Editing Mike Mansfield (section)

==U.S. Representative==

In 1940, Mansfield ran for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nomination for the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] in [[Montana's 1st congressional district]] but was defeated by [[Jerry J. O'Connell]], a former holder of the seat, in the primary. The general election was won by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Jeannette Rankin]], who had previously won what was formerly an at-large seat in the House in 1916 and served until her defeat in 1920.<ref name=senate /> Mansfield decided to run for the seat again in the following election and won it by defeating the businessman Howard K. Hazelbaker after Rankin, who had voted against the entry of the United States into World War&nbsp;II, decided not to run for what would have been her third term.<ref name=wilson>{{cite book|title=American Political Leaders|url=https://archive.org/details/americanpolitica0000wils|url-access=registration|last=Wilson|first=Richard L.|year=2002|publisher=Facts On File, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=9780816045365}}</ref>

{{blockquote|A new-comer to the House, who is reportedly internationalist-minded, having been professor of history and political science at Montana State University<ref name=UMnames>{{cite web|accessdate=2025-02-23
|url=https://libguides.lib.umt.edu/umhistory#s-lg-box-5613394
|title=University Name Changes|work=A guide to the history of The University of Montana-Missoula
|publisher=Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana}} NOTE: Not to be confused with the [[Montana State University]] in [[Bozeman, MT]]. From 1935 to 1965, the present-day University of Montana was named Montana State University.</ref> for ten years. Though a supporter of the Administration's foreign policy, he is likely to be strongly critical of the smallness of China's share of [[Lend-Lease]], and of what he fears is the Administration's tendency to regard the Atlantic as more important than the Pacific, and of its apparent reluctance to regard the Chinese as an ally on equal footing. His strongly pro-Chinese sentiments may tend to make him somewhat anti-British on this score.}}

Mansfield served five terms in the House, being re-elected in 1944, 1946, 1948, and 1950. His military service and academic experience landed him a seat on the [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|House Foreign Affairs Committee]].<ref name=charting /> He went to China on a special mission for US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in 1944 and served as a delegate to the ninth Inter-American Conference in [[Colombia]] in 1948.<ref name=wilson /> In 1951, he was appointed by President [[Harry S. Truman]] as a delegate to the United Nations' sixth session in Paris. During his House tenure, he also expressed his support for [[price controls]], a higher [[minimum wage in the United States|minimum wage]], the [[Marshall Plan]], and aid to [[Turkey]] and [[Greece]]. He opposed the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]], the [[Taft–Hartley Act]], and the [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-second Amendment]].<ref name=wilson />