Joseph W. Martin Jr.

Joseph W. Martin Jr.
Martin in 1940
44th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955
Preceded bySam Rayburn
Succeeded bySam Rayburn
In office
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949
Preceded bySam Rayburn
Succeeded bySam Rayburn
House Minority Leader
In office
January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1959
DeputyLeslie C. Arends
Preceded bySam Rayburn
Succeeded byCharles A. Halleck
In office
January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953
DeputyLeslie C. Arends
Preceded bySam Rayburn
Succeeded bySam Rayburn
In office
January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1947
DeputyHarry Lane Englebright
Leslie C. Arends
Preceded byBertrand Snell
Succeeded bySam Rayburn
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office
July 8, 1940 – December 7, 1942
Preceded byJohn Hamilton
Succeeded byHarrison E. Spangler
Leader of the
House Republican Conference
In office
January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1959
DeputyHarry Lane Englebright
Leslie C. Arends
Charles A. Halleck
Leslie C. Arends
Charles A. Halleck
Leslie C. Arends
Preceded byBertrand Snell
Succeeded byCharles A. Halleck
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts
In office
March 4, 1925 – January 3, 1967
Preceded byRobert M. Leach
Succeeded byMargaret Heckler
Constituency15th district (1925–1933)
14th district (1933–1963)
10th district (1963–1967)
Personal details
Born
Joseph William Martin Jr.

(1884-11-03)November 3, 1884
North Attleborough, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedMarch 6, 1968(1968-03-06) (aged 83)
Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican

Joseph William Martin Jr. (November 3, 1884 – March 6, 1968) was an American Republican politician who served as the 44th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and 1953 to 1955. He represented a House district centered on his hometown of North Attleborough, Massachusetts, from 1925 to 1967 and was the leader of House Republicans from 1939 until 1959, when he was ousted from leadership after the party's disastrous losses in the 1958 elections. He was the only Republican to serve as Speaker in a sixty-four year period from 1931 to 1995. He was a "compassionate conservative" who opposed the New Deal and supported the conservative coalition of Republicans and southern Democrats.[1]

Early in his career, Martin worked as a newspaper editor and served in both houses of the Massachusetts General Court. He won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1924. He was elected House Minority Leader after the 1938 elections. He also served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1940 to 1942 at the behest of Wendell Willkie, the 1940 Republican presidential nominee. Martin presided over five Republican National Conventions and frequently became involved in presidential politics. He urged General Douglas MacArthur to seek the 1952 Republican presidential nomination, and supporters of Robert A. Taft accused Martin of favoring Dwight D. Eisenhower in Martin's role as chairman of the contentious 1952 Republican National Convention. After Eisenhower won the 1952 election, Martin supported Eisenhower's internationalist foreign policy.

Martin lost his position as Republican leader after the party lost seats in the 1958 elections. He was succeeded by his more conservative deputy, Charles A. Halleck. Martin continued to serve in Congress until his defeat in the 1966 Republican primary by Margaret Heckler. Martin died in Hollywood, Florida, in 1968.

Martin was a Zionist who supported the recognition of the state of Israel.[2]

  1. ^ James J. Kenneally, A Compassionate Conservative: A Political Biography of Joseph W. Martin Jr., Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2003)
  2. ^ Hixson, Walter L., ed. (2019), ""Erect a Jewish State at Once"", Israel's Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict, Cambridge Studies in US Foreign Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 13–30, doi:10.1017/9781108594424.003, ISBN 978-1-108-48390-2, retrieved 2024-04-12

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