Mann
Mann names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Mann JAMES ROBERT, member of Congress from Illinois
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JAMES ROBERT, member of Congress from Illinois; born in Bloomington, Ill. in 1856. In his early childhood he removed with his parents to Iroquois co., Ill. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1876 and studied law at the Union College of Law, Chicago. He was admitted to the bar in 1881 and began practice in Chicago. He served as alderman in Chicago for several years, entered actively into politics as temporary chairman of the Republican State Convention in 1894, was elected to Congress in 1897, and was successively re-elected until 1919. He became one of the most conspicuous Republican members of the House and was minority leader from the 62d to the 65th Congresses. As chairman of important committees he had much to do with the passage of important legislation and was reckoned an authority on matters relating to tariff and financial problems. Chiefly through his efforts there was passed the so-called Mann White Slave Act. On the election of a Republican Congress in 1918 he was defeated for the majority leadership by T. W. Mondell of Wyoming. He continued, however, to be one of the most influential members of the House.
Mann HORACE, an American edu- MAN cator
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HORACE, an American edu- MAN cator; born in Franklin, Mass., May 4, 1796. He was member of Congress from Massachusetts in 1848-1853; president of Antioch College in 1852-1859. He was one of the foremost men in educational reform; and published, besides his educational lectures and voluminous controversial writings, "A Few Thoughts for a Young Man" (1850); "Slavery: Letters and Speeches" (1851); and "Powers and Duties of Woman" (1853). He died in Yellow Springs, O., Aug. 2, 1859.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 that James Robert Mann "continued to be one of the most influential members of the House," he was still serving; he died in office on Nov. 30, 1922. His "so-called Mann White Slave Act" of 1910 is still federal law, but it was rewritten in 1978 and 1986 to drop the "white slave traffic" language and apply regardless of the victim's sex; its early use against the black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, convicted in 1913, is now the case it is best remembered for, and Johnson received a posthumous presidential pardon in 2018. The Horace Mann sketch still stands, though modern accounts put the emphasis where Collier's did not — on his twelve years as secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education from 1837, which earned him the title "father of the common school"; Antioch College, which he led until his death, closed in 2008 and reopened as an independent college in 2011.
Written for this edition, 2026.