James Robert Mann (October 20, 1856 – November 30, 1922) was an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

from 1897 to 1922. He was a member of the Republican Party, and served as

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

from 1911 to 1919.

Early life and education

James Robert Mann was born near Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois on October 20, 1856. His older brother was Frank Irving Mann (1854-1937) farmer, editor of the Prairie Farmer news publication, and author of The Farmers Creed. Mann attended

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

and graduated in 1876. He graduated from

Union College of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law sch ...

in 1881 and became a lawyer in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Mann held several local political offices before serving in the House of Representatives.

Career

He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1881 and commenced his practice in Chicago. He held several local offices before being elected as a congressman: * Member of the Oakland Board of Education in Chicago (1887) * Attorney for Hyde Park and the South Park commissioners of Chicago * Chairman of the Illinois State Republican convention (1894) * Member of the

City Council of Chicago The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

(1892–1896) * Master in chancery of the

Superior Court of Cook County The Superior Court of Cook County was a court in Cook County, Illinois. It was preceded by earlier courts. 1845 saw the creation of the County Court of Cook County. In 1849, this was renamed The Cook County Court of Common Pleas. In 1859, this was ...

* Chairman of the Republican county conventions at Chicago (1895, 1902) * Elected as Republican (1896) to the 55th Congress with 13 successive terms

Service in the House

* Chairman, Committee on Elections No. 1 (58th–60th Congresses) * Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (61st Congress) * Committee on Women Suffrage (66th Congress) * Minority Leader (62nd–65th Congresses)

Notable legislation

Congressman Mann was one of the sponsors of the Mann-Elkins Act, which gave more power to the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates. He is probably best known for his authorship of the

Mann Act The White-Slave Traffic Act, also called the Mann Act, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois. In its original form the act mad ...

of 1910, which was a reaction to the "

white slavery White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or the Vikings' t ...

" issue and prohibited transportation of women between states for purposes of prostitution. He introduced legislation that became the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906. He was considered to be a leader in the cause of amending the United States Constitution to grant suffrage to women. However, he was quoted as saying, "'They should have been at home where they belonged,' referring to the women in the pageant." He was a leading opponent of the

Harrison Act The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act (Ch. 1, ) was a United States federal law that regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and coca products. The act was proposed by Representative Francis Burton Harrison of New Yo ...

and

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, despite the popularity of such legislation amongst his fellow Midwestern progressives.

Death

Grave of James Robert Mann (1856–1922) at Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago

Mann died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on November 30, 1922 at age 66 before the close of the

67th United States Congress The 67th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 192 ...

. He was interred in

Oak Woods Cemetery Oak Woods Cemetery is a large lawn cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 1035 E. 67th Street, in the Greater Grand Crossing area of Chicago's South Side. Established on February 12, 1853, it covers . Oak Woods is the final resting place o ...

in Chicago.

Electoral history

References

External links

James R. Mann, late a representative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, James Robert 1856 births 1922 deaths Anti–human trafficking activists Chicago City Council members Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Mann Act Minority leaders of the United States House of Representatives Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni People from Bloomington, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni