Herrick believed he was the second coming. Again, we speak literally: His parents taught him that he was the reincarnation of God, and they refused to cut his hair because he was sacred. Attending church, he would often stand up, reproach the preacher, and tell the congregation that only he knew the truth about how to be saved. He would set neighbors’ fields on fire and then represent himself in court, ineptly. He’d walk into town barefoot, eat food out of barrels in stores, and be called the “backwoods man” by children.
In 1920, Manuel Herrick ran to represent Oklahoma in Congress. He stood no chance; Dick T. Morgan was running for reelection and was so popular that no sane man bothered running against him. Then, on the very last day in which candidates could file for that year’s election, Morgan died of pneumonia. Herrick became the Republican nominee, and though he raised and spent only $300 on the election, the district still voted for him that November over the Democrat. He was also briefly jailed during the election, but records don’t state exactly why.
He served out his term in the House, where they called him the “Okie Jesus Congressman.” While there, he introduced a bill to ban beauty contests, and to illustrate the dangers of these contests, he hosted one of his own. He contacted dozens of women, inviting them to compete to win a successful politician as a husband (i.e., him, Manual Herrick).
Multiple people sued him for fraud over this, with one woman suing him for breach of promise for refusing to marry her. Herrick, meanwhile, sued his own stenographer for refusing to marry him, and a court ruled in his favor, awarding him one cent. The court also ruled in the stenographer’s favor because he’d talked dirty about her, and they awarded her $7,500.
Library of Congress