James Michael Mead (December 27, 1885March 15, 1964) was an American politician from New York. A Democrat, among the offices in which he served was member of the Erie County Board of Supervisors (1914-1915), New York State Assembly (1915-1918), United States House of Representatives (1919-1938), and United States Senate (1938-1947).
A native of Mount Morris, New York, Mead was raised in Buffalo. He attended the public schools of Buffalo and began working for railroads at age 12. He rose through the Switchmen's Union's ranks to become president of the Buffalo local. From 1911 to 1914 he was employed as an officer with the United States Capitol Police. While working in Washington, Mead attended courses at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Mead began a political career in 1914 with election to Erie County's Board of Supervisors. He subsequently served in the state Assembly from 1915 to 1918. In 1918 he won election to the U.S. House, where he served from 1919 to 1938. In 1938 he was elected to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Royal S. Copeland. He served in the Senate until 1947. In 1946, he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor of New York. He was then appointed to the Federal Trade Commission, on which he served from 1949 to 1955.
In retirement, Mead was a resident of Florida. He died in Lakeland on March 15, 1964. Mead was buried at Oakhill Cemetery in Clermont, Florida.
Early life
James M. Mead was born in Mount Morris, New York on December 27, 1885, a son of Thomas and Jane (Kelly) Mead. Mead moved to Buffalo with his family at the age of five. He attended Buffalo's grammar schools and began working at age 12. He was employed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad; his career included jobs as a water boy, lamp lighter, section hand, spike mauler, shop mechanic and switchman.
Mead later worked for the Pullman Company as a mechanic on sleep car dynamos. He was subsequently employed as a switchman on the Erie Railroad, and was eventually elected president of the Switchmen's Union's Buffalo local. From 1911 to 1914 he was employed as an officer with the United States Capitol Police.
Start of career
Mead also continued his education during his railroad and police careers; he attended Buffalo's Caton School of Engineering and completed an engineering course of instruction at the Buffalo Institute of Technology. He also took courses at Canisius College and Catholic University. While working nights for the Capitol Police, Mead attended the Georgetown University Law Center during the day.
As a well-known semiprofessional football and baseball player in the Buffalo area, Mead developed a following that aided his entry into politics. In 1913, Mead was a successful candidate for a seat on the Erie County, New York Board of Supervisors and he served in 1914. In 1914 he ran for the New York State Assembly. He won the Erie County 4th District seat and won reelection in 1916. Mead served in the sessions of 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918. In the Assembly, Mead won a reputation as a champion of worker's rights, including passage of a "full crew" law for freight trains, a law requiring workers to be paid every two weeks instead of every month, and an act mandating improved safety measures in train engine cabs. Among his successes were laws to improve the conditions of women and children in factories and enhancements to the state's worker's compensation laws. Mead's affability and power of persuasion marked him as an effective legislator despite the fact that he was a Democrat in a body controlled by Republicans.
U.S. House
In 1918, Mead defeated incumbent Republican congressman William Frederick Waldow for New York's 42nd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected nine times, and served from 1919 to 1938. From 1931 to 1938, Mead served as chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads. In Congress, Mead was a strong advocate for worker's rights, and received credit for aiding the passage of several labor measures, including the Railway Labor Act, Railroad Retirement Act, and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Mead was the author of a law mandating a reduction in work hours for post office department employees to 44 hours per week, and later to 40 hours.