Arthur Wergs Mitchell, Sr. (December 22, 1883 – May 9, 1968), was a U.S. Representative from Illinois and civil rights activist. Representing Illinois's 1st congressional district, for his entire congressional career from 1935 to 1943, he was the only African American in Congress. A supporter of the New Deal, Mitchell was the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat.[1]

Arthur W. Mitchell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1943
Preceded byOscar De Priest
Succeeded byWilliam Dawson
Personal details
Born(1883-12-22)December 22, 1883
Lafayette, Alabama
DiedMay 9, 1968(1968-05-09) (aged 84)
Petersburg, Virginia
Political partyRepublican (Until 1932) Democratic (After 1932)
SpouseEula Mae King (m. January 11, 1905 – d. 1910) 1 son

Annie H. Mitchell (married c. 1919 – d. March 7, 1947)

Clara D. Smith (m. March 20, 1948 – his death May 9, 1968)
ProfessionLawyer, Farmer

Early life

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Mitchell was born to Taylor Mitchell and Emma (Patterson) in Lafayette, Alabama.[1] He left home at 14 to attend the Tuskegee Institute. He worked on a farm and as an office boy to Booker T. Washington while attending the Institute. Mitchell attended Columbia University briefly and qualified for the bar.[1] He then moved to Chicago, Illinois and began to work for the Republican Party. Mitchell switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in 1932 as he was “ambitious and impatient with the entrenched black Republican leadership, [seeking] a chance for personal advancement in the concurrent rise of the national Democratic party."[2] He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and served as its 6th International President from 1926–1934.

Political career

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Mitchell was elected to the House of Representatives in 1934, defeating African American congressman Oscar De Priest, who was a Republican. During the election campaign, Mitchell emphasized his support for the New Deal and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's public relief programs,[3] in addition to criticizing De Priest's opposition to segregation as ineffective.[4] After Mitchell won the election with 53% of the vote, De Priest told him "I congratulate you as [the] first Negro Democratic congressman."[3]

In Congress, Mitchell introduced bills banning lynching and against discrimination. He filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Central and Rock Island Railroads after he was forced into a segregated train car just before it passed into Arkansas.[1] Mitchell's suit was advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court as case Mitchell v. United States,[5] which ruled that the railroad violated the Interstate Commerce Act. He voluntarily chose not to seek re-election in 1942. As his last congressional act, Mitchell condemned politicians as preferring the Axis powers over giving Negros any rights, comparing the atrocities of the Nazis and Japanese with lynchings such as those that had recently occurred in Shubuta, Mississippi.[6]

Despite having been elected to Congress in part on campaigning against De Priest's civil rights record as weak, Mitchell himself faced accusations by civil rights advocates of making insufficient efforts.[1] In one instance, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People deemed his introduced anti-lynching bill as too lenient.

After Congress

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He moved to Virginia and became a farmer, working twelve acres (49,000 m²) of property. He died at his home in Petersburg, Virginia, on May 9, 1968.

Electoral history

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Illinois's 1st congressional district Democratic primary, 1934[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry Baker 7,236 44.8
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell 6,812 42.2
Democratic Edgar G. Brown 1,117 6.9
Democratic Frank J. Staufer 781 4.8
Democratic Albert E. Redd 204 1.3
Total votes 16,150 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district general election, 1934[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell 27,963 53.0
Republican Oscar DePriest (incumbent) 24,829 47.0
Total votes 52,792 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district Democratic primary, 1936[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell (incumbent) 16,332 79.5
Democratic George C. Adams 2,491 12.1
Democratic Hugh J. Daly 1,722 8.4
Total votes 20,545 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district general election, 1936[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell (incumbent) 35,376 55.1
Republican Oscar DePriest 28,640 44.6
Independent Harry Haywood 192 0.3
Total votes 64,208 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district Democratic primary, 1938[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell (incumbent) 16,995 81.6
Democratic Augustus L. Williams 2,703 13.0
Democratic James P. Durden 1,132 5.4
Write-in 1 nil
Total votes 20,831 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district general election, 1938[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell (incumbent) 30,207 53.4
Republican William L. Dawson 26,396 46.6
Total votes 56,603 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district Democratic primary, 1940[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell (incumbent) 17,767 84.1
Democratic Willard S. Townsend 3,358 15.9
Total votes 21,125 100
Illinois's 1st congressional district general election, 1940[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur W. Mitchell (incumbent) 34,641 53.0
Republican William E. King 30,698 47.0
Total votes 65,339 100

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Mitchell, Arthur Wergs. US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  2. ^ Weiss, Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: 78.
  3. ^ a b "Representative Arthur Mitchell of Illinois Defeats Incumbent Oscar De Priest | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  4. ^ De Priest, Oscar Stanton. US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  5. ^ 313 U.S. 80 (1941)
  6. ^ "Mitchell says too many prefer axis victory to granting negro rights". Jackson Advocate. December 26, 1942. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Downloadable Vote Totals". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2022-10-11.[permanent dead link]

External sources

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Further reading

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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 1st congressional district

1935–1943
Succeeded by