United States Representative from Massachusetts, Speaker of the House
Joseph William Martin, Jr. (November 3, 1884 - March 6, 1968) was a Republican Congressman and Speaker of the House from North Attleborough, Massachusetts. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1925-1967. From 1947-1949, and again from 1953-55, he served as Speaker of the House. He was the House Minority Leader from 1939-47, and again from 1949-53. He was the only Republican Speaker of the House between 1931 and 1995.
Joseph W. Martin succeeded Sam Rayburn as House Speaker in 1947, when the Republican Party gained control of Congress by riding the wave of dissatisfaction with the Democrats' handling of the occupation of Germany.[1] Most agreed that Martin had the job because he'd been in the House for so long, not because of any great skill as an orator or manager.[2]
Indeed for much of his term, as occupation supporters and opponents traded barbs on the House floor in defiance of Martin's attempts to maintain order, Martin often looked like he wondered why he'd wanted the job.[3]
