Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Speaking from Wagon | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society

Photograph

Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Speaking from Wagon

Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Speaking from Wagon | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society
Robert M. La Follette, Sr., with his fist in the air, speaking from the back of a wagon. He is wearing a hat and a suit without the coat. It was in part due to his vigorous speaking style that La Follette won the nickname "Fighting Bob." This image is one of a series of views of his appearance at a fair in Cumberland, Wisconsin, in 1897. After three unsuccessful campaigns during which he brought his reform message to Wisconsin at events such as this, La Follette was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1900.
DESCRIPTION
Robert M. La Follette, Sr., with his fist in the air, speaking from the back of a wagon. He is wearing a hat and a suit without the coat. It was in part due to his vigorous speaking style that La Follette won the nickname "Fighting Bob." This image is one of a series of views of his appearance at a fair in Cumberland, Wisconsin, in 1897. After three unsuccessful campaigns during which he brought his reform message to Wisconsin at events such as this, La Follette was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1900.
RECORD DETAILS
Image ID:2417
Creation Date: 1897
Creator Name:Michigan State College Press
City:Cumberland
County:Barron
State:Wisconsin
Collection Name:Subject albums, 1753?-1990? (bulk circa 1850s-circa 1950s)
Genre:Photograph
Original Format Type:photographic print, b&w
Original Format Number:Album 25.32
Original Dimensions:3 x 3 inches
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
See also Image IDs: 2020, 2390, 3562, 113431 and 113432 for related views.

Text from Album 25.32. The Milwaukee Journal wrote about these county fair speeches, "Whatever purpose he might have had...his vigorous oratory cannot have failed to have left an impression on his hearers....Mr. La Follette is sometimes sarcastic. His words bite like coals of fire; but his face and gestures are unique....into the commonplace of his word paintings he throws the energy of a man apparently fully impressed with the whole force and truth of his statements. He never wearies and he will not allow his audience to weary...Perhaps this concentration of every power in the man to impress his hearers is a stage trick, but it is well played and beyond detection. It is real and full of life and vitality." Cf. Milwaukee Journal, Oct. 1897.

SUBJECTS
Hats
Suits (Clothing)
Cities and towns
Public speaking
Audiences
Crowds
Men
Outdoor photography
Political campaigns
Politicians
Progressivism (United States politics)
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
Fairs
Horse-drawn vehicles
Wagons

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Reference Details
Location:Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, 4th Floor, Madison, Wisconsin

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