Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Progressive Party is born in 1934
Fierce battle waged over name choice
In 1934, with the nation wracked by a paralysing economic depression that caused massive unemployment, liberal Wisconsin political leaders formed a new party. At the Fond du Lac conference described here, the heirs of the "progressive Republicans" chose as their name, the Progressive Party. The new organization supported President Franklin Roosevelt but warned that Wisconsin's Democrats were more interested in supporting big business than in protecting farmers or labor. The first of the two articles linked below describes the conference where the Progressive Party was born; the second prints the keynote address given there by Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. The Progressive Party represented liberal political opinion in Wisconsin for nearly two decades, until the revival of the Democrats after World War Two.
| Related Topics: |
Industrialization and Urbanization Depression and Unemployment |
| Creator: | Ralston, J. C. |
| Pub Data: | Milwaukee Journal, May 20, 1934. |
| Citation: | Ralston, J. C. "Fierce battle waged over name choice." Milwaukee Journal, May 20, 1934. Online facsimile at: http://wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1351; Visited on: 4/23/2024 |
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