Garner, John Nance (1868-1967), served as vice president of the United States from 1933 to 1941, during the first two terms of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Garner, a Conservative Southerner, helped put through Roosevelt’s early New Deal program. But he later opposed the president on labor and social welfare reforms (see New Deal ). He objected to a third term for Roosevelt and ran against him unsuccessfully at the 1940 Democratic National Convention.
Garner was born on Nov. 22, 1868, in Red River County, Texas, and was often called “Cactus Jack.” He served in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from Texas from 1903 to 1933. He was elected speaker of the House in 1931. A shrewd politician, Garner sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1932. However, he gave his convention votes to Roosevelt and accepted the vice presidential nomination instead. Garner died on Nov. 7, 1967.
