Joseph Gurney Cannon

As the Speaker during most of the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, Cannon was an obstacle to the progressive policies advanced by Roosevelt and later abandoned by Taft. A revolt against Cannon's authority as Speaker, led by George W. Norris, was a contributing factor to the Republican Party split in the elections of 1910 and 1912 and led to significant reforms to the House rules.


The Cannon House Office Building, the oldest congressional office building, was named for him in 1962.

Early life[edit]

Joseph Gurney Cannon was born in Guilford County, North Carolina on May 7, 1836. He was the elder of two sons of Horace Franklin Cannon, a country doctor, and Gulielma Cannon (née Hollingsworth).^[2]


The Cannon family were Quakers and, like most members of their faith, opposed to slavery. Abhorring the practice and fearing war, the Cannons were among the many Quakers who left the South for the Western frontier. In 1840, his family moved west with other North Carolina Quakers, settling about 30 miles north of Terre Haute along the Wabash River. Their new settlement became Annapolis, Indiana.^[3] Horace Cannon drowned on August 7, 1851, as he tried to reach a sick patient by crossing a creek. Joe Cannon, aged fourteen, became head of the family and took charge of the family farm. He worked as a clerk in a country store to save money and, after five years, the family were able to pay their mortgage.


Cannon became fascinated by the law when asked to testify in a slander case on behalf of a friend represented by John Palmer Usher.^[4] He studied under Usher at his Terre Haute office and used the remainder of his savings to enroll in law school at the University of Cincinnati.^[3] In 1858, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Terre Haute, Indiana, but was disappointed when Usher refused to offer him a place in his office. He relocated to Shelbyville, Illinois but failed to attract clients, and from there moved on to Tuscola, county seat of the newly organized Coles County. His choice of a new hometown was involuntary; while travelling from Shelbyville to Chicago to find more clients, he ran out of money. He boarded a Chicago-bound train in Mattoon but was removed from the train in Tuscola after failing to show a ticket.^[3]


While building his law practice, Cannon became a follower of Abraham Lincoln during the Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858. He launched his first campaign for the office of state's attorney for Coles County in 1860 but was defeated. However, he was elected in 1861 as state's attorney for the twenty-seventh judicial district, after the Republican legislature reformed the state judicial system. Cannon remained in that position until 1872, when he was elected to the U.S. House.