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
(1839-10-18)October 18, 1839 Portland, Maine, U.S.
Died
December 7, 1902(1902-12-07) (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 increasingly isolated.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^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.
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