Carl Albert
Albert in 1974
46thSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 21, 1971 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	John W. McCormack
Succeeded by	Tip O'Neill
Leader of theHouse Democratic Caucus
In office January 21, 1971 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	John W. McCormack
Succeeded by	Tip O'Neill
House Majority Leader
In office January 10, 1962 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by	John W. McCormack
Succeeded by	Hale Boggs
House Majority Whip
In office January 3, 1955 – January 10, 1962
Leader	Sam Rayburn
Preceded by	Leslie C. Arends
Succeeded by	Hale Boggs
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's3rd district
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	Paul Stewart
Succeeded by	Wes Watkins
Personal details
Born	Carl Bert Albert (1908-05-10)May 10, 1908 McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	February 4, 2000(2000-02-04) (aged 91) McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S.
Resting place	Oak Hill Memorial Park McAlester, Oklahoma
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Sue Harmon ​ (m. 1942)​
Children	2
Relatives	Charles W. Vursell (cousin)
Education	University of Oklahoma (BA) St Peter's College, Oxford (BA,BCL)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army Air Forces Army Reserve
Years of service	1941–1946 (Air Forces) 1946–1968 (Reserve)
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel (Air Forces) Colonel (Reserve)
Unit	Far East Air Service Command
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Bronze Star Medal

Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and representedOklahoma's 3rd congressional district as aDemocrat from 1947 to 1977.

At 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 metres) tall, Albert was affectionately known as the "Little Giant fromLittle Dixie". Albert held the highest political office of any Oklahoman in American history.

Albert was born inMcAlester, Oklahoma, the son of Leona Ann (Scott) and Ernest Homer Albert, a coal miner and farmer.^[1] Shortly after his birth his family moved toBugtussle, a small town just north of McAlester. He grew up in a log cabin on his father's farm. In high school he excelled in debate, was student body president, and won the national high school oratorical contest, earning a trip to Europe. During this time he was an active member of his localOrder of DeMolay chapter; he is an inductee of the Order of DeMolay Hall of Fame.^[2] Albert later petitioned his local Masonic Lodge and became an active Freemason. He entered theUniversity of Oklahoma in 1927. There, he majored in political science and won theNational Oratorical Championship in 1928, receiving an all-expense-paid trip to Europe. He earned enough money to fund the rest of his undergraduate education through working in the college registrar's office and participating in theReserve Officers' Training Corps. While at Oklahoma, he was an accomplished amateur wrestler, a member of theKappa Alpha Order fraternity, and a member of theRUF/NEKS.^[3] He graduatedPhi Beta Kappa in 1931, was the top male student, then studied at theUniversity of Oxford on aRhodes Scholarship. He received a Bachelor of Arts in jurisprudence and Bachelor of Civil Laws fromSt Peter's College before returning to the United States in 1934. He opened a law practice inOklahoma City in 1935. He worked for a series of oil companies in leasing work until the start ofWorld War II.

Albert joined theUnited States Army as aprivate in 1941. He served briefly with the3rd Armored Division, but was soon commissioned asecond lieutenant in theArmy Air Forces. While in the army, Albert married Mary Harmon on August 20, 1942, inColumbia, South Carolina, just before he was sent to the South Pacific.^[4] The couple had two children, Mary Frances and David.^[5] Albert served in theJudge Advocate General Corps as a prosecutor assigned to theFar East Air Service Command. He earned aBronze Star Medal and other decorations and left the Army with the rank oflieutenant colonel in 1946.^[6] He remained in theArmy Reserve after the war, and retired in 1968 with the rank ofcolonel.^[7]

Albert was elected to Congress for the first time in1946. He was aCold War liberal, and supported PresidentHarry S. Truman's containment ofSoviet expansionism and domestic measures like public housing, federal aid to education, and farm price supports. Speaker of the HouseSam Rayburn noticed his diligence as a legislator and began inviting him to informal meetings in the speaker's office. Rayburn also advised Albert to seek the chairmanship of the Agriculture Committee in 1949. Albert was appointedHouse Majority Whip in 1955 and electedHouse Majority Leader after Rayburn's death in 1961.^[4]

Albert seemed to describe himself as apolitical moderate. He said, he "very much disliked doctrinaireliberals –– they want to own your minds. And I don't likereactionaryconservatives. I like to face issues in terms of conditions and not in terms of someone's inborn political philosophy."^[8]

Albert was inducted into theOklahoma Hall of Fame in 1957.^[9]

As Majority Leader, Albert was a key figure in advancing the Democratic legislative agenda in the House, particularly health care legislation.Medicare, the federal hospital insurance program for persons 65 and older, was initially proposed by theKennedy Administration as an amendment to theSocial Security program. Albert knew the bill had insufficient Congressional support for passage due to the opposition of ten Republicans and eight southern Democrats. He advised President Kennedy to seek Senate passage of the measure first. Albert calculated that the Senate should bring it to the House as aconference committee report on their own welfare bill, instead of trying direct introduction into the House.

Although well-planned, Albert's efforts on behalf of the Medicare bill were not successful at that time. After Kennedy's assassination, Albert worked to change House rules so that the majority Democrats would have greater influence on the final decisions of Congress under PresidentLyndon B. Johnson. The changes included more majority leverage over theHouse Rules Committee and stronger majority membership influence in theHouse Ways and Means Committee. With these changes in place, Albert was able to push through the Medicare bill, known as theSocial Security Act of 1965, and to shepherd other pieces of Johnson'sGreat Society program through Congress. Albert did not sign the 1956Southern Manifesto,^[10] and voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1960,^[11][12]1964,^[13][14] and1968,^[15][16] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.^[17][18][19] Albert voted against the initial House resolution for theCivil Rights Act of 1957 on June 18, 1957,^[20] but voted in favor of the Senate amendment to the bill on August 27, 1957.^[21]

Albert also chaired the infamous1968 Democratic National Convention inChicago. The convention was one of the most chaotic in American history.Riots and protests raged outside the venue, and disorder reigned among delegates tasked with leading the party after Johnson's late March decision tonot seek reelection, the Aprilassassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Juneassassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the increasing casualties of theVietnam War.

When SpeakerJohn W. McCormack retired in January 1971, during the second half ofRichard Nixon's first term as president, Albert was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In September 1972, Albert was witnessed driving drunk and crashing into two cars in theCleveland Park neighborhood of Washington.^[22]

As theWatergate scandal developed in 1973, Albert, as speaker, referred some two dozenimpeachment resolutions to theHouse Judiciary Committee for debate and study.^[23] Also in 1973, he appointed Felda Looper as the first female House page.^[24]

In 1973, during Albert's second term as Speaker and Nixon's second term as president, Vice PresidentSpiro Agnew was investigated fortax evasion andmoney laundering for a series of bribes he took while he was governor ofMaryland. Agnew resigned as vice president and eventually pleadednolo contendere to the charges. This event put Albertnext in line to assume the presidency, should that office have become vacant.

Under the provisions of theTwenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Nixon nominated RepublicanHouse Minority LeaderGerald R. Ford to succeed Agnew as vice president in October 1973. As theWatergate scandal began to unfold and the impeachment process against Nixon began, it quickly became apparent that if Nixon resigned or was removed from office before Ford was confirmed by both houses, Albert would becomeacting president under thePresidential Succession Act of 1947. Albert would have been forced to resign from the office of Speaker as well as the House.

This was the first occasion since the Twenty-fifth Amendment's ratification when it was possible for a member of one party to assume the presidency after a member of the opposing party vacated the office. As speaker of the House, Albert presided over the only body with the authority to impeach Nixon and had the ability to prevent any vice presidential confirmation vote from taking place in the House. This meant Albert could have maneuvered to make himself acting president.Ted Sorensen prepared a contingency plan for Albert that outlined the steps Albert would have taken had he assumed the presidency.^[25] The vice presidency was vacant for about seven weeks; Ford was confirmed and sworn in December 1973.

Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, and the office of vice president was once more left vacant when Ford succeeded Nixon that day. This event put Albert next in line to assume the presidency for a second time. Former New York GovernorNelson Rockefeller was nominated by Ford, then confirmed and sworn into office as vice president in December.

A different issue arose during Albert's last term in office when he was confronted with theTongsun Park scandal. He was accused of accepting gifts and bribes from a lobbyist who was also a member ofSouth Korean intelligence. Albert denied having accepted bribes and admitted receiving only token gifts, which he disclosed. He decided to retire at the end of the94th Congress in January 1977, and after leaving the House he turned the gifts over to theGeneral Services Administration as required by law. Albert was never charged with a crime.^{[26][27][28][29]}

After he left Washington, Albert returned to Bugtussle, turning down many lucrative financial offers from corporate concerns. With help from university professor Danney Goble, Albert published his memoir,Little Giant (University of Oklahoma Press, 1990,ISBN 0-8061-2250-1).A post-retirement editorial in theNew York Times called him "a conciliator and seeker of consensus, a patient persuader . . . trusted for his fairness and integrity." He lectured at the University of Oklahoma and made speeches both in the United States and abroad.^[8]

Albert died inMcAlester, Oklahoma at the age of 91 on February 4, 2000.^[6] He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in McAlester.^[30]

TheCarl Albert Center at theUniversity of Oklahoma inNorman was established in 1979 for the general purpose of studying Congress and the particular purpose of researching Albert's life and political career. The Center holds the archive of Albert's Congressional papers along with those ofRobert S. Kerr,Helen Gahagan Douglas,Millicent Fenwick,Ernest Istook,Fred R. Harris,Percy Gassaway, and many others. TheCongressional Archives hold material from theCivil War era to the present, but the largest portion covers the 1930s to the 1970s.Carl Albert Indian Health Facility inAda is part of thePublic Health Service and is administered by theChickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.Durant named its Carl Albert Park for him, and a monument to Albert resides at his birthplace in McAlester.Several institutions and buildings in Oklahoma bear Albert's name. Carl B. Albert Middle School and Carl B. Albert High School inMidwest City andCarl Albert State College inPoteau are named for him,^[8] as well as theCarl Albert Federal Building inMcAlester.

TheUniversity of Oxford established a monument to Albert in the Eunomia Chambers of the St Peter's College Law Library.

Carl Albert married Mary Harmon in 1942; they had a son and a daughter. His cousinCharles W. Vursell served as a member of Congress representing Illinois from 1943 to 1959.

• Albert, Carl.Little Giant: The Life and Times of Speaker Carl Albert (1990), autobiography, with Danney Goble.
• Clark, David W. "Carl Albert: Little Giant of Native America"Chronicles of Oklahoma 93#3 (2015) PP 290–311.

EnglishWikisource has original works by or about:

Carl Bert Albert

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCarl Albert.

• The Carl Albert Wikimedia Commons Photograph Collection
• The Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma
• Carl Albert Collection andPhotograph Series at theCarl Albert Center
• Carl Albert State College Home Page
• The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma Home Page
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Albert, Carl Bert (1908–2000)
• Oral History Interviews with Carl Albert, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
• "Congressman Causes Alert".The Brandon Sun. Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. 16 Jul 1964. p. 15. Retrieved24 December 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
• Carl Bert Albert atFind a Grave
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• United States Congress."Carl Albert (id: A000073)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-05

• 1908 births
• 2000 deaths
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century Oklahoma politicians
• Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford
• 20th-century American memoirists
• United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
• American Rhodes Scholars
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma
• Majority leaders of the United States House of Representatives
• Oklahoma lawyers
• Military personnel from Oklahoma
• People from McAlester, Oklahoma
• Speakers of the United States House of Representatives
• University of Oklahoma alumni
• United States Army colonels
• United States Army reservists
• United States Army Air Forces officers
• United States Army personnel of World War II
• 20th-century United States representatives

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• People appearing on C-SPAN