Professional Life and Entry Into Politics
Longworth began a law practice in Cincinnati after being admitted to the Ohio bar in 1894. His political career began with a position on the city's Board of Education in 1898.
As the protégé of Republican boss George B. Cox, Longworth was elected to the Ohio General Assembly, serving in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1899 and 1900, then in the State Senate from 1901 to 1903. In 1902 he was instrumental in writing and passing the Longworth Act, a bill regulating the issuance of municipal bonds, which has been labeled "one of the most successful laws in Ohio's history" Longworth was elected to the United States House of Representatives from the First Congressional District of Ohio which included the city of Cincinnati and counties bordering Kentucky and Indiana.
The new representative, still a bachelor, quickly became a popular bon vivant in Washington, D.C. society. He successfully wooed Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt; they married in a White House ceremony in 1906.
Already well known for his social success, Longworth first came to political prominence in 1910, when he led the successful Republican revolt against the autocratic rule of House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon. Throughout his political career, Longworth was a workhorse, especially on issues regarding foreign affairs and the protective tariff.
As the insurgent (or "Progressive") Republicans pulled apart from the conservatives in 1910–12, Longworth sided with the conservatives. Theodore Roosevelt, Longworth's father-in-law, led the Progressives, and bolted the Republican convention in the 1912 election to set up a third party. However, many of Roosevelt's closest political allies, including Longworth, supported conservative standard-bearer President William Howard Taft. Longworth's decision caused a permanent chill in his marriage to Roosevelt's daughter, Alice. For men like Longworth expecting a future in politics, bolting the Republican party ticket was simply too radical a step. Also, Longworth agreed more with Taft than Roosevelt on critical issues like an independent judiciary and support for business.
Because the Progressive Party ran a candidate in his district, Longworth was defeated (by only 105 votes) in 1912. (Longworth's wife appeared at a speech by his Progressive opponent and would thereafter joke that it was she who cost her husband at least 100 of those 105 votes.)
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