Albert, Carl B.

Carl B. Albert (1908–2000) was a Democratic member of the House for thirty years and its Speaker for six. An Oklahoma lawyer and former Rhodes scholar, Albert entered the House in 1947.

On the day of his arrival, legend has it, the tiny (five feet, four inches) newcomer was mistaken for a congressional page by a veteran representative who called him over and directed, “Son, take these papers over to my office.”

During his career in the House, Albert traveled a careful political road along which he made few enemies. He was a protégé of Speaker Sam Rayburn, who chose him to become majority whip in 1955. Albert moved on up the Democratic leadership ladder to become majority leader in 1962 and Speaker in 1971. He was acceptable to most factions of the party and won election as Speaker with only token opposition.

Because of his low-key style, Albert did little either to help or to impede liberal reform efforts of the early 1970s, and his passive manner soon drew criticism. Some freshman Democrats talked openly of removing him after the House in 1975 upheld Republican president Gerald R. Ford's veto of a Democratic-backed bill [Page p7]to control strip mining. No effort was made to oust Albert, however, and criticism subsided by 1976. He did not run for reelection that year.

On two occasions during Albert's tenure as Speaker, the nation was without a vice president and Albert was in line to succeed the president. That was true following the resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew in 1973 and when Vice President Ford succeeded President Richard M. Nixon in 1974.