Robert La Follette Sr.

1. Robert La Follette Sr. By: Will Smith June 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925

2. Vocation • Served 2 terms as Dane County District Attorney • Served 3 terms as a Representative in the House • Served 2 terms as Governor of Wisconsin • Ran for President as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in 1924, winning 17% of the national vote, but not the election itself • Spent the last 19 years of his life serving in the U.S. Senate

3. Background • Education - Graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1879 and in 1880, he attended law school, where he got his law license. • Family – His father died in 1856, and the bad relationship with his step-father made for a bad childhood. He married Bella Case in 1881. Bella soon became a leader in the Feminist movement, and advocate of women suffrage and an important influence on the development of La Follette’s ideas.

4. Defining Moments • In 1891, he claimed that Philetus Sawyer, a Wisconsin Senator and powerful republican leader, bribed La Follette in order to fix a case. Afterwards, La Follette resolved to reform the Progressive party, which really sparked his career as an influential politician. • In 1900, he formed a coalition that temporarily disrupted the opponents of his reforming of the party’s (known as the “Stalwarts”) hold on the nomination process. After winning the nomination for the Wisconsin Governorship, he began touring Wisconsin, giving speeches, and speaking in front of hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites. As a result, he won the 1900 campaign by over 100,000 votes.

5. Contribution • He formed the Progressive party in 1891, that pushed for direct voter control, championed consumer rights and direct election of nominees. • As Governor, he passed 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 (inspired by his wife) and progressive taxation.

6. Contribution (continued) • He developed a close cooperation between the Wisconsin state government and the University he graduated from, the University of Wisconsin in development of his progressive policy, the goals of which included recall, referendum, direct primary and initiative. • As a Senator, he campaigned for child labor laws, social security, women’s suffrage and other progressive reforms.

7. Sources • www.wikipedia.org