James M. Beck

James Montgomery Beck (July 9, 1861 – April 12, 1936) was an American lawyer, politician, and author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Solicitor General and U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. Early life and education Beck was born July 9, 1861, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Margaretta C. (née Darling) and James Nathan Beck. In 1880, he graduated from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was employed as clerk for a railway company in 1880 and studied law at night, was admitted to the bar in 1884 and commenced practice in Philadelphia. He was admitted to the bar of New York City in 1903, and to the bar of England in 1922. Career Beck served as assistant United States Attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania from 1888 to 1892 and as United States attorney in Philadelphia from 1896 to 1900. In 1898, he ran for District Attorney of Philadelphia, but lost to P. Frederick Rothermel. He was appointed by President William McKinley as assistant to the Attorney General of the United States at the U.S. Department of Justice in 1900, where he served until his resignation in 1903. He then returned to the full-time practice of law, joining the firm of Shearman & Sterling in New York City. In 1917, he left that firm to become senior partner in Beck, Crawford & Harris, and retired from active practice in 1927 to run for Congress from Philadelphia. At the outbreak of World War I, he took a strong stand against the German Empire in extensive writings and addresses. He was elected a bencher of Gray's Inn in 1914, the first foreigner in 600 years to receive that distinction. He also received decorations from France and Belgium and authored several books and articles on World War I and on the Constitution of the United States. Among his books are The Evidence in the Case (1914) and War and Humanity (1916).