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John I. Nolan

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John I. Nolan
Portrait c. 1913–1915
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1913 – November 18, 1922
Preceded byEveris A. Hayes
Succeeded byMae E. Nolan
Member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
In office
March 6, 1911 – January 8, 1912
Appointed byP. H. McCarthy
Preceded byJohn P. McLaughlin
Personal details
Born
John Ignatius Nolan

(1874-01-14)January 14, 1874
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 18, 1922(1922-11-18) (aged 48)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Progressive
Union Labor
Spouse
​
(m. 1913)​
ChildrenCorliss

John Ignatius Nolan (January 14, 1874 – November 18, 1922) was an American iron molder and politician who represented California's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for five terms from 1913 to 1922. He was elected to a sixth consecutive term but died before the start of the new Congress.

Background

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National Officers of the International Iron Molders' Union of North America, 1907. Nolan stands in the middle row, third from left.

Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, on January 14, 1874. He attended the public schools there[1] until the age of 14, when he became an apprentice iron molder. He worked in that trade until 1907, when he was elected secretary of the San Francisco Iron Molder's Union.[2] Later that year, he was elected to the international union's executive board.[3] He was the San Francisco Labor Council's legislative agent to the California Legislature from 1909 to 1911.[2]

An active member of the Union Labor Party,[4] Nolan was appointed to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by mayor P. H. McCarthy in 1911.[5] He was a member of the Board's Finance Committee and chairman of its Street Committee.[2] He ran for re-election that year, but was narrowly defeated.[6] In 1912, he was elected secretary of the San Francisco Labor Council.[7]

Congress

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Nolan speaks with United Mine Workers of America president John L. Lewis, 1922

In 1912, Nolan was elected as a Bull Moose Republican[8][9] to the 63rd United States Congress.[10] San Francisco's first labor congressman in eight years, he was a staunch progressive reelected to the four succeeding Congresses. He served from March 4, 1913, until his death. During the 66th United States Congress, he was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Patents, and during the 67th United States Congress, he was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Labor.

Nolan voted for the Immigration Act of 1917 (which barred immigration from most of the Asia–Pacific region),[11] and against the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill of 1922.[12] Although he initially opposed American entry into World War I,[13] Nolan ultimately voted to declare war on the German Empire[14] and after the war strongly supported American membership in the League of Nations.[15] He voted against the Volstead Act, which established Prohibition in the United States.[16] In 1920, he received a 100% "labor record" from the American Federation of Labor.[17]

In 1916, Nolan introduced H.R. 7625, which would have established a $3 per day minimum wage for federal employees. It was endorsed by the AFL and the National Federation of Federal Employees,[18] but the bill's opponents in the House kept it from coming to a vote.[19] In 1918, U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson co-sponsored the legislation,[20] and it became known as the Johnson-Nolan Minimum Wage Bill. It passed the House that September, but was stalled in the Senate Committee on Education and Labor.[21] It was reintroduced two years later and passed in both the House and Senate,[22] but when it went to conference it was filibustered by Southern Democrats[23] who opposed it because it would have paid African American employees the same as white employees.[24]

Death and burial

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The Nolans' grave at Holy Cross Cemetery

Nolan was re-elected in 1922 to the 68th United States Congress before he died in San Francisco, California, on November 18, 1922. He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

After he died, he was succeeded in Congress by his wife, Mae Nolan. She was the first woman elected to her husband's seat in Congress, which is sometimes known as "widow's succession."

Electoral history

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1912 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John I. Nolan 27,902 52.3
Democratic Stephen V. Costello 18,516 34.7
Socialist E. L. Requin 6,962 13.0
Total votes 53,380 100.0
Turnout  
Republican win (new seat)
1914 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John I. Nolan (Incumbent) 53,875 83.3
Socialist Mads Peter Christensen 7,366 11.4
Prohibition Frederick Head 3,410 5.3
Total votes 64,651 100.0
Turnout  
Republican hold
1916 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John I. Nolan (Incumbent) 59,333 84.7
Socialist Charles A. Preston 6,708 9.6
Prohibition Frederick Head 4,046 5.8
Total votes 70,087 100.0
Turnout  
Republican hold
1918 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John I. Nolan (Incumbent) 40,375 87
Socialist Thomas F. Feeley 6,032 13
Total votes 46,407 100.0
Turnout  
Republican hold
1920 United States House of Representatives elections in California[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John I. Nolan (Incumbent) 50,274 81.8
Socialist Hugo Ernst 10,952 18.2
Total votes 61,226 100.0
Turnout  
Republican hold
1922 United States House of Representatives elections in California[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John I. Nolan (Incumbent) 49,414 100.0
Turnout  
Republican hold

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jordan, Frank C. (1915). California Blue Book, 1913-1915. Sacramento: California State Printing Office. p. 481. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Meyer, George Homer; Taylor, D. Wooster (1915). Municipal Blue Book of San Francisco, 1915. San Francisco: City of San Francisco. p. 209. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Minutes of Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Session of the Iron Molders' Union of North America: Sixteenth Day–Morning Session". Iron Molders' Journal. XLIII (9): 203. September 1907. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Union Labor plans big Saturday night". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco. 17 August 1911. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  5. ^ "John I. Nolan, Good Citizen, Enters the Public Service". The San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. 7 March 1911. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Election results in San Francisco". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco. 8 November 1911. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  7. ^ Ely, Frederick W. (26 January 1912). "Labor News". San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Mission caps climax of Bull Moose fervor". The San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. 5 November 1912. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Women's votes help to swell primary total". The San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. 3 September 1912. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  10. ^ "California Union Labor's representative in Congress". The Sacramento Star. Sacramento. 11 November 1912. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  11. ^ "TO PASS H. R. 10384 (39 STAT. 874, FEB. 5, 1917), OVER PRESIDENTS' VETO, A BILL TO REGULATE THE IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS TO AND THE RESIDENCE OF ALIENS IN THE U. S. (P. 2456-1)". govtrack.us. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Name Republicans Who Voted Against Dyer Bill". Chicago Whip. Chicago. 11 February 1922. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  13. ^ "No war, says Nolan". Richmond News. Richmond. 13 March 1917. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  14. ^ "TO ADOPT S. J. RES. 1, (43 STAT-1, APRIL 16, 1917), DECLARING THAT A STATE OF WAR EXISTS BETWEEN THE IMPERIAL GERMAN GOVERNMENT AND THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF THE U.S., AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOY ENTIRE NAVAL AND MILITARY FORCES OF THE U. S. AND RESOURCES OF GOVERNMENT TO CARRY ON WAR AGAINST GERMANY. (P. 306-1)". govtrack.us. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Nations League Support Urged by Nolan to Labor". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco. 30 March 1919. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  16. ^ "TO PASS H.R. 6810. (P. 3005-1)". govtrack.us. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  17. ^ Ely, Frederick W. (20 May 1920). "Phelan, Nolan make labor records". San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  18. ^ Ely, Frederick W. (19 January 1916). "Nolan wants more pay for U.S. employes". San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Minimum wage bill must now wait". San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco. 8 August 1916. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Minimum wage bill reaches U.S. Senate". The Washington Herald. Washington, D.C. 17 February 1918. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Senate Subcommittee to consider minimum wage for government employees". The Elevator Constructor. XVI (1): 26. January 1919. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  22. ^ "Victory for the Johnson-Nolan Minimum Wage Bill". The Federal Employee. V (22): 1, 10. 29 May 1920. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Johnson-Nolan Minimum Wage Bill Held Up in the Senate". The Federal Employee. V (24): 1. 12 June 1920. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Filibustering Democratic Senators defeat living wage to government employees because of colored man". The Voice of the People. Birmingham. 4 September 1920. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  25. ^ 1920 election results
  26. ^ 1922 election results
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 5th congressional district
1913–1922 		Succeeded by
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