John Nance Garner

John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was the 32nd vice president of the United States, serving from 1933 to 1941 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A member of the Democratic Party, Garner served as the 39th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1931 to 1933, having been a U.S. representative from Texas from 1903 to 1933. Garner and Schuyler Colfax are the only politicians to have served as presiding officers of both chambers of the U.S. Congress as speaker of the House and vice president of the United States. He was the longest-lived vice president in U.S. history, dying at the age of 98.

Garner began his political career as the county judge of Uvalde County, Texas. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1899 to 1903 and won election to represent Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1902. He represented Texas's 15th congressional district from 1903 to 1933. Garner served as House Minority Leader from 1929 to 1931, and was elevated to Speaker of the House when Democrats won control of the House following special elections in 1931 (Republicans actually retained control immediately after the 1930 elections, but lost as several seats shifted parties).

Garner sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1932 presidential election, but agreed to serve as Roosevelt's running mate at the 1932 Democratic National Convention. He and Roosevelt won the 1932 election and were reelected in 1936. A conservative Southerner, Garner opposed the sit-down strikes of the labor unions and the New Deal's deficit spending. At the same time, he was considered highly effective in the passage of New Deal legislation, with Roosevelt relying greatly on Garner's wealth of political friendships and legislative skills to pilot New Deal legislation through Congress. Unlike vice presidents before him, Garner also had an active, non-ceremonial role in the U.S. Cabinet. He broke with Roosevelt in 1937 over a range of issues, especially the centralization of power in the federal government. Garner again sought the presidency in the 1940 presidential election, but Roosevelt won the party's nomination at the 1940 Democratic National Convention and chose Henry A. Wallace as his running mate and ultimately won an unprecedented third term.