Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Senator, Wisconsin
In office March 4, 1906–June 18, 1925
Preceded by	Joseph V. Quarles
Succeeded by	Robert M. La Follette, Jr.
Born	June 14, 1855 Primrose, Wisconsin
Died	June 18, 1925 Washington, D.C.
Political party	Republican Progressive
Spouse	Belle Case La Follette

Robert Marion La Follette, Sr. (June 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) (also known as "Battling Bob" La Follette) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Congressman, the 20th Governor of Wisconsin from 1901 - 1906, and Senator from Wisconsin from 1905 - 1925 as a member of the Republican Party. He ran for President of the United States as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in the 1924 elections, carrying Wisconsin and 17% of the national popular vote. He is best remembered as an exponent of Progressivism and for fighting bossism. In 1957, a committee led by Senator John F. Kennedy selected La Follette as one of five of their greatest Senate predecessors. http://bioguide. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Joseph Very Quarles (December 16, 1843 – October 7, 1911) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin. ... Robert Marion La Follette, Jr. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Primrose is a town located in Dane County, Wisconsin. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Federal District District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) City Council Chairperson: Linda W. Cropp (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack Evans... For other uses, see Republican Party (disambiguation) or GOP (disambiguation). ... The United States Progressive Party of 1924 was a national ticket created by Robert M. La Follette, Sr. ... Belle Case La Follette (April 21, 1859 – August 18, 1931) was a lawyer and a womens suffrage activist in Wisconsin. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ... Governors of Wisconsin: Categories: Lists of United States governors | Governors of Wisconsin ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Seal of the U.S. Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked... The Republican Party was born in 1854 and is one of the two dominant parties today. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Progressive Party 1924 (United States) was a national ticket created by Robert LaFollette, Sr. ... Introduction Incumbent President Coolidge was relatively popular, and the economy was booming. ... Bossism, in the history of the United States, is a system of political control centering about a single powerful figure (the boss) and a complex organization of lesser figures (the machine) bound together by reciprocity in promoting financial and social self-interest. ... For other persons named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation). ...

Early life

La Follette was born in the township of Primrose, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison, to Josiah La Follette and Mary Ferguson Buchanan; his paternal great-grandfather, Joseph La Follette, was born in France, and he also had English ancestry.[1][2] La Follette grew up in rural Dane County, Wisconsin. In 1879, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; after studying law, La Follette was admitted to the bar in 1880. On December 31, 1881, he married Belle Case at her family home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Primrose is a town located in Dane County, Wisconsin. ... Nickname: Mad Town or Mad City Location of Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin Municipality City Incorporated 1848 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz Area    - City 136. ... Dane County is a county located in the state of Wisconsin. ... The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Belle Case La Follette (April 21, 1859 – August 18, 1931) was a lawyer and a womens suffrage activist in Wisconsin. ... Baraboo is a city in Sauk County, Wisconsin, along the Baraboo River. ...

Political career

La Follette was elected Dane County District Attorney in 1880. Four years later, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until 1890. His opposition to pork barrel projects and his support for a protective tariff helped secure his appointment to the Ways and Means Committee headed by William McKinley, where he helped draft the Tariff Act of 1890 (McKinley Tariff). The Act, however, was so unpopular that he lost his seat in the 1890 Democratic landslide. Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ... Pork barrel, in a literal sense, is a barrel in which pork is kept, but figuratively is a supply of money; often the source of ones livelihood. ... The Committee on Ways and Means is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... William McKinley, Jr. ... The McKinley Tariff of 1890 was what set the average ad valorem tariff rate for imports to the United States at 48. ...

La Follette returned to Wisconsin where he refused a bribe offered by a powerful Wisconsin Republican, Philetus Sawyer, to influence a judge. Outraged by the bribery attempt, he became a vocal critic of machine politics and a leader of the "Progressive" faction of the Republican Party then vying for power with the "Stalwart" party establishment. He returned to office as Governor in 1900, after two unsuccessful attempts, by campaigning for direct election of nominees in party primaries. Philetus Sawyer (September 22, 1816 – March 29, 1900) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Wisconsin in both houses of Congress. ... A primary election is an election in which registered voters in a jurisdiction select the candidates who will enter a subsequent election (nominating primary). ...

LaFollette addressing a large Chautauqua assembly in Decatur, Illinois 1905.

From 1901 until 1906, La Follette served as Governor of Wisconsin. While governor, he championed numerous progressive reforms, including the first workers' compensation system, railroad rate reform, direct legislation, municipal home rule, open government, the minimum wage, non-partisan elections, the open primary system, direct election of U.S. Senators, women's suffrage, and progressive taxation. He created an atmosphere of close cooperation between the state government and the University of Wisconsin in the development of progressive policy. This concept became known as the Wisconsin Idea. In World War I, however, he broke with most of his academic friends on the war issue. He built a new base of support among anti-war German Americans. Image File history File links Robert_M._La_Follette,_Sr_as_Senator2. ... Image File history File links Robert_M._La_Follette,_Sr_as_Senator2. ... The Decatur Transfer House in the background with a newly completed fountain in the foreground. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Governors of Wisconsin: Categories: Lists of United States governors | Governors of Wisconsin ... Workers compensation systems (colloquially known as workers comp in North American English or compo in Australian English) provides compensation for employees who are injured in the course of employment. ... The University of Wisconsin System is the state university system in Wisconsin, composed of fifteen institutions with twenty-six campuses. ... The Wisconsin Idea is a philosophy embraced by the University of Wisconsin, which holds that the boundaries of the university should be the boundaries of the state, and that research conducted at the University of Wisconsin should be applied to solve problems and improve health, quality of life, the environment... German-Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ...

A brilliant orator given to periodic bouts of "nerves," he made many enemies over the years, particularly for his opposition to American entry into World War I and his defense of freedom of speech during wartime. Theodore Roosevelt called him a "skunk who should be hanged" when he opposed the arming of American merchant ships; one of his colleagues in the Senate said he was "a better German than the head of the German parliament" when he opposed the Wilson Administration's request for a declaration of war in 1917. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States. ...

La Follette spent the remainder of his life, from January 2, 1906 until his death in 1925, serving in the United States Senate. While in the Senate he strongly opposed American involvement in World War I, and campaigned for child labor laws, social security, women's suffrage, and other progressive reforms. He opposed the prosecution of Eugene V. Debs and other opponents of the war and played a key role in initiating the investigation of the Teapot Dome Scandal during the Harding Administration. January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Seal of the U.S. Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American labor and political leader, one of the founders of the International Labor Union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time Socialist Party of America candidate for President of the United States. ... Teapot Dome is a reference to an oil field on public land in Wyoming, so named because of a rock resembling a teapot overlooking the field. ... Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923) was an American politician and the 29th President of the United States, from 1921 to 1923, when he became the sixth president to die in office. ...

Presidential campaign

In 1911 La Follette set up a campaign organization to mobilize the progressive elements in the Republican party behind his presidential bid. He made a disastrous speech in February 1912 before a gathering of leading magazine editors, that caused many to doubt his stability. Most of his supporters deserted him for Theodore Roosevelt. Embittered, LaFollette opposed both Roosevelt and William Howard Taft in the 1912 election. When his former ally Governor Francis E. McGovern supported Roosevelt, La Follette broke with him, allowing the conservative Republicans under Emanuel Philipp to take control of Wisconsin in the decisive 1914 election, which repudiated the tax-and-spend policies of the progressives. La Follette's forces were out of power inside the state from 1912 to 1920.^[1] Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was an American politician, the 27th President of the United States, the 10th Chief Justice of the United States, a leader of the progressive conservative wing of the Republican Party in the early twentieth century, a chaired professor at Yale Law... Francis E. McGovern (January 21, 1866 – May 16, 1946) was an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Wisconsin from 1911 to 1915. ...

La Follette stands in an automobile and speaks to a crowd during his 1924 presidential campaign

In 1924 La Follette, although nominally a Republican, ran for president; his running mate was Democratic Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana. They created their own new Progressive party ticket. His platform called for government ownership of the railroads and electric utilities, cheap credit for farmers, the outlawing of child labor, stronger laws to help labor unions, more protection of civil liberties, an end to American imperialism in Latin America, and a plebiscite before any president could again lead the nation into war. Image File history File links PresidentialCampaignsLaFollette. ... credited to the United States Senate Historical Office Burton Kendall Wheeler (February 27, 1882 – January 6, 1975) was a Montana politician of the Democratic Party and a United States Senator from 1923 until 1947. ... Progressive Party 1924 (United States) was a national ticket created by Robert LaFollette, Sr. ... Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

He came in third behind incumbent President Calvin Coolidge and Democratic candidate John W. Davis. La Follette won 17% of the popular vote and carried Wisconsin. His base comprised German Americans, railroad workers, the AFL labor unions, and the remnants of the Socialist party. John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. ... John William Davis John William Davis (April 13, 1873 — March 24, 1955) was an American politician and lawyer. ... German-Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. ...

He died several months later. His wife, Belle Case La Follette, remained an influential figure and editor. By the mid 1930s, the La Follette faction had returned to power in the state; all but one of Wisconsin's congressmen were Progressives. La Follette's son, Robert M. La Follette, Jr., succeeded him as Senator, but returned to the Republican party in 1946, where he was defeated in the primary by Joe McCarthy. Another son, Philip La Follette, was later Governor of Wisconsin. His grandson Bronson Cutting La Follette was attorney general of Wisconsin. Belle Case La Follette (April 21, 1859 – August 18, 1931) was a lawyer and a womens suffrage activist in Wisconsin. ... Robert Marion La Follette, Jr. ... Joseph McCarthy This article is about the American politician. ... La Follette, as pictured on a 1928 cover of Time Philip Fox La Follette (May 8, 1897–August 18, 1965), son of Robert M. La Follette, Sr. ... Bronson Cutting La Follette was attorney general of the state of Wisconsin. ...

In 1909, he and Belle Case La Follette founded the publication La Follette's Weekly. It was renamed The Progressive in 1929 and is still published, now as a monthly magazine. In 1913, La Follette first published his autobiography, La Follette's autobiography, a personal narrative of political experiences. He died in Washington, D.C., of cardiovascular disease, and was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery on the near west side of Madison. Belle Case La Follette (April 21, 1859 – August 18, 1931) was a lawyer and a womens suffrage activist in Wisconsin. ... The Progressive is an American monthly magazine of politics and culture with a pronounced left-of-center perspective. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Federal District District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) City Council Chairperson: Linda W. Cropp (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack Evans... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Coronary heart disease. ...

Quotes

• "The will of the people shall be the law of the land."

• "In times of peace, the war party insists on making preparation for war. As soon as prepared for, it insists on making war."

• "The underlying reason indeed why both parties have failed to take the people's side in the present crisis is that neither party can openly attack the real evils which are undermining representative government without convicting themselves of treachery to the voters during their recent tenure in office."

• "Every nation has its war party. It is not the party of democracy. It is the party of autocracy. It seeks to dominate absolutely. It is commercial, imperialistic, ruthless. It tolerates no opposition. It is just as arrogant, just as despotic, in London, or in Washington, as in Berlin. The American Jingo is twin to the German Junker. . . . If there is no sufficient reason for war, the war party will make war on one pretext, then invent another."

• "The purpose of this ridiculous campaign is to throw the country into a state of sheer terror, to change public opinion, to stifle criticism, and suppress discussion. People are being unlawfully arrested, thrown into jail, held incommunicado for days, only to be eventually discharged without ever having been taken into court, because they have committed no crime. But more than this, if every preparation for war can be made the excuse for destroying free speech and a free press and the right of the people to assemble together for peaceful discussion, then we may well despair of ever again finding ourselves for a long period in a state of peace. The destruction of rights now occurring will be pointed to then as precedents for a still further invasion of the rights of the citizen."

Memorials

• La Follette's cousin Chester La Follette painted the oval portrait that hangs in the Senate.
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Robert Chester La Follette, (March 31, 1897-May 24, 1993) was an American painter. ...

Bibliography

• John D. Buenker, The History of Wisconsin. Volume IV The Progressive Era, 1893-1914 (1998), detailed narrative and analysis
• Carl R. Burgchardt; Robert M. La Follette, Sr.: The Voice of Conscience Greenwood Press. 1992; on his oratory, with selected speeches
• Garraty, John A. "Robert La Follette: The Promise Unfulfilled" American Heritage (1962) 13(3): 76-79, 84-88. ISSN: 0002-8738 article by leading scholar online
• K. C. MacKay, The Progressive Movement of 1924 (1947)
• Herbert F. Margulies; The Decline of the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1920 (1968) detailed narrative
• Karen A. J. Miller; Populist Nationalism: Republican Insurgency and American Foreign Policy Making, 1918-1925 Greenwood Press, 1999
• David Thelen, Robert M. La Follette and the Insurgent Spirit 1976. short interpretive biography
• Nancy C. Unger. Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer (2000), full scale biography

Primary sources

• Carl R. Burgchardt; Robert M. La Follette, Sr.: The Voice of Conscience Greenwood Press. 1992; contains selected speeches
• Belle C. and Fola La Follette, Robert M. La Follette 2 vols., (1953), by wife and daughter
• La Follette's autobiography, a personal narrative of political experiences, 1913

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robert M. La Follette, Sr.

Statements: Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

• Free Speech and the Right of Congress to Declare the Objects of the War
• Statement of Robert La Follette, Sr. on Communist Participation in the Progressive Movement, 26 May 1924

Biographies:

• Biography by John Nichols
• Biography at congress.gov
• Biography at spartacus.schoolnet

Progressive Magazine:

• http://www.progressive.org/

Pending and Recent Legislation

• S. 1175: Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Commemorative Coin Act
• H.Res. 226: Honoring the life and legacy of Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr.
• S.Res. 161: A resolution honoring the life of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., on the sesquicentennial of his birth.
• S. 1174: A bill to authorize the President to posthumously award a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Robert M. La Follette, Sr., in recognition of his important contributions to the Progressive movement, the State of Wisconsin, and the United States.
• H.R. 1760: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the "Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building".

Governors of Wisconsin

Dewey • Farwell • Barstow • MacArthur • Bashford • Randall • Harvey • Salomon • Lewis • Fairchild • Washburn • Taylor • Ludington • Smith • Rusk • Hoard • Peck • Upham • Scofield • R La Follette • Davidson • McGovern • Philipp • Blaine • Zimmerman • Kohler Sr • P La Follette • Schmedeman • P La Follette • Heil • Goodland • Rennebohm • Kohler Jr • Thomson • Nelson • Reynolds • Knowles • Lucey • Schreiber • Dreyfus • Earl • Thompson • McCallum • Doyle

1. ^ Margulies (1968) ch 3-5.