Clarence Cannon
Encyclopedia
Clarence Andrew Cannon was a Democratic Congressmember
from Missouri
. He was a notable parliamentarian
and chaired the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations.
, the son of John Randolph Cannon, a farmer and merchant, and Ida Glovina Whiteside. Reflecting his family's influence and his rural, border-state background,
Cannon maintained a lifelong devotion to the Southern Baptist faith and the Democratic party. He also possessed a firm belief in the superiority of the agrarian lifestyle and small-town values. In 1901, Cannon graduated from La Grange Junior College (now known as Hannibal-LaGrange College
) in Hannibal, Missouri
, from William Jewell College
in Liberty, Missouri
in 1903, and from the law school of the University of Missouri
in Columbia
in 1908. After working as a high school teacher and principal, he served
as an instructor of history at Stephens College
in Columbia, Missouri
from 1904 to 1908. Though he retained a lifelong interest in the American past and wrote several books on family and local history, Cannon deemed the academic life too sedentary. Accordingly, he studied law at the University of Missouri while teaching at Stephens College. He earned an LL.B. and joined the bar in 1908. He established a law practice in Troy, Missouri, but soon transferred it to his home town of Elsberry.
In 1906 Cannon married Ida Dawson Wigginton; they had two daughters. The couple formed a close working relationship. Ida Cannon became her husband's most trusted political adviser. Starting in the 1920s she traveled extensively over the back-country roads of northeastern Missouri campaigning for her spouse, while he remained at his congressional desk in Washington, D.C.
Enjoying Clark's patronage, Cannon advanced to the positions of House journal clerk from 1914-1917 and House parliamentarian from 1917 to 1920. A quick study, he rapidly established himself as a leading authority on parliamentary procedure. His skills proved so impressive that the Republicans retained him after winning the House in 1918. In 1920 he became parliamentarian of the Democratic National Convention, a position he held through 1960. Cannon exercised lasting influence over the workings of Congress through publications such as Procedure in the House of Representatives (1920) and Cannon's Precedents of the House of Representatives (1936).
After resigning as House parliamentarian, Cannon returned to his law practice in Elsberry. In 1922 voters in Clark's old congressional district elected Cannon to his mentor's seat in the House of Representatives. Popular with his constituents, he repeatedly won reelection, often without opposition, until his death.
his influence in Congress."
With the notable exception of farm supports, the Missourian primarily gained a reputation as a budget-slashing fiscal conservative, especially after he became chair of the House Appropriations Committee in 1941. Cannon retained this powerful position, except for four years of Republican control, until his death. He urged a quick reduction in military expenditures immediately after World War II
, denounced foreign aid as waste, and ridiculed the space program as "moondoggle." Cannon's desire to hold tight the nation's purse strings grew with the years. In 1962 he bitterly denounced the first "$100-billion Congress" in a much-publicized speech on the House floor, angering House Speaker John W. McCormack and other fellow Democrats.
Always outspoken, sometimes irascible, Cannon earned a reputation for pugnacity. He once lampooned a fellow House member, "Of all the 'piddlin' politicians that ever piddled 'piddlin' politics on this floor, my esteemed friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin, is the greatest piddler that ever piddled." During an argument in 1945 Cannon punched in the face Representative John Taber
of New York, the ranking Republican member of the House AppropriationsCommittee. Cannon noted gleefully that Taber ran out of the room with a bleeding lip. In 1962 Cannon engaged in an unseemly and well-publicized dispute with Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona, another octogenarian Democrat, over obscure matters of parliamentary precedent.
Cannon's irascibility extended beyond the halls of Congress. In January 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to him expressing her appreciation for his help in establishing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, adding, "I know the fight was not easy." Cannon barked back to the recently widowed first lady: "You say the fight was not easy, but on the contrary, we had cooperation from everyone. It was done practically by acclamation."
His lengthy service in Congress made him an influential if somewhat contradictory representative. During his 41-year congressional career, he served well his rural Missouri constituents, securing passage of farm supports and funding for local projects that some critics denounced as "pork barrel" politics. At the same time, he advocated stricter fiscal responsibility in other branches of the federal government. Beyond the scope of legislation, Cannon's publications on congressional procedure have achieved the status of holy writ for successive generations of lawmakers. His contributions to agricultural and appropriation policies and parliamentary procedure, enhanced by his colorful personality, have ensured him a place as one of the major congressional figures of the twentieth century.
. He also served as regent of the Smithsonian Institution
from 1935 to 1964. He is interred in Elsberry City Cemetery, Elsberry, Missouri
. The Clarence Cannon Dam on Mark Twain Lake in Monroe City, MO is named in his honor due to his involvement in securing funding for the dam's construction. For several years the airport in Kirksville, Missouri
was known as Clarence Cannon Memorial Airport. However in the 1980s the name was changed to Kirksville Regional Airport
. The terminal is still known as the Clarence Cannon terminal in honor of his role in securing and maintaining commercial air service to Kirksville. A high school athletic conference that serves much of his former district is known as the Clarence Cannon Conference.
A National Wildlife Refuge
near Annada, Missouri
also bears his name: the Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He was a notable parliamentarian
Parliamentarian of the United States House of Representatives
The Parliamentarian of the United States House of Representatives manages, supervises, and administers its Office of the Parliamentarian, which is responsible for advising presiding officers, Members, and staff on procedural questions under the U.S...
and chaired the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations.
Biography
Born in Elsberry, MissouriElsberry, Missouri
Elsberry is a city in Lincoln County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,047 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elsberry is located at ....
, the son of John Randolph Cannon, a farmer and merchant, and Ida Glovina Whiteside. Reflecting his family's influence and his rural, border-state background,
Cannon maintained a lifelong devotion to the Southern Baptist faith and the Democratic party. He also possessed a firm belief in the superiority of the agrarian lifestyle and small-town values. In 1901, Cannon graduated from La Grange Junior College (now known as Hannibal-LaGrange College
Hannibal-LaGrange College
The former Hannibal–LaGrange College is a private Christian college located in Hannibal, Missouri, United States. The college is affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention, which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. Enrollment is approximately 1,150 students as of 2007...
) in Hannibal, Missouri
Hannibal, Missouri
Hannibal is a city in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. Hannibal is located at the intersection of Interstate 72 and U.S. Routes 24, 36 and 61, approximately northwest of St. Louis. According to the 2010 U.S. Census the population was 17,606...
, from William Jewell College
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
in Liberty, Missouri
Liberty, Missouri
Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the 2007 population estimate, the city population was 29,993...
in 1903, and from the law school of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
in Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
in 1908. After working as a high school teacher and principal, he served
as an instructor of history at Stephens College
Stephens College
Stephens College is a women's college located in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833 as the Columbia Female Academy. In 1856, David H. Hickman turned it into a college,...
in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
from 1904 to 1908. Though he retained a lifelong interest in the American past and wrote several books on family and local history, Cannon deemed the academic life too sedentary. Accordingly, he studied law at the University of Missouri while teaching at Stephens College. He earned an LL.B. and joined the bar in 1908. He established a law practice in Troy, Missouri, but soon transferred it to his home town of Elsberry.
In 1906 Cannon married Ida Dawson Wigginton; they had two daughters. The couple formed a close working relationship. Ida Cannon became her husband's most trusted political adviser. Starting in the 1920s she traveled extensively over the back-country roads of northeastern Missouri campaigning for her spouse, while he remained at his congressional desk in Washington, D.C.
Politics
Cannon eagerly sought elective office, but his first two campaigns, for county school superintendent and state representative, ended in defeat. His political fortunes changed after his congressman, Champ Clark, hired him as a confidential secretary in 1911. When Democrats elected Clark Speaker of the House that year, Cannon found himself near the center of power in Washington.Enjoying Clark's patronage, Cannon advanced to the positions of House journal clerk from 1914-1917 and House parliamentarian from 1917 to 1920. A quick study, he rapidly established himself as a leading authority on parliamentary procedure. His skills proved so impressive that the Republicans retained him after winning the House in 1918. In 1920 he became parliamentarian of the Democratic National Convention, a position he held through 1960. Cannon exercised lasting influence over the workings of Congress through publications such as Procedure in the House of Representatives (1920) and Cannon's Precedents of the House of Representatives (1936).
After resigning as House parliamentarian, Cannon returned to his law practice in Elsberry. In 1922 voters in Clark's old congressional district elected Cannon to his mentor's seat in the House of Representatives. Popular with his constituents, he repeatedly won reelection, often without opposition, until his death.
Years in Congress
Heeding the concerns of his rural district, Cannon emerged as a leading advocate of agricultural interests. He supported parity payments to maintain farmers' incomes, low-interest federal farm loans, and soil conservation and flood control projects. The latter two were of special concern in Cannon's district, and one of the congressman's most enduring legacies involved securing federal funding for what eventually became the Clarence Cannon Dam and Reservoir in northeastern Missouri. Cannon also played a major role in the establishment of the rural electrification program and in obtaining government funds for agricultural research. "No farm legislation was approved by Congress during the Cannon years," a contemporary observer noted, "that did not bear the impress of Cannon's knowledge of parliamentary procedure andhis influence in Congress."
With the notable exception of farm supports, the Missourian primarily gained a reputation as a budget-slashing fiscal conservative, especially after he became chair of the House Appropriations Committee in 1941. Cannon retained this powerful position, except for four years of Republican control, until his death. He urged a quick reduction in military expenditures immediately after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, denounced foreign aid as waste, and ridiculed the space program as "moondoggle." Cannon's desire to hold tight the nation's purse strings grew with the years. In 1962 he bitterly denounced the first "$100-billion Congress" in a much-publicized speech on the House floor, angering House Speaker John W. McCormack and other fellow Democrats.
Always outspoken, sometimes irascible, Cannon earned a reputation for pugnacity. He once lampooned a fellow House member, "Of all the 'piddlin' politicians that ever piddled 'piddlin' politics on this floor, my esteemed friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin, is the greatest piddler that ever piddled." During an argument in 1945 Cannon punched in the face Representative John Taber
John Taber
John Taber was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York....
of New York, the ranking Republican member of the House AppropriationsCommittee. Cannon noted gleefully that Taber ran out of the room with a bleeding lip. In 1962 Cannon engaged in an unseemly and well-publicized dispute with Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona, another octogenarian Democrat, over obscure matters of parliamentary precedent.
Cannon's irascibility extended beyond the halls of Congress. In January 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to him expressing her appreciation for his help in establishing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, adding, "I know the fight was not easy." Cannon barked back to the recently widowed first lady: "You say the fight was not easy, but on the contrary, we had cooperation from everyone. It was done practically by acclamation."
Death
Cannon died in Washington, D.C., remaining an active congressman to the very end of his life, as he had wished. He had already announced his intention to seek reelection later in the year.His lengthy service in Congress made him an influential if somewhat contradictory representative. During his 41-year congressional career, he served well his rural Missouri constituents, securing passage of farm supports and funding for local projects that some critics denounced as "pork barrel" politics. At the same time, he advocated stricter fiscal responsibility in other branches of the federal government. Beyond the scope of legislation, Cannon's publications on congressional procedure have achieved the status of holy writ for successive generations of lawmakers. His contributions to agricultural and appropriation policies and parliamentary procedure, enhanced by his colorful personality, have ensured him a place as one of the major congressional figures of the twentieth century.
Legacy
Cannon was the author of A Synopsis of the Procedure of the House (1918), Procedure in the House of Representatives (1920), and Cannon’s Procedure (1928), subsequent editions of the latter being published periodically by resolutions of the House until 1963. He was the editor and compiler of Precedents of the House of Representatives (Cannon's Precedents) by an act of CongressAct of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
. He also served as regent of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
from 1935 to 1964. He is interred in Elsberry City Cemetery, Elsberry, Missouri
Elsberry, Missouri
Elsberry is a city in Lincoln County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,047 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elsberry is located at ....
. The Clarence Cannon Dam on Mark Twain Lake in Monroe City, MO is named in his honor due to his involvement in securing funding for the dam's construction. For several years the airport in Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat of Adair County, Missouri, United States. It is located in Benton Township. The population was 17,505 at the 2010 census. Kirksville also anchors a micropolitan area that comprises Adair and Schuyler counties. The city is perhaps best known as the location of Truman...
was known as Clarence Cannon Memorial Airport. However in the 1980s the name was changed to Kirksville Regional Airport
Kirksville Regional Airport
Kirksville Regional Airport is a public airport located southeast of the central business district of Kirksville, a city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. The airport is located in unincorporated Adair County and is owned by the City of Kirksville. It is mostly used for general aviation,...
. The terminal is still known as the Clarence Cannon terminal in honor of his role in securing and maintaining commercial air service to Kirksville. A high school athletic conference that serves much of his former district is known as the Clarence Cannon Conference.
A National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
near Annada, Missouri
Annada, Missouri
Annada is a village in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 48 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Annada is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
also bears his name: the Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge
Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge
The Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge is located in the floodplain of the Mississippi River, adjacent to Pool No. 25. The refuge's diversity of habitats supports waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, and songbirds...
.