 1920 to 1922 in the House of Representatives from Massachusetts. From 1923 he was represented in the State Senate, where he served until 1926. Since 1925 he was there faction leader of the Democrats. In 1929, McCormack moved for a Massachusetts House of Representatives of the United States. He was on 16 September Majority leader of the Democrats and remained so until two legislative periods between 1947-1949 and 1953-1955, until 1961. During the year died Sam Rayburn, who until then the office of Speaker of the House ( Speaker) held and the McCormack followed in this office early in 1962. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, he would have been the first person in the event of incapacity for office of the new President Lyndon B. Johnson, which should have taken over the presidency. During this time, McCormack was under special protection of the Secret Service until January 20, 1965 at Hubert H. Humphrey was sworn in as Vice President. This office was previously unoccupied.

After attempts to overthrow him from his position as Speaker, in the late 1960s, ended unsuccessfully, 1969, he was involved in a scandal when two close associates were convicted. In May 1970 he announced that he would retire at the end of the legislative session in January 1971 out of politics. He lived until his death near Boston, where in 1980 he died of pneumonia at the age of 88 years.