ABSTRACT
Nicholas Longworth became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1925, at a time when the office was weak and ineffectual. It had been so since 1910, when the House rebelled against the tyranny of Speaker Joseph Cannon and reduced the position to virtual insignificance. Nicholas Longworth III represented the fourth generation of one of the city's oldest and wealthiest families. Longworth eased confidently, both politically and socially, into his new life as a congressman. Soon after the 1922 elections, which left the House Republicans clinging to a slim majority, Longworth announced his candidacy to succeed Frank Mondell as floor leader. Distrust of a powerful Speaker ran deep in both parties but was more pronounced among Republicans. It was a Republican Speaker, after all, whose abuse of authority had angered voters and fed the insurgency that brought about the Cannon Revolt.
