II. U. S. House of Representatives, 1936-1978, 400 lin. ft.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to unseat 11th district congressman O. H. Cross in the 1934 Democratic primary, Poage's second effort in 1936 succeeded. He quickly established himself as a supporter of the New Deal working exhaustively for rural electrification and rural telephone service during the 1930s and 1940s. Poage's tenure coincided with the rise to power of many fellow Texans, including Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn. Along with most other Texas congressmen, Poage opposed the efforts of the Dixiecrates in the late 1940s and remained loyal to the Truman administration.

Poage's increasing political stature led to his being suggested as a candidate to succeed Senator Tom Connally in 1952. Instead, Poage remained in the House building up power and influence through seniority. Despite the defections of many prominent Texas Democrats to the camp of Republican Dwight Eisenhower, Poage steadfastly supported the Democratic ticket, advising Adlai Stevenson's campaign on farm issues and Texas politics in 1952 and 1956.

With the election of John Kennedy to the presidency in 1960, Poage was the favorite of influential Texans in Washington, as well as southern Democrats, to become the Kennedy administration's Secretary of Agriculture. However, Poage bowed out of consideration. In 1967, following the election defeat of Rep. Harold Cooley of North Carolina, Poage became chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, holding that position until 1974. Poage's agricultural expertise and safe Democratic district allowed him to become one of the party's traveling campaign speakers in farm state congressional campaigns throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Serving in the House for 42 years, Poage naturally accumulated a mass of materials about a variety of subjects. While most of these files date from 1951 to 1978, some material are from the 1940s and even a few are from the late 1930s when Poage first went to Washington. This series is subdivided into six subseries:

1. Agriculture
2. Congressional Committees
3. Bills sponsored by Poage
4. Legislation, subject file
5. Constituent correspondence
6. House Administration

There are also some early materials related to Poage's Congressional years in the Supplemental Materials.

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