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Wisconsin Progressive Party
Political party in the United States

The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political third party that briefly held a major role in Wisconsin politics under the two sons of the late Robert M. La Follette. It was on the political left-wing, and sometimes cooperated with the New Deal.

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History

Background and Formation

The Party was the brainchild of Philip La Follette and Robert M. La Follette, Jr., the sons of Wisconsin Governor and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. The party was established in 1934 as an alliance between the longstanding "Progressive" faction of the Republican Party 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.4 Journalist John Nichols argues that the 1924 platform that Robert La Follette, Senior, ran on:

"taxing the rich, cracking down on Wall Street abuses, empowering workers to organize unions, defending small farmers, breaking up corporate trusts, strengthening public utilities — fueled a resurgence of left-wing populist movements across the upper Midwest: the Non-Partisan League of North Dakota, the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota and the Progressive Party of Wisconsin."

Buoying off of popular discontent with both major parties, the La Follette brothers were both successful in their bids, and the party saw a number of other victories as well in the 1934 and 1936 elections, notably winning several U.S. House seats and a majority of the Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly in 1936. In 1936 it was informally allied with the New Deal coalition and supported the reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt.5

Progressive Governance

Following the re-election of Philip, he took a far different tone for his second term than he had for his first. In his second inaugural address he stressed the need for reform in more concrete terms, advocating for an increase in executive power and calling for increased spending towards schools and wages despite a projected $9 million dollar shortfall in the budget.6: 178 

Their grip on power proved short-lived: they succumbed to a united Democratic and Republican front in 1938 which swept most of them out of office, including Philip La Follette. The party effectively collapsed when Philip went off to serve in the Pacific War during World War II. During La Follette's absence, the party failed to formulate a coherent party platform and instead opted to criticize the governor at the time, Julius P. Heil.

Cooperation with the Socialists

During its heyday, the Progressive Party usually did not run candidates in the Socialists (known as the "sewer socialists") stronghold of Milwaukee. There were strong ideological differences between the two movements as the two aligned with differing national parties. (Socialist State Representative George L. Tews said during a 1932 debate on unemployment compensation and how to fund it argued for the Socialist bill and against the Progressive substitute, stating that a Progressive was "a Socialist with the brains knocked out"),7 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, with Socialist legislators caucusing with the minority Progressives. In 1942, Socialist Frank P. Zeidler, later to be elected mayor 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, 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.)8

1938

1939-1946

As one of the Senate's leading isolationists, Robert helped found the America First Committee in 1940 to oppose Roosevelt's foreign policy and denounce risk of U.S. entry into World War II.9 Soon Philip found himself working alongside figures such as Charles Lindbergh, which led some to assume he had shifted towards more conservative politics.10111213

Orland Steen Loomis 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 party decided to disband itself. Robert La Follette ran for re-election that year as a Republican rather than a Progressive, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Joe McCarthy.

Dissolution

By 1946, the Wisconsin Progressive Party had all but collapsed, barely qualifying for major party status after the 1944 elections. While Philip La Follette had desired for the party to continue on, after being advised to stay out of the 1946 convention, the Party voted to dissolve itself, voting 284 to 131 to rejoin the Republican Party.141516: 247 

Officeholders from the Wisconsin Progressive Party

Federal office

U.S. Senators U.S. Representatives

State office

Executive branch officials County officials State Senators State Assemblymen

Electoral history

Wisconsin state offices

GovernorLieutenant governorAttorney general
YearNominee# votes% votesPlaceNotesYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceNotesYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceNotes
1934Philip La Follette373,09339.12 / 100Elected1934Henry Gunderson313,68235.25 / 1002nd of 71934Fred M. Wylie303,38735.06 / 1002nd of 7
1936573,72446.38 / 100Re-elected1936465,91841.69 / 100Elected1936Orland Steen Loomis394,25236.10 / 100Elected
1938353,38136.00 / 1002nd of 51938George A. Nelson313,06634.36 / 1002nd of 51938316,65735.24 / 1002nd of 4
1940Orland Steen Loomis546,43639.78 / 1002nd of 51940Anton M. Miller411,05532.53 / 1002nd of 41940Otto F. Christenson367,00929.76 / 1002nd of 4
1942397,66449.65 / 100Elected1942Henry J. Berquist256,85134.82 / 1002nd of 51942William H. Dieterich205,73021.41 / 1002nd of 5
1944Alexander Otto Benz76,0285.76 / 1003rd of 51944Clough Gates79,0686.38 / 1003rd of 4194484,9897.00 / 1003rd of 4
Secretary of stateTreasurer
YearNominee# votes% votesPlaceNotesYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceNotes
1934Theodore Dammann419,24946.66 / 100Re-elected1934Albert C. Johnson302,63934.41 / 1002nd of 6
1936601,63852.12 / 100Re-elected1936Solomon Levitan457,94240.03 / 100Elected
1938391,15041.61 / 1002nd of 51938368,70740.28 / 1002nd of 5
1940Adolph W. Larsen332,50526.03 / 1002nd of 41940Frank Zeidler382,23730.65 / 1002nd of 4
1942John H. Kaiser196,28726.19 / 1002nd of 51942Albert C. Johnson215,99529.63 / 1002nd of 5
1944Adelaide Woelfel12,6811.04 / 1004th of 4194473,4515.98 / 1003rd of 4
Wisconsin SenateWisconsin Assembly
ElectionLeaderVotesSeatsPositionControlElectionLeaderVotesSeatsPositionControl
No.ShareNo.±No.ShareNo.±
1934N/A137,54432.10%11 / 33 112ndDemocratic–Republican1934Jorge W. Carow304,80434.09%45 / 100 451stProgressive minority
1936Walter J. Rush242,63142.00%16 / 33 51stProgressive minority1936Jorge W. Carow437,91638.73%46 / 100 11stProgressive minority
1938154,89135.00%11 / 33 52ndRepublican minority1938Paul Alfonsi32 / 100 122ndRepublican
1940212,63132.09%6 / 33 52ndRepublican1940N/A25 / 100 72ndRepublican
194285,80625.18%6 / 332ndRepublican1942N/A13 / 100 123rdRepublican
194447,8958.81%5 / 33 13rdRepublican1944N/A6 / 100 73rdRepublican

Wisconsin federal offices

U.S. SenateU.S. House of Representatives
YearNominee# votes% votesPlaceNotesElectionLeaderVotesSeatsPositionControl
1934Robert M. La Follette Jr.440,51347.78 / 100Re-elected1934George J. Schneider334,34537.76%7 / 10 71stProgressive
1936No seat up1936George J. Schneider479,26342.69%7 / 101stProgressive
1938Herman Ekern249,20926.58 / 1002nd of 61938George J. Schneider330,82336.26%2 / 10 52ndRepublican
1940Robert M. La Follette Jr.605,60945.26 / 100Re-elected1940N/A469,06336.96%3 / 10 12ndRepublican
1942No seat up1942N/A185,11424.72%2 / 10 13rdRepublican
1944Harry Sauthoff73,0895.82 / 1003rd of 51944N/A104,3779.01%1 / 10 13rdRepublican

See also

Notes

Further reading

  • Backstrom, Charles Herbert. "The Progressive Party of Wisconsin, 1934-1946" (PhD. Dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1956. 0018371).
  • Beck, Elmer A. The Sewer Socialists: A History of the Socialist Party of Wisconsin, 1897–1940. Fennimore, WI: Westburg Associates, 1982.
  • Brye, David L. "Wisconsin Scandinavians and Progressivism, 1900-1950." Norwegian-American Studies 27 (1977): 163–193. online
  • Glad, Paul W. The History of Wisconsin, Volume V: War, A New Era, and Depression, 1914–1940. (State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1990). pp. 398–565.
  • Gosnell, Harold F., and Morris H. Cohen. “Progressive Politics: Wisconsin an Example.” American Political Science Review 34#5, (1940), pp. 920–35. online
  • Johnson, Roger T. Robert M. LaFollette, Jr. and the Decline of the Progressive Party in Wisconsin (The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1964).
  • Kasparek, Jonathan. Fighting Son: A Biography of Philip F. La Follette. pp. 125–249.
  • McCoy, Donald R. "The Formation of the Wisconsin Progressive Party in 1934." The Historian 14.1 (1951): 70–90. online
  • Miller, John Edward. "Governor Philip F Lafollette, the Wisconsin Progressives, and the New Deal, 1930–1939," (PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin - Madison; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1973. 7321167).
  • Rosenof, Theodore. "The Political Education of an American Radical: Thomas R. Amlie in the 1930's." Wisconsin Magazine of History (1974) 56#1: 19–30 online
  • Schmidt, Lester Frederick. "The Farmer-Labor Progressive Federation: The Study of a 'United Front' Movement Among Wisconsin Liberals, 1934-1941" (PhD Dissertation, University of Wisconsin—Madison;  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1955. 0201215.)
  • "Progressive Party, Wisconsin." Encyclopedia of American History. Answers Corporation, 2006. Answers.com 26 February 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/progressive-party-wisconsin

References

  1. Paul W. Glad, The History of Wisconsin, Volume V: War, a New Era, and Depression, 1914-1940. Vol. 5 (Wisconsin Historical Society, 1990) pp.398-565. ↩

  2. Donald R. McCoy, Angry voices; left-of-center politics in the New Deal era (1971) pp.47–53. ↩

  3. Jonathan Kasparek, Fighting son: a biography of Philip F. La Follette (Wisconsin State Historical Society, 2006) chapter 5. ↩

  4. McCoy, Donald R. (1951). "The Formation of the Wisconsin Progressive Party in 1934". The Historian. 14 (1): 70–90. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1951.tb00127.x. ISSN 0018-2370. JSTOR 24436133. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24436133 ↩

  5. William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940 (1963) p. 190. ↩

  6. Kasparek, Jonathan (2006). Fighting Son: A Biography of Philip F. La Follette. Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-87020-353-4. 978-0-87020-353-4 ↩

  7. Kaveny, Edward T. "$10,000,000 Tax: Assembly Passes Compromise Bill by 73 to 15 Vote" Milwaukee Sentinel January 6, 1932; p. 1, cols. 7-8 /wiki/Milwaukee_Sentinel ↩

  8. Served as a Republican (1931–1933) ↩

  9. "America First Committee". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 2025-05-01. https://spartacus-educational.com/USAfirstC.htm ↩

  10. "An Arsenal of Progressivism: How Familial Bonds Built and Broke the La Follette Dynasty of Wisconsin (1924–1953)" (PDF). Retrieved January 14, 2025. https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/82613/An%20Arsenal%20of%20Progressivism_%20How%20Familial%20Bonds%20Built%20and%20Broke%20the%20La%20Follette%20Synasty%20of%20Wisconsin%20%281924-1953%29_.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y ↩

  11. "Archival Resources in Wisconsin: Descriptive Finding Aids: Summary Information". digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-01. https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-wis000qs ↩

  12. "America First Committee". Wisconsin State Journal. 1941-12-05. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-05-02. https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-america-first-co/169841220/ ↩

  13. "America First Committee". Wisconsin State Journal. 1941-09-29. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-05-02. https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-america-first-co/169846186/ ↩

  14. "WI State Journal 18 Mar 1946 p2". Wisconsin State Journal. 1946-03-18. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-04-30. https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-wi-state-journal/29515086/ ↩

  15. "La Crosse Tribune 14 Nov 1945 p6". The La Crosse Tribune. 1945-11-14. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-04-30. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-la-crosse-tribune-la-crosse-tribune/29539902/ ↩

  16. Kasparek, Jonathan (2006). Fighting Son: A Biography of Philip F. La Follette. Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-87020-353-4. 978-0-87020-353-4 ↩

  17. Served as a Republican (1931–1933) ↩

  18. Served as a Republican (1931–1933) in Wisconsin's 8th congressional district /wiki/Wisconsin%27s_8th_congressional_district ↩

  19. Served as a Republican (1929–1931) in Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, Wisconsin's 9th congressional district (1946–1953) /wiki/Wisconsin%27s_7th_congressional_district ↩

  20. Served as a Republican (1923–1933) in Wisconsin's 9th congressional district /wiki/Wisconsin%27s_9th_congressional_district ↩

  21. Served as a Republican (1931–1933) in Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district (1949–1961) /wiki/Wisconsin%27s_7th_congressional_district ↩

  22. Served as a Republican (1940–1944) ↩

  23. served as a Republican (1933–1937) ↩

  24. served as a Republican in the State Assembly (1933–1935) ↩

  25. served as a Socialist in the State Assembly (1931–1933) ↩