During the 1950s, Rayburn refused to sign the [[Southern Manifesto]] against school desegregation.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 17, 2021.</ref> He permitted committee chairmen to wield much of the authority in the House. He pushed for completion of the since abandoned U.S. Route 66 from [[Chicago]] to Santa Monica, [[California]], which he called uniting the Frost Belt with the [[Sun Belt]]. He often said that politics should stop at "the water's edge," meaning partisan wrangling should not extend to matters of foreign policy. | During the 1950s, Rayburn refused to sign the [[Southern Manifesto]] against school desegregation.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 17, 2021.</ref> He permitted committee chairmen to wield much of the authority in the House. He pushed for completion of the since abandoned U.S. Route 66 from [[Chicago]] to Santa Monica, [[California]], which he called uniting the Frost Belt with the [[Sun Belt]]. He often said that politics should stop at "the water's edge," meaning partisan wrangling should not extend to matters of foreign policy. |