The Court eagerly broadened the Mann Act beyond its white-slavery purpose

Evidence

The Supreme Court had no trouble upholding this law. Indeed, it seemed eager to give it as broad an interpretation as possible. In the famous Caminetti case, two young men in California took their girlfriends across the state line to wicked Nevada, on a sexual escapade. The whole thing was consensual and lacked even the slightest hint of “white slavery.” The two men were arrested and convicted under the Mann Act. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction; the men had taken the girls across state lines for an “immoral” purpose. That was enough to satisfy the statute. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 4272

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Changing sexual morality did not repeal the Mann Act until 1986 — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1205; The Mann Act became a weapon for racist and blackmail purposes — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 4272; The 1906 court narrowed the Thirteenth Amendment to literal slavery only

Broader Connections

• The 1906 court narrowed the Thirteenth Amendment to literal slavery only #contradicts (0.80)