Henry T. Rainey

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Henry Thomas Rainey
40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office March 9, 1933 – August 19, 1934
Preceded by	John Nance Garner
Succeeded by	Jo Byrns
Leader of the House Democratic Caucus
In office March 9, 1933 – August 19, 1934
Preceded by	John Nance Garner
Succeeded by	Jo Byrns
House Majority Leader
In office December 7, 1931 – March 3, 1933
Preceded by	John Q. Tilson
Succeeded by	Jo Byrns
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 20th district
In office March 4, 1923 – August 19, 1934
Preceded by	Guy L. Shaw
Succeeded by	Scott W. Lucas
In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1921
Preceded by	James R. Williams
Succeeded by	Guy L. Shaw
Personal details
Born	(1860-08-20)August 20, 1860 Carrollton, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 19, 1934(1934-08-19) (aged 73) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Knox College Amherst College Northwestern University

Henry Thomas Rainey (August 20, 1860 – August 19, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party from Illinois, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1921 and from 1923 to his death in 1934. He rose to Speaker of the House, during the famous Hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

Rainey attended the public schools and Knox Academy and Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. He transferred to, and graduated from Amherst College in 1883 and then the Northwestern University School of Law, in Chicago which he graduated in 1885. He was admitted to the bar in 1885 and commenced practice in Carrollton, Illinois.

Rainey was appointed master in chancery for Greene County, Illinois, from 1887 until 1895, when he resigned, and returned to private practice. He then decided to return to politics in 1902 getting elected to Congress and serving for nine terms before losing to Guy L. Shaw in 1920.^[1] Two years later, he won back his seat and served until his death. The 1903 Congressional Directory notes that Rainey "belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen, the Mutual Protective League, and the Elks."^[1]

Due to the Great Depression, the Republican party lost its majority in a landslide, and, with John Nance Garner elevated to the Speakership, Rainey ran for, and defeated John McDuffie for the Majority leadership. McDuffie remained as Whip.

With Speaker Garner having been inaugurated Vice President on March 4, 1933, Rainey, being next in line, was elected Speaker of the House when President Roosevelt called a special session of Congress two days later. Rainey gave the Roosevelt administration carte blanche to do whatever it wanted, allowing almost the entire New Deal to be passed with little or no changes.

More reforms were passed during the regular session starting December. Rainey died of a heart attack the following summer, on the eve of his seventy-fourth birthday, before the new Congress could meet.

• Henry T. Rainey Farm
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949)

• Waller, Robert Alfred (1977). Rainey of Illinois: a political biography, 1903–34. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-00647-X.
• United States Congress. "Henry T. Rainey (id: R000014)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry Thomas Rainey.

• Works by or about Henry T. Rainey at the Internet Archive
• Henry T. Rainey at Find a Grave