In 1908, Clifford G. Roe, Chicago's youngest states attorney at the time, took on the battle of what he termed the "white slave trade", that is the enticement of young women into prostitution. He invaded churches, public halls and urged all who would listen to rise up against the "monsters who were luring women to destruction for gold". Newspapers and various clubs joined together to support his efforts and form a committee to suppress the "nefarious traffic". Clifford G. Roe brought 150 cases to trial and won a conviction every time. But one of his most valuable weapon was the pen, he authored many articles and penned many stories to raise awareness, and created what some historians call the "White Slavery Panic".
By 1911, Roe gathered many of these stories into a book entitled: "HORRORS OF THE WHITE SLAVE TRADE - The Mighty Crusade to Protect the Purity of Our Homes". The book was described as the Official Weapon in the great crusade to end the "white Slave trade". Roe described his book this way, "The startling details with which this book must deal and tell the truth may seem revolting, and yet our unwillingness in the past to discuss these very things and our attempt at concealment has unwittingly allowed this horrible business to grow to monstrous proportions."
As awareness rose among the people, panic set in and both the president and congress had to take a stand. In his first annual address to congress, William Howard Taft agreed that there is "urgent necessity for additional legislation" to "suppress the recruiting of prostitutes from the streams of immigrants .
"I greatly regret to have to say that the investigations made in the Bureau of Immigration and other sources of information lead to the view that there is urgent necessity for additional legislation and greater executive activity to suppress the recruiting of the ranks of prostitutes from the streams of immigration into this country--an evil which, for want of a better name, has been called "The White Slave Trade." I believe it to be constitutional to forbid, under penalty, the transportation of persons for purposes of prostitution across national and state lines; and by appropriating a fund of $50,000 to be used by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the employment of special inspectors it will be possible to bring those responsible for this trade to indictment and conviction under a federal law."One year later, congress did take action. In 1910. congress passed the Mann act, named after Robert Mann of Illinois. This act made it a felony to engage in interstate or foreign commerce transport of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose". Unfortunately, it's ambiguous language of "immorality" over the years meant it could be used to criminalize consensual asexual behavior between adults. The law was frequently used to prosecute interracial and other unapproved sexual relationships.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29550
https://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/ChiTribune/CT_1908_09_27.html
https://archive.org/stream/horrorsofwhitesl00clif/horrorsofwhitesl00clif_djvu.txt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/William_Howard_Taft_1909.jpg
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