John H. Mitchell
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John Hipple Mitchell (born John Mitchell Hipple; June 23, 1835December 8, 1905) was an American lawyer, politician. He served as a Republican
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
on three occasions between 1873 and 1905. He also served as president of the
state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...
, did the initial legal work involved in the dispute that led to the landmark Supreme Court case of '' Pennoyer v. Neff'', and later was involved with the Oregon land fraud scandal, for which he was
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...
and
convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...
while a sitting U.S. Senator. He is one of twelve U.S. Senators indicted while in office, and one of six convicted.


Early life

He was born in
Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington, Pe ...
, with the name John Mitchell Hipple. He moved with his parents to
Butler County, Pennsylvania Butler County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 193,763. Its county seat is Butler. Butler County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named in honor of Gen ...
, at the age of two. He attended public schools during much of his childhood, but also attended some private schools including the Witherspoon Institute. As a young man he was a schoolteacher. He seduced a 15-year-old female student, and, due to the resulting scandal, was forced to marry her.


Legal career

In 1859, Mitchell stopped teaching and decided to become a lawyer. He built a successful law practice in Pennsylvania. However, in 1860, he decided to leave his community and family, and moved to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
with a local schoolteacher with whom he was having an affair. After arriving in California, he abandoned her and moved to
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. It was then that he decided to change his name to John Hipple Mitchell, using his middle name as his last name, and attempted to start a completely new life in Oregon. Mitchell remarried in Oregon, without divorcing his first wife. Almost immediately, he started to become a successful lawyer and build political connections. Mitchell was not an intellectual man, but he was very ambitious and knew how to develop business and political friendships with important people. In 1867, he was hired as a professor at Willamette University School of Medicine to teach medical jurisprudence. Mitchell remained as professor for almost four years. Wendy Collins Purdue, Dean of Richmond Law, provides a description for Mitchell as an unethical and unskilled lawyer who used his significant charisma to find success, both in lawyering and later in his political career. Mitchell was more than willing to defraud his own clients. In one case, he acted as a guardian on behalf of a widow, wherein he moved to sell some of her land to supposedly pay for the expenses of the guardianship, turned around and bought the land himself at a cheap price and then resold it at market value for a sizeable profit. In another action, a client came to Mitchell looking for help with debt. Mitchell instead informed the creditors of the client's location, and was appointed as the debt collector. Mitchell then extorted the money out of his now victimized client.


''Pennoyer v. Neff''

During his law practice in Oregon, Mitchell did some legal work for a client named Marcus Neff. Mitchell's dispute with Neff regarding some unpaid legal bills gave rise to the circumstances that led to the U.S. Supreme Court case of '' Pennoyer v. Neff''. Mitchell's underlying conduct was unscrupulous at best, and possibly fraudulent.


Political career

Two years after arriving in Oregon, in 1862, he was elected to the
Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...
. In 1864 he became President of the state Senate and served in that position until 1866. Because United States Senators were elected by the state legislatures during his lifetime, and that was the only office that Mitchell was to seek, this early position in the state Senate was the only popularly elected office that he would ever run for or win. Mitchell was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate from Oregon in 1866, losing to Henry W. Corbett. He tried again in 1872 and this time won, taking office in 1873. He petitioned to officially change his name after he was elected. A corruption inquiry resulted from of his Senate election campaign. Mitchell characteristically escaped further investigation by bribing the Attorney General at the time,
George Henry Williams George Henry Williams (March 26, 1823April 4, 1910) was an American judge and politician. He served as chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and was elected Oregon's U.S. senator, and serv ...
. On the topic of names, during Mitchell's second period of Senate service (from November 18, 1885, to March 3, 1897), he concurrently served alongside two other different individuals named "John Mitchell", from other states. From November 18, 1885, to March 3, 1887, Mitchell served alongside Sen. John I. Mitchell from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
; and from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1897, Mitchell served alongside Sen.
John L. Mitchell John Lendrum Mitchell (October 19, 1842June 29, 1904) was an Americans, American politician and philanthropist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A Democratic Party United States, Democrat, he served one term each in the United States Senate (1893&ndash ...
from
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. By this time, he had married again, but had not divorced the woman he had married in Pennsylvania. His opponents tried to block him from becoming a senator by asking a Senate committee to expel him for what he had done in the past, charging him with
bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...
, desertion and living under an assumed name. Though these charges were certainly true, the Senate Committee decided they were not relevant. Mitchell served in the Senate from 1873 to 1879, and was defeated for reelection. He ran for reelection to the Senate in 1882 but lost. In 1885, however, he was elected again to the Senate, and reelected in 1890. Mitchell sought reelection by the Oregon Legislature in 1897, but his candidacy proved to be highly divisive: the resulting scandal prevented the
19th Oregon Legislative Assembly The 19th Oregon Legislative Assembly was scheduled to convene January 11, 1897. The Senate organized, but the House failed to do so. In the House, two factions formed, neither of which had enough members to constitute a quorum. The Senate e ...
from organizing and, consequently, left Oregon with a vacant U.S. Senate seat for nearly two years. Joseph Simon was ultimately chosen for the seat. While not in the Senate, Mitchell practiced law. Mitchell's last term in the Senate began in 1901 and was to last until 1907, but Mitchell died before it expired. Mitchell was devoted to business interests and was against the populists and their political reforms. In the Senate, he was interested in transportation issues. He was chairman of the committee on railroads from 1877 to 1879 and from 1889 to 1893, and chairman of several committees related to coastlines and the ocean during his terms in the Senate. He was also chairman of the committee on claims from 1891 to 1893 and chairman of the committee of elections and privileges from 1895 to 1897. In 1905, Mitchell was
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...
in the Oregon land fraud scandal, involving his use of political influence in the federal government to help clients with their land claims. He was convicted. An appeal of the conviction was under way and the Senate was beginning proceedings to expel him when Mitchell died of an illness in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. He was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland.


Legacy and family

The town of
Mitchell, Oregon Mitchell is a city in Wheeler County, Oregon, Wheeler County, Oregon, United States. The population was 130 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was founded in 1873 and was named after John H. Mitchell, a politician. The Painted Hil ...
, was named after him. His daughter, Mattie Elizabeth Mitchell, married François XVI Alfred Gaston, 5th Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Duc de Liancourt, Prince de Marcillac, Duc d'Anville, in 1892. His eldest daughter, Margaret Mitchell Griffin, died at age 41 in New York City, from shock following a surgical procedure. His daughter, Jennie M. Mitchell, married Jacob P. Fawcett, mayor of Mount Union, Ohio (later
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
), and judge.


See also

*
List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes This list consists of American politicians convicted of crimes either committed or prosecuted while holding office in the Federal government of the United States, federal government. It includes politicians who were convicted or pleaded guilty ...
*
List of federal political scandals in the United States This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government of the United States, sorted from oldest to most recent. Scope and organization of political scandals This article is organized by presidential terms ...
*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49) There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include: *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949) *List ...
*
List of United States senators expelled or censured The United States Constitution gives the Senate the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote. This is distinct from the power over impeachment trials and convictions that the Senate has over executive and judicial federal officials: th ...


References


External links


John H. Mitchell
- Oregon History Project archived August 25, 2015 , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John H. 1835 births 1905 deaths American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes Bigamists Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Oregon lawyers Oregon politicians convicted of crimes Politicians from Washington County, Pennsylvania Presidents of the Oregon State Senate Republican Party Oregon state senators Republican Party United States senators from Oregon 20th-century United States senators 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly