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Robert Marion La Follette, Sr. (June 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) (also known as "Fighting 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.
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.** 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 La Follette at her family home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Political career La Follette was elected Dane County District Attorney in 1880. Four years later, he won election to the United States 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. La Follette returned to Wisconsin where he claims 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. 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. 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. 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. Presidential campaign In 1911 LaFollette 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, LaFollette 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. LaFollette's forces were out of power inside the state from 1912 to 1920. In 1924 LaFollette, 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. 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. He died several months later. His wife, Belle Case LaFollette, remained an influential figure and editor. By the mid 1930s, the LaFollette faction had returned to power in the state; all but one of Wisconsin's congressmen were Progressives. LaFollette'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. In 1909, he and Belle Case LaFollette 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. Quotes Memorials Primary sources | ||||||||
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