Wisconsin Progressive Party
Encyclopedia
The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934 - 1946), was a third party which briefly held a dominant role in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 politics. The Party was the brainchild of Philip La Follette
Philip La Follette
Philip Fox La Follette was an American politician from the US state of Wisconsin. He served three terms as the Governor of Wisconsin and helped create the Wisconsin Progressive Party.-Early life and family:...

 and Robert M. La Follette, Jr.
Robert M. La Follette, Jr.
Robert Marion "Young Bob" La Follette, Jr. was an American senator from Wisconsin from 1925 to 1947, the son of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., the brother of Philip La Follette, and Fola La Follette, whose husband was the playwright George Middleton.- Early life:La Follette was born in Madison,...

, the sons of the famous Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 Governor and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr. , was an American Republican politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was also a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin...

. The party was established in 1934 as an alliance between the longstanding "Progressive" faction of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 of Wisconsin, led by the La Follette family and their political allies, and certain radical farm and labor groups active in Wisconsin at the time. The party served as a vehicle for Philip to run for re-election as Governor of Wisconsin
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

 and for Robert to run for re-election to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The 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...

. Both men were successful in their bids, and the party saw a number of other victories as well in the 1934 and 1936 election, notably winning several U.S. House
United States House of Representatives
The 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...

 seats and a majority of the Wisconsin State Senate
Wisconsin State Senate
The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

 and Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

 in 1936. Their grip on power was short-lived, however, and they succumbed to a united Democratic and Republican front in 1938 which swept most of them out of office, including Philip. They were further crippled that year by attempting to expand the party to the national level.

Orland Steen Loomis
Orland Steen Loomis
Orland Steen Loomis was an American lawyer and governor-elect of Wisconsin. He was born in Mauston, Wisconsin and was a member of the Progressive Party....

 was the last Progressive to be elected Governor of Wisconsin, in the 1942 election. He died, however, before his inauguration as governor. Robert La Follette Jr. held on to his Senate seat until 1946 when the La Follettes decided to disband the party, and to run Robert for re-election as a Republican rather than a Progressive. He was defeated in the Republican primary for the United States Senate election, 1946
United States Senate election, 1946
The United States Senate elections of 1946 were in the middle of Democratic President Harry Truman's first term.The vote was largely seen as a referendum on Truman, whose approval rating had sunk to 32% over the president's controversial handling of a wave of post-war labor strikes, such as a...

, by Joe McCarthy.

During its heyday the Progressive Party usually did not run candidates in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

 as there was a tacit agreement with the city's Socialists
Sewer Socialism
Sewer Socialism was a term, originally more or less pejorative, for the American socialist movement that centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and existed from around 1892 to 1960...

 that progressive third parties
Third party (United States)
The term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties . The term can also refer to independent politicians not affiliated with any party at all and to write-in candidates.The United States has had a...

 should not fight each other (despite strong ideological differences between the two movements), when both faced opposition from the conservative major parties. During the period from 1939 on, the Progressives and the Socialists of Milwaukee sometimes made common cause in a "Progressive-Socialist federation," with Socialist legislators caucusing with the minority Progressives. In 1942, Socialist Frank P. Zeidler
Frank P. Zeidler
Frank Paul Zeidler was an American Socialist politician and Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948 to April 18, 1960. He was the most recent Socialist mayor of any major American city, although U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was the mayor of Burlington, the largest...

, later to be elected Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Milwaukee, was the nominee on the Progressive party line for State Treasurer of Wisconsin.

The last politician to hold office from the Wisconsin Progressive Party nationally was Merlin Hull
Merlin Hull
Merlin Hull was a Wisconsin lawyer, a newspaper publisher, and a member of the United States House of Representatives....

, a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin, elected as a Progressive in 1944. (Hull continued to be re-elected on the Republican ticket, and served until his death in 1953.)

Federal office

  • Robert M. La Follette, Jr.
    Robert M. La Follette, Jr.
    Robert Marion "Young Bob" La Follette, Jr. was an American senator from Wisconsin from 1925 to 1947, the son of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., the brother of Philip La Follette, and Fola La Follette, whose husband was the playwright George Middleton.- Early life:La Follette was born in Madison,...

    , Senator, 1935–1946 (served as a Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

     1925–1935)
  • Thomas Ryum Amlie
    Thomas Ryum Amlie
    Thomas Ryum Amlie was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1933 and again from 1935 to 1939. He was a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party.-External links:* at Find-A-Grave----...

    , U.S. Congressman, 1935–39
  • Gerald J. Boileau
    Gerald J. Boileau
    Gerald John Boileau was first a Republican, then a Wisconsin Progressive Party member of the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1939. After service in World War I, Boileau attended Marquette University Law School and was subsequently admitted to the bar...

    , U.S. Congressman, 1931–39
  • Bernard J. Gehrmann
    Bernard J. Gehrmann
    Bernard John Gehrmann was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.Born in Gnesen, near Koenigsberg, East Prussia, Germany, Gehrmann attended the common schools in Germany....

    , U.S. Congressman, 1935–43
  • Merlin Hull
    Merlin Hull
    Merlin Hull was a Wisconsin lawyer, a newspaper publisher, and a member of the United States House of Representatives....

    , U.S. Congressman, 1935–47
  • Harry Sauthoff
    Harry Sauthoff
    Harry Sauthoff, Sr. , son of a German immigrant and brother of Dr. August Sauthoff, was a lawyer and politician from Madison, Wisconsin. A 1909 law graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he was district attorney of Dane County, Wisconsin, from 1915 to 1919. In 1921 Sauthoff served as...

    , U.S. Congressman, 1935–39, 1941–45
  • George J. Schneider
    George J. Schneider
    George John Schneider was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.Born in the town of Grand Chute, Wisconsin, Schneider moved to Appleton with his parents, attended the public schools of Appleton, Wisconsin....

    , U.S. Congressman, 1935–39
  • Gardner Robert Withrow
    Gardner R. Withrow
    Gardner Robert Withrow was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1931–1939 and again from 1949–1961, when he did not seek reelection. Withrow was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and worked for the railroad and was involved in the labor union. He was a member of the Wisconsin...

    , U.S. Congressman, 1931–39

State office

  • Philip La Follette
    Philip La Follette
    Philip Fox La Follette was an American politician from the US state of Wisconsin. He served three terms as the Governor of Wisconsin and helped create the Wisconsin Progressive Party.-Early life and family:...

    , Governor of Wisconsin
    Governor of Wisconsin
    The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

    , 1934–1938
  • Henry Gunderson
    Henry Gunderson
    Henry A. Gunderson was a Wisconsin politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.Henry A. Gunderson was born in Columbia County, Wisconsin in 1878, the son of Norwegian immigrants. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1900, and in 1903 he received a law degree...

    , Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
    Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
    The Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the order of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, removal, impeachment, absence from the state, or incapacity due to illness of the Governor of Wisconsin...

    , 1936–1937
  • Herman Ekern
    Herman Ekern
    Herman L. Ekern was a Wisconsin politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. He was one of the founders of Lutheran Brotherhood.-Background:...

    , Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, 1937–1938
  • Theodore Dammann
    Theodore Dammann
    Theodore Dammann was a politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served as that state's twenty-third Secretary of State, serving six terms from January 3, 1927 to January 2, 1939. For his first four terms he was a Republican and served under governors Fred R. Zimmerman, Walter J. Kohler,...

    , Secretary of State of Wisconsin
    Secretary of State of Wisconsin
    The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is an officer of the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the second in the order of succession of the Governor of Wisconsin, behind the Lieutenant Governor....

    , 1935–1938 (served as a Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

     1927–1935)
  • Orland Steen Loomis
    Orland Steen Loomis
    Orland Steen Loomis was an American lawyer and governor-elect of Wisconsin. He was born in Mauston, Wisconsin and was a member of the Progressive Party....

    , Attorney General of Wisconsin, 1937–1938; elected Governor in 1942 but died before taking office
  • Solomon Levitan
    Solomon Levitan
    -Biography:Levitan was born in Tauroggen, East Prussia in 1862. A Jewish man, Levitan moved to Wisconsin and settled in the New Glarus, Wisconsin area in 1881 after antisemitism broke out in his native country. He later moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1905. Levitan passed away in...

    , State Treasurer of Wisconsin, 1937–1938 (served as a Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

     1923–1932)
  • George Hampel
    George Hampel (legislator)
    George Hampel was an American politician, accountant and bookseller from Milwaukee who served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Socialist and two terms in the Wisconsin State Senate as a Progressive...

    , Wisconsin State Assembly
    Wisconsin State Assembly
    The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

    , 1937–1944 (served as a Socialist 1931–1932)
  • Edward H. Kiefer
    Edward H. Kiefer
    Edward H. Kiefer was an American house painter who served seven terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing Milwaukee...

    , Wisconsin State Assembly 1937–1940 (served as a Socialist 1911–1914, 1931–1936)
  • Ben Rubin
    Ben Rubin (legislator)
    Ben Rubin was a cigar maker, zookeeper, union activist and member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Milwaukee who served four terms. He was elected in 1930 and served one term as a Socialist...

    , Wisconsin State Assembly, 1937–1942 (served as a Socialist 1931–1932)
  • Elmer Peterson
    Elmer Peterson
    Elmer Peterson was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 25th District from 1943 to 1947. He belonged the Wisconsin Progressive Party, which was a third party that briefly held a dominant role in Wisconsin politics .-References:...

    , Wisconsin State Senate
    Wisconsin State Senate
    The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

    , 1943–1947
  • Laurie E. Carlson
    Laurie E. Carlson
    -Biography:Carlson was born Laurie Edwin Carlson on January 12, 1908 in Bayfield, Wisconsin. He attended Northland College, where he was a member of the varsity basketball team, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Carlson was also active in promoting the sport of curling and in his local...

    , Wisconsin State Assembly 1937–1942
  • Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands
    Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands
    Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate.-Biography:Rowlands was born on April 1, 1901 in Cambria, Wisconsin. He was the father of Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award nominated actress Gena Rowlands....

    , Wisconsin State Senate, 1935–1937

Sources

  • Beck, Elmer A. The Sewer Socialists: A History of the Socialist Party of Wisconsin, 1897–1940. Fennimore, WI: Westburg Associates, 1982.
  • Glad, Paul W. The History of Wisconsin, Volume V: War, A New Era, and Depression, 1914–1940. Edited by William F. Thompson. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1990.
  • "Progressive Party, Wisconsin." Encyclopedia of American History. Answers Corporation, 2006. Answers.com 26 Feb. 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/progressive-party-wisconsin
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