John Maynard Harlan was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chicago City Council. Harlan would, multiple times, run for the mayoralty of Chicago. He was the son and father of United States Supreme Court associate justices.
Harlan first worked for his father as a law clerk. Harlan then moved to Chicago in 1888 to practice law. Harlan became a prominent lawyer in Chicago, working at the firm Harlan and Harlan. While, in his early political career, Harlan had established himself as an opponent of the city's traction interests, he would ultimately represent them after financial strains took a toll on his legal firm, and after he had mellowed his political stance towards these interests and other lucrative clients. After a long career in Chicago, in either 1911 or 1912, he and his family moved from Chicago to Washington, D.C.. In 1924, he moved to New York City. Harlan died at his home in Manhattan in New York City on March 23, 1934 after suffering from a long illness. While Harlan had achieved prominence and had become well-connected, he lacked much financial success, and would ultimately die in poverty.
Political career
From 1896 through 1898, Harlan served as a Chicago alderman for the 22nd Ward. During his time involved in Chicago politics, he became regarded as an expert on the city's traction issue. As an alderman, he was responsible for the "Harlan Report", a well-founded assessment of legal matters associated with public transit. On June 21, 1897, only twelve days after Governor John Riley Tannersigned the Allen Law, Harlan introduced the so-called "Harlan resolution" to the Chicago City Council, which would appoint a committee to investigate the traction issue and the conditions of the street railways. The resolution passed on October 13. The resultant committee consisted of Harlan, William Jackson, Adolphus T. Maltby, and William T. Mayoble. Mayor Harrison served as ex-officio chairman. George E. Hooker was appointed its secretary. The "Harlan Report" was the product of this investigation, and was submitted on March 28, 1898.
Campaigns for mayor
Harlan ran for mayor of Chicago as an independent Republican in the 1897 Chicago mayoral election, placing a distant second behind Democratic nominee Carter Harrison Jr. in a multi-candidate race. Taking advantage of the city's traction concern, Harlan ran on a platform which sought greater regulation for streetcars, and advocated the solution of municipal ownership of the city's streetcar lines. Harlan unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for mayor in 1901, losing the nomination to Elbridge Hanecy. Harlan's candidacy had drawn the support of many non-machine/independent Republicans. After Hanecy won the nomination, there were unsuccessful efforts to draft Harlan into making an independent run in the general election. Harlan again unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for mayor in 1903. In 1905, Harlan won the Republican nomination for mayor. He lost the general election to Democratic nominee Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne. By the time of the 1905 election, Harlan's position on the traction issue, including his stance on municipal ownership, had significantly weakened. His Democratic opponent, Dunne, was a staunch supporter of municipal ownership, and many of those who supported Harlan's 1897 campaign backed Dunne instead, while a number of groups that had opposed Harlan's 1897 candidacy backed him in 1905.
Personal life
In 1891, Harlan married Elizabeth Palmer Flagg, with whom he had three daughters and a son. Harlan's son John Marshall Harlan, named for Harlan's own father and often referred to as John Marshall Harlan II to distinguish the two, became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court like his namesake, serving from 1955 through 1971. Harlan's father-in-law was Ethan Flagg, the industrialist who constructed the Ethan Flagg House in Yonkers, New York.
