Byrns, Joseph (Wellington) (1869–1936)

US Democratic representative. In the US House of Representatives 1909–36, he championed governmental economy and tariff reductions, although he secured the massive wartime appropriations requested by President Woodrow Wilson. He attacked Republican economic policies, claiming that their high tariffs had contributed to a world-wide depression. In 1933 he became majority leader, successfully shepherding New Deal legislation through the House.

He was born in Cedar Hill, Tennessee. His family moved to Nashville from their farm to provide him, the eldest of six children, with an education. A lawyer in Nashville in 1891, he served in the Tennessee house and senate. He was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives 1935–36 and managed the Democratic majority through persuasion, using a team of deputy whips to poll congressmen before critical votes.