Mann Act
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What is the Mann Act?
The Mann Act, officially named the White-Slave Traffic Act, is a U.S. federal statute passed in 1910 that initially criminalized the transportation of women or girls across state or international lines for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose.
The Act was amended in 1978 to include boys and prohibit transporting minors across state or international lines for prostitution or prohibited sexual conduct. A later amendment in 1986 made the law gender-neutral, replacing "debauchery" and "immoral" purposes with "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense".
Cases under the Mann Act are investigated by the FBI and referred to U.S. attorneys, with enforcement overseen by the Child and Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division.
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When was the Mann Act passed in the United States?
The Mann Act, officially named the White-Slave Traffic Act, is a U.S. federal statute that was passed by Congress and signed into law in 1910. It was created to originally criminalize the transportation of women or girls across state lines for immoral purposes, such as prostitution. The Act has been amended over the years, including expansion to include boys and gender-neutral language, as well as replacing "debauchery" with "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense". The FBI investigates cases arising under the Mann Act and refers them to U.S. attorneys.
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What was the original purpose of the Mann Act?
The Mann Act, officially named the White-Slave Traffic Act, was passed in 1910. It aimed to prevent the transportation of women and girls across state or international lines for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose. This law responded to concerns about immigrant women being brought to the U.S. for sexual slavery and American women being lured into prostitution. A congressional commission in 1907, believing no woman would willingly become a prostitute, further motivated the Act's passage.
Later amendments in 1978 and 1986 expanded the law's scope to include boys and made it gender-neutral, replacing "debauchery" and "immoral" purposes with "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense".
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How did the Mann Act try to stop human trafficking or 'white slavery'?
The Mann Act, officially named the White-Slave Traffic Act, was passed in 1910 to combat the belief that immigrant women were being brought to the U.S. for sexual slavery and that American women were being lured into prostitution. The Act criminalized the transportation of women or girls across state or international lines for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose.
Critics before the amendments in the 1970s and 1980s, however, argued that the Mann Act was used to prosecute consensual sexual activity between men and women involving interstate travel and was used to target Black men in relationships with white women, as well as political opponents.
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How has the Mann Act been interpreted or used differently over time?
The Mann Act, originally known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, has undergone significant changes in interpretation and application since its enactment in 1910. Initially targeting the transportation of women for prostitution, it was rooted in concerns about immigrant women being forced into sexual slavery.
Early interpretations, such as in Caminetti v. United States (1917), broadly defined "immoral purpose," leading to prosecutions for consensual sexual activity, including premarital and extramarital relationships. Critics argued that the Act was used to target Black men in relationships with white women and political opponents.
Amendments in 1978 and 1986 expanded the Act's scope to include boys and replaced "debauchery" and "immoral purposes" with "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense," making the law gender-neutral. High-profile cases, such as those involving Jack Johnson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charlie Chaplin, Chuck Berry, Eliot Spitzer, and Sean Combs, reflect the Act's varied applications and the controversies surrounding it.
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Why have some people criticized the Mann Act or called for changes to it?
The Mann Act, officially known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, has faced criticism and calls for change throughout its history. Before amendments in the 1970s and 1980s, critics argued it criminalized consensual sexual activity involving interstate travel, including premarital and extramarital affairs.
The law was also perceived as a tool to persecute Black men in relationships with white women and political opponents. The Supreme Court case Caminetti v. United States (1917) broadened the definition of "immoral purpose" to include consensual fornication, leading to wider prosecution of consensual sex.
Some high-profile cases, such as those involving Jack Johnson and Chuck Berry, fueled concerns about the law's application and potential for abuse. These factors contributed to the push for amendments to address the act's overreach and discriminatory potential.
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Mann Act, U.S. federal statute (18 U.S.C. §2421 et seq.), passed by Congress and signed into law by Pres. William Howard Taft in 1910, that originally criminalized the transportation of women or girls “in interstate or foreign commerce” (i.e., between any two U.S. states or territories or between a foreign country and the United States) “for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.” The official title of the law, drafted by Republican Rep. James Robert Mann of Illinois, was the White-Slave Traffic Act. The act was significantly amended in 1978 to expand its application to boys as well as girls and to specifically prohibit the interstate- or foreign-commerce transportation of minors with the intent that “such minor[s] engage in prostitution” or any other “prohibited sexual conduct.” Another major amendment in 1986 made the entire law gender-neutral and replaced references to “debauchery” and “immoral” purposes or practices with the phrase “any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.”
Cases arising under the Mann Act are investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and are referred to the appropriate U.S. attorneys. The Child and Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice is responsible for enforcement of the law.
Origins and amendments
Passage of the Mann Act followed upon a 1907 congressional commission assigned to investigate the problem of immigrant prostitutes. At the time, there was much concern regarding the widely held belief that immigrant women were being brought to the United States for sexual slavery and that immigrant men were luring American women into prostitution. The commission pursued its inquest in the belief that no woman would become a prostitute unless she were held captive or drugged.
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Before the law was amended in the 1970s and ’80s, critics of the Mann Act contended that it criminalized any kind of consensual sexual activity between men and women that was preceded by or involved interstate travel, including premarital and extramarital relationships, and that it was being used to persecute Black men who had had sexual relationships with white women, as well as perceived political enemies of the U.S. government. The phrase “immoral purpose” was widely used to prosecute such consensual sex following Caminetti v. United States (1917), in which the Supreme Court held that “illicit fornication,” even when consensual, constituted an immoral purpose under the Mann Act.
High-profile cases
Thousands of people have been prosecuted under the Mann Act, including some celebrities. One of the first to garner national attention was the African American boxer Jack Johnson, who won the world heavyweight title in 1908. Johnson enjoyed a flamboyant lifestyle and had relationships with several white women, two of whom he married. In 1913 Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act for transporting a white woman—his wife-to-be, Lucille Cameron—across state lines for “immoral purposes.” He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison but fled to Canada and then to Europe while free on appeal; he remained a fugitive for seven years. Johnson surrendered to U.S. marshals in 1920 and served his sentence. He received a posthumous pardon from Pres. Donald Trump in 2018.
The architect Frank Lloyd Wright was charged with violating the Mann Act in 1926 for having taken his girlfriend and future wife, Olgivanna Hinzenburg, across state lines while still legally married to his second wife, Miriam Noel. Of the charge, Wright told journalists, “Legally, I am wrong, but morally I am right, just as right as Jesus Christ ever was.” U.S. District Attorney Lafayette French, Jr., ultimately decided not to prosecute Wright, citing insufficient evidence. Wright married Hinzenburg in 1928.
The actor Charlie Chaplin was prosecuted in 1943 in a case that stemmed from a paternity suit involving aspiring actress Joan Barry. Chaplin was eventually cleared of the charge of transporting a woman for immoral purposes.
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The Mann Act was also used to prosecute the singer and guitarist Chuck Berry, who in 1959 was charged with transporting an underage girl across state lines for immoral purposes. Berry, who had met the girl in a bar in Juarez, Mexico, contended that he had brought her to the United States for a legitimate job in his St. Louis nightclub. In 1960 a jury found Berry guilty of violating the Mann Act, and he was sentenced to five years in prison and given a $5,000 fine. Racist comments by the trial judge resulted in a second trial in 1961, at which Berry was again convicted. He served 20 months in prison.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was found in 2008 to have had liaisons with prostitutes working for a New York City escort service. Four employees of the escort service were charged with violating the Mann Act, but prosecutors ultimately decided not to prosecute Spitzer. He resigned as governor in March 2008.
In 2025 the rapper and record producer Sean Combs was convicted under the Mann Act on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was later sentenced to 50 months in prison and fined $500,000.