page_title: Carl Hayden
section_title: House of Representatives
hierarchical_section_title: Carl Hayden / House of Representatives
caption_attribution_description: Ashurst-Hayden Dam - A diversion dam located on the Gila River northeast of Florence, Arizona (33° 6' 1.01"N, 111° 14' 46.00"W)
context_page_description: Carl Trumbull Hayden was an American politician and the first United States Senator to serve seven terms. Serving as Arizona's first Representative for eight terms before entering the Senate, Hayden set the record for longest-serving member of the United States Congress more than a decade before his retirement from politics. The longtime Dean of the United States Senate served as its president pro tempore and chairman of both its Rules and Administration and Appropriations committees. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
  Having earned a reputation as a reclamation expert early in his congressional career, Hayden consistently backed legislation dealing with public lands, mining, reclamation, and other projects affecting the Western United States. In addition, he played a key role in creating the funding formula for the federal highway system. President John F.
context_section_description: Hayden's first run for Congress came during a 1911 special election called in anticipation of Arizona statehood. With the Democratic Party's influence in territorial politics, winning the party primary was tantamount to winning the general election. Hayden was considered an underdog to two other Democratic challengers and received an endorsement from only one Arizona newspaper. Due to his duties as sheriff along with his Arizona Territorial National Guard service, Hayden had become known to political leaders throughout the territory. These acquaintances, combined with the influence of his father's good reputation, allowed Hayden a surprise win in the Democratic primary which was followed by his election to the United States House of Representatives.
  The 1911 election set a number of precedents that would characterize Hayden's later political campaigns. The first was his tradition of never mentioning his opponent's name in public. He also began a practice of caravaning around the state with other members of his party, a pattern that continued until war-time rationing of the 1940s ended the custom. He also kept a lookout for candidates with a potential to run against him, occasionally sending letters encouraging the rumored candidates to run. With good home service of his constituents, Hayden rarely faced a strong challenge for his office.
  Hayden gave the jail house keys to Deputy Jeff Adams and, with his wife, began the trip to Washington, D.C. the same day President William H. Taft signed the legislation granting Arizona statehood. Bearing credentials from Territorial Governor Richard Elihu Sloan, Hayden was sworn into the 62nd United States Congress on February 19, 1912. His goal while in Congress was to help his fledgling state develop its natural resources and infrastructure while growing the state's population. Due to the federal government controlling the majority of the state's land, Hayden also wished to involve the federal government in this process. Hayden's first bill, authorizing a railroad right-of-way  to Fort Huachuca, was introduced on March 1, 1912.
  With the 1913 start to his first full term, Hayden supported Woodrow Wilson's policies by voting for the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, Federal Reserve Act, Underwood Tariff Act, and creation of the Federal Trade Commission. He sponsored the Grand Canyon National Park Act, and, in honor of his mother, he introduced a joint resolution calling for women's suffrage. In 1914, Hayden secured an extension of repayment times for loans made under the National Reclamation Act of 1902 from ten to twenty years. The extension included greater flexibility in the payment amounts during the early repayment period. An additional change in the way that reclamation projects were funded came in 1922 with passage of Hayden's legislation authorizing revenues from sale of hydroelectric power to be credited to repayment of project debts. Favoring local control of reclamation projects, in 1917 Hayden wrote legislation transferring financial obligations and operations of the Salt River Project from the Bureau of Reclamation to a local government entity. The Bureau transferring control to local government agencies would become the model for future reclamation projects in The West. Other early efforts by Hayden included sponsoring the creation of the Grand Canyon National Park and the 1919 legislation resulting in the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  Beginning with an appropriation during his first term for the United States Army Corps of Engineers to perform a study accessing the feasibility of building a flood control dam, Hayden sought to bring a reclamation project to the Gila River. Following a favorable feasibility report on the project, Hayden introduced legislation authorizing the San Carlos Project in 1914. Bill opponents claimed that Arizona had already received an overly large share of federal reclamation funds and the legislation was defeated.
  Using the fact that the Pima Indians would be one of the primary beneficiaries of the project, Hayden switched tactic
caption: Ashurst-Hayden diversion dam, part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project.
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