Henry Vollmer (July 28, 1867 – August 25, 1930) was an attorney, the mayor of Davenport, Iowa, and a Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa's 2nd congressional district Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of its southeastern part. It includes Davenport, Iowa City, Muscatine, Clinton, Burlington, Ottumwa, Fort Madison, Oskaloosa, Bette ...

. Winning a special election in 1914, he served just over one year in Congress.

Biography

Born in Davenport, Vollmer attended the public schools of Davenport. Following graduation from high school, he travelled to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to work as a distributing clerk of the

Fiftieth Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887, ...

in 1887 and 1888. He studied law at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the tim ...

, and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

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 1889 and commenced practice in Davenport. He served as member of the board of aldermen of Davenport in 1889, as mayor of Davenport from 1893 to 1897, and as a member of the board of education in Davenport from 1898 to 1901. He later became corporation counsel for Davenport in 1913 and 1914.

Congress

From 1911 to 1913, Iowa's 2nd congressional district was represented by Democrat Irvin S. Pepper. Pepper died on December 22, 1913, midway through his second term. In a special election held in February 1914, Vollmer defeated Republican

Harry E. Hull Harry Edward Hull (March 12, 1864 – January 16, 1938) was an American businessman and politician who served five terms as a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district from 1915 to 1925. He also served as Commissione ...

, succeeding Pepper in the Sixty-third Congress. As a Congressman, Vollmer defended the

Underwood Tariff The Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Underwood Tariff or the Underwood-Simmons Act (ch. 16, ), re-established a federal income tax in the United States and substantially lowered tariff rates. The act was sponsored by Representative Oscar Un ...

, and opposed

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

. Less than two months after winning the special election, Vollmer announced that he would not seek re-election in the regular election in November 1914."Vollmer has Enough and Will Retire", ''Oelwein Daily Register'', 1914-04-08, p. 4. Vollmer attributed his decision to family considerations, but Republicans attributed it to the unpopularity in his district of the Underwood tariff. Hull would win the general election and succeed him. In all, Vollmer served from February 10, 1914, to March 3, 1915.

Later career

Vollmer resumed the practice of law, while remaining active in local and state democratic politics. He defended his brother, former county attorney Fred Vollmer, who had been indicted for allegedly assisting and abetting a conspiracy to violate the

Espionage Act of 1917 The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...

by bringing a controversial League of Humanity speaker to Davenport soon after the United States entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The 1917 jury trial resulted in a hung jury, and on the retrial, Fred Vollmer pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and moved to the Los Angeles area. Henry Vollmer's fiery speeches continued to attract criticism from his opponents and kudos from his supporters. In the late 1920s his family wintered in California while returning to Davenport in the summer.

Death

He died in

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...

, on August 25, 1930. His remains were cremated and the ashes placed in a crypt in the California Crematorium, now the Chapel of the Chimes, in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vollmer, Henry 1867 births Iowa lawyers 1930 deaths Iowa city council members Mayors of Davenport, Iowa American people of German descent University of Iowa College of Law alumni Georgetown University alumni Politicians from Davenport, Iowa Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa