Committee on Ways and Means, Chairmen's Portrait Pages 1847-1899

Ways and Means Banner with Picture of One of Four Sculptured Eagles from Ceiling in 1100 Longworth, Main Committee Hearing Room

HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON
FORMER COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS MEMBERS
THAT HAVE ATTAINED HIGHER OFFICE

Throughout its history, many famous Americans have served on the Committee on Ways and Means. The long and distinguished list includes 8 Presidents of the United States, 8 Vice Presidents, 4 Justices of the Supreme Court, 34 Cabinet members, and quite interestingly, 21 Speakers of the House of Representatives. This latter figure represents nearly one-half of the 51 Speakers who have served since 1789 through the present.

Below is a full list of major positions held by former members of the Committee on Ways and Means.

The following Presidential portraits have already been included in the Chairmen's portrait pages: James K. Polk (D-TN), Millard Fillmore (W-NY), William McKinley, Jr. (R-NY).

[Click on the portraits or picture for a larger view and some interesting facts.]

JR= Jeffersonian Republican | W=Whig | R=Republican | D=Democrat |
PAU = Party Affiliation Unknown

James Madison
(JR-VA)

4th President of the United States; and
Ways & Means Member
1st Congress (1789-1791), 3rd-4th Congresses (1794-1797)

Andrew Jackson (JR-TN)

7th President of the United States; and Ways & Means Member
4th Congress
(1795-1797)

John Tyler
(JR-VA)

10th President of the United States; and Ways & Means Member
16th Congress (1819-1821)

James Garfield
(R-OH)

20th President of the United States; and
Ways & Means Member
39th Congress (1865-1867), and 44th-46th Congresses (1875-1881)

George H.W. Bush
(R-TX)

41st President of the United States; and Ways & Means Member 90th-91st Congresses (1967-1971)

Elbridge Gerry
(PAU-MA)

Vice President to James Madison; and Ways & Means Member 1st Congress (1789-1791)

Albert Gallatin
(JR-PA)

Secretary of the Treasury (1801-1814); and Ways & Means Member 4th, 5th and 6th Congresses (1795-1801)

Thomas Brackett Reed
(R-ME)

Speaker of the House 51st, 54th-55th Congresses; and Ways & Means Member 48th-50th Congresses (1883-1889)

Cordell Hull*
(D-TN)

Secretary of State 1933-1944;
and Ways & Means Member 62nd-71st Congresses (1911-1931)

*Recipient of Nobel Peace Prize 1945

Full List of Major Positions Held by Former Members of the Committee on Ways and Means

President of the United States:

George H. W. Bush, Texas
Millard Fillmore, New York
James A. Garfield, Ohio
Andrew Jackson, Tennessee
James Madison, Virginia
William McKinley, Jr., Ohio
James K. Polk, Tennessee
John Tyler, Virginia

Vice President of the United States:

John C. Breckinridge, Kentucky
George H. W. Bush, Texas
Charles Curtis, Kansas
Millard Fillmore, New York
John N. Garner, Texas
Elbridge Gerry, Massachusetts
Richard M. Johnson, Kentucky
John Tyler, Virginia

Justice of the Supreme Court:

Philip P. Barbour, Virginia
Joseph McKenna, California
John McKinley, Alabama
Fred M. Vinson, Kentucky (Chief Justice)

Speaker of the House of Representatives:

Nathaniel P. Banks, Massachusetts
Philip P. Barbour, Virginia
James G. Blaine, Maine
John G. Carlisle, Kentucky
Langdon Cheves, South Carolina
James B. (Champ) Clark, Missouri
Howell Cobb, Georgia
Charles F. Crisp, Georgia
John N. Garner, Texas
John W. Jones, Virginia
Michael C. Kerr, Indiana
Nicholas Longworth, Ohio
John W. McCormack, Massachusetts
James K. Polk, Tennessee
Henry T. Rainey, Illinois
Samuel J. Randall, Pennsylvania
Thomas B. Reed, Maine
Theodore Sedgwick, Massachusetts
Andrew Stevenson, Virginia
John W. Taylor, New York
Robert C. Winthrop, Massachusetts

Cabinet Member:

Secretary of State:

James G. Blaine, Maine
William J. Bryan, Nebraska
Cordell Hull, Tennessee
Louis McLean, Delaware
John Sherman, Ohio

Secretary of the Treasury:

George W. Campbell, Tennessee
John G. Carlisle, Kentucky
Howell Cobb, Georgia
Thomas Corwin, Ohio
Charles Foster, Ohio
Alert Gallatin, Pennsylvania
Samuel D. Ingham, Pennsylvania
Louis McLean, Delaware
Ogden L. Mills, New York
John Sherman, Ohio
Philip F. Thomas, Maryland
Fred M. Vinson, Kentucky

Attorney General:

James P. McGranery, Pennsylvania
Joseph McKenna, California
A. Mitchell Palmer, Pennsylvania
Caesar A. Rodney, Delaware

Postmaster General:

Samuel D. Hubbard, Connecticut
Cave Johnson, Tennessee
Horace Maynard, Tennessee
William L. Wilson, West Virginia

Secretary of the Navy:

Thomas W. Gilder, Virginia
Hilary A. Herbert, Alabama
Victor H. Metcalf, California
Claude A. Swanson, Virginia

Secretary of the Interior:

Rogers C.B. Morton, Maryland
Jacob Thompson, Mississippi

Secretary of Commerce and Labor:

Victor H. Metcalf, California

Secretary of Commerce:

Rogers C.B. Morton, Maryland

Secretary of Agriculture:

Clinton P. Anderson, New Mexico

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