Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party
Encyclopedia
The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party was a political party
in the United States
state
of Minnesota
, the most successful and longest-lasting of the constituent elements of the national Farmer–Labor Party movement, which had a presence in other states. The Minnesota FLP was founded in 1918, with roots in the Non-Partisan League
and the Duluth
Union Labor Party; and eventually merged with the Minnesota Democratic Party in 1944.
The party had a good deal of success in Minnesota as a statewide third party
, with three governors, four U.S. senator
s and eight Representatives serving during the 1920s and 1930s. The party platform called for protection for farmers and labor union members, government ownership of some industries, and social security laws. There were attempts to combine the party with other similar movements into a national Farmer–Labor Party from 1920 well into the early 1940s.
One of the primary obstacles of the party, besides constant vilification on the pages of local and state newspapers, was the difficulty of uniting the party's divergent base and maintaing political union between rural farmers and urban laborers who often had little in common other than the populist perception that they were an oppressed class of hardworking producers exploited by a small elite.
According to political scientist George Mayer:
The Minnesota Democratic Party
, led by Hubert Humphrey
, was able to merge the Farmer–Labor party with the Minnesota Democratic Party on April 15, 1944. Since 1944, the two parties together make up the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, the most successful and longest-lasting of the constituent elements of the national Farmer–Labor Party movement, which had a presence in other states. The Minnesota FLP was founded in 1918, with roots in the Non-Partisan League
Non-Partisan League
The Nonpartisan League was a political organization founded in 1915 in the United States by former Socialist Party organizer A. C. Townley. The Nonpartisan League advocated state control of mills, grain elevators, banks and other farm-related industries in order to reduce the power of corporate...
and the Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
Union Labor Party; and eventually merged with the Minnesota Democratic Party in 1944.
The party had a good deal of success in Minnesota as a statewide third party
Third party (politics)
In a two-party system of politics, the term third party is sometimes applied to a party other than the two dominant ones. While technically the term is limited to the third largest party or third oldest party, it is common, though innumerate, shorthand for any smaller party.For instance, in the...
, with three governors, four U.S. senator
United States Congressional Delegations from Minnesota
These are tables of congressional delegations from Minnesota to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Minnesota became a state on May 11, 1858.-United States Senate:- Delegates from Minnesota Territory :...
s and eight Representatives serving during the 1920s and 1930s. The party platform called for protection for farmers and labor union members, government ownership of some industries, and social security laws. There were attempts to combine the party with other similar movements into a national Farmer–Labor Party from 1920 well into the early 1940s.
One of the primary obstacles of the party, besides constant vilification on the pages of local and state newspapers, was the difficulty of uniting the party's divergent base and maintaing political union between rural farmers and urban laborers who often had little in common other than the populist perception that they were an oppressed class of hardworking producers exploited by a small elite.
According to political scientist George Mayer:
- “The farmer approached problems as a proprietor or petty capitalist. Relief to him meant a mitigation of conditions that interfered with successful farming. It involved such things as tax reduction, easier access to credit, and a floor under farm prices. His individualist psychology did not create scruples against government aid, but he welcomed it only as long as it improved agricultural conditions. When official paternalism took the form of public works or the dole, he openly opposed it because assistance on such terms forced him to abandon his chosen profession, to submerge his individuality in the labor crew, and to suffer the humiliation of the bread line. Besides, a public works program required increased revenue, and since the state relied heavily on the property tax, the cost of the program seemed likely to fall primarily on him.
- At the opposite end of the seesaw sat the city worker, who sought relief from the hunger, exposure, and disease that followed the wake of unemployment. Dependent on an impersonal industrial machine, he had sloughed off the frontier tradition of individualism for the more serviceable doctrine of cooperation through trade unionism. Unlike the depressed farmer, the unemployed worker often had no property or economic stake to protect. He was largely immune to taxation and had nothing to lose by backing proposals to dilute property rights or redistribute the wealth. Driven by the primitive instinct to survive, the worker demanded financial relief measures from the state.”
The Minnesota Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, led by Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, was able to merge the Farmer–Labor party with the Minnesota Democratic Party on April 15, 1944. Since 1944, the two parties together make up the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.
- Governors of MinnesotaGovernor of MinnesotaThe Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
who were Farmer–Labor- Floyd B. OlsonFloyd B. OlsonFloyd Bjørnstjerne Olson was an American politician. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931 to August 22, 1936. He died in office from stomach cancer. He was a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, and was the first member of the Farmer-Labor Party to win the...
(1931–1936) - Hjalmar PetersenHjalmar PetersenHjalmar Petersen was an American politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Minnesota.-Background:Hjalmar Petersen was born in Eskildstrup, Denmark...
(1936–1937) - Elmer Austin BensonElmer Austin BensonElmer Austin Benson was an American lawyer and politician from Minnesota.-Biography:Born in 1895 in Appleton, Minnesota, he studied law at William Mitchell College of Law and served for a year in the U.S. Army during World War I...
(1937–1939)
- Floyd B. Olson
- United States SenatorsUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Minnesota who were Farmer–Labor- Henrik ShipsteadHenrik ShipsteadHenrik Shipstead was an American politician. He served in the United States Senate from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1947, from the state of Minnesota in the 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, and 79th Congresses...
(1923–1941); later became a RepublicanRepublican Party of MinnesotaThe Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:... - Magnus JohnsonMagnus JohnsonMagnus Johnson was an American farmer and politician. He served in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives from Minnesota as a member of the Farmer–Labor Party....
(1923–1925) - Elmer Austin BensonElmer Austin BensonElmer Austin Benson was an American lawyer and politician from Minnesota.-Biography:Born in 1895 in Appleton, Minnesota, he studied law at William Mitchell College of Law and served for a year in the U.S. Army during World War I...
(1935–1937) - Ernest LundeenErnest LundeenErnest Lundeen was an American lawyer and politician.Lundeen was born and raised on his father's homestead in Brooklyn Township of Lincoln County near Beresford, South Dakota. His father, C. H...
(1937–1940)
- Henrik Shipstead
- United States RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Minnesota who were Farmer–Labor- William Leighton CarssWilliam Leighton CarssWilliam Leighton Carss, was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota; born in Pella, Marion County, Iowa and subsequently moved with his parents to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1867. There he attended the public schools, studied civil and mechanical engineering and followed that profession for a number of...
(1919–1921, 1925–1929) - Ole J. KvaleOle J. KvaleOle Juulson Kvale was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota.-Background:Ole Juulson Kvale was born near Decorah, Iowa. He attended rural schools in Winneshiek County, Iowa. He was graduated from Luther College in Decorah in 1890, from Luther Theological Seminary, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1893...
(1923–1929) - Knud WefaldKnud WefaldKnud Wefald , was a United States Representative in the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota.-Background:...
(1923–1927) - Paul John KvalePaul John KvalePaul John Kvale was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota.-Early life:Kvale was born in Orfordville, Wisconsin as son of Ole J. Kvale. He attended the Orfordville school and the University of Illinois. In 1917, he moved to Benson, Minnesota with his parents...
(1929–1939) - Henry M. Arens (1933–1935)
- Magnus JohnsonMagnus JohnsonMagnus Johnson was an American farmer and politician. He served in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives from Minnesota as a member of the Farmer–Labor Party....
(1933–1935) - Ernest LundeenErnest LundeenErnest Lundeen was an American lawyer and politician.Lundeen was born and raised on his father's homestead in Brooklyn Township of Lincoln County near Beresford, South Dakota. His father, C. H...
(1933–1937); had previously served as a Republican Representative (1915–1917), also served in the Senate - Francis ShoemakerFrancis ShoemakerFrancis Henry Shoemaker, Francis Henry Shoemaker, Francis Henry Shoemaker, (April 25, 1889 – July 24, 1958 was a Representative from Minnesota; born on a farm in Flora Township, Renville County, Minnesota; self-educated with mother’s assistance; engaged in agricultural pursuits and worked...
(1933–1935)
- William Leighton Carss
External links
- Article on the Minnesota Farmer–Labor party from The Progressive Populist
- Minnesota Farmer–Labor
- Farmer–Labor information page
- The Farmer Labor Party 1918–1924 Organizational history of attempts to form a national Farmer–Labor Party. Marxist Internet Archive. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
- TOWARD THE COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH: AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORY OF THE FARMER–LABOR MOVEMENT IN MINNESOTA (1917–1948). 232 page online copy of Thomas Gerald O'Connell's 1979 Phd thesis from The Union Institute.
- Luoma, Everett E.: Farmer Takes A Holiday. Exposition Press, 1967.