Michael Francis Phelan (October 22, 1875 – October 12, 1941) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

, Phelan attended the public schools. He graduated from Lynn Classical High School, from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1897, and from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1900. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1900 and commenced practice in Lynn.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

1903 State Representative election

In 1903 Phelan ran for the office of Massachusetts State Representative, Phelan received 1,307 votes. Asa T. Newhall received 1,371 votes coming in second behind Republican candidate John W. Blaney who received 1,434 votes. The district sent two representatives to the Massachusetts House, so although Newhall came in second in the vote total he was elected.

1904 State Representative election

In 1904 Phelan was elected as a Democrat to serve in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

of 1905.

United States House of Representatives

Election to Congress

Phelan was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1921).

Congressional Service

Phelan served as chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency ( Sixty-fifth Congress). Phelan was an Irish nationalist, who tried to use his position as a congressman to bring attention to Irish nationalism. He was opposed to American entry into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on the grounds that he did not want the United States to be on the same side as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in a war. Phelan was "deeply antisemitic," harboring a lifelong bigotry against Jewish people. He lamented the 1916 United States presidential election on the grounds that "both candidates were England-lovers and Jew sympathizers." He believed that both

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

were "profanely flawed" because both men were "pro-British" with regards to foreign policy, and because both men were outspokenly opposed to antisemitism.Michael Francis Phelan: Profile of an Antisemite Woodrow Wilson opposed Phelan when Phelan expressed support for limiting Jewish immigration to the United States. Phelan described this as "unforgiveable." Phelan was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress. Practiced law in Lynn and Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.. He served as member of the Merrimac Valley Sewage Commission in 1937. He was appointed a member of the Massachusetts Labor Relations Board in 1937 and served until his death.

Personal life

Phelan was close friends with Massachusetts Governor and Senator David Ignatius Walsh. Near the end of his life representative Phelan was a frequent reader of the periodical ''

Social Justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

'', published by antisemitic priest

Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic Church, Catholic priest based near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Lit ...

.Father Coughlin: The Tumultuous Life of the Priest of the Little Flower by Sheldon Marcus, 1973

Death and burial

Phelan died in Boston, Massachusetts, October 12, 1941. Phelan was interred in St. Mary's Cemetery,

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, Michael Francis 1875 births 1941 deaths Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Catholics from Massachusetts 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives