Robert M. Lafollette Sr.

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Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) was an American lawyer and politician.

He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the Governor of Wisconsin.

A Republican for most of his career, he ran for President of the United States as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in the 1924 presidential election.

Historian John D. Buenker describes La Follette as "the most celebrated figure in Wisconsin history." Born and raised in Wisconsin, La Follette won election as the Dane County District Attorney in 1880.

Four years later, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he was friendly with party leaders like William McKinley.

After losing his seat in the 1890 election, La Follette embraced progressivism and built up a coalition of disaffected Republicans.

Early life

Robert Marion La Follette Sr. was born on a farm in Primrose, Wisconsin, on June 14, 1855. He was the youngest of five children born to Josiah La Follette and Mary Ferguson, who had settled in Wisconsin in 1850. Josiah descended from French Huguenots, while Mary was of Scottish ancestry. La Follette's great-great-grandfather, Joseph La Follette emigrated from France to New Jersey in 1745. La Follette's great-grandfather moved to Kentucky, where they were neighbors to the Lincoln family.

Josiah died just eight months after Robert was born, and in 1862, Mary married John Saxton, a wealthy, seventy-year-old merchant. La Follette's poor relationship with Saxton made for a difficult childhood. Though his mother was a Democrat, La Follette became, like most of his neighbors, a member of the Republican Party.

La Follette began attending school at the age of four, though he often worked on the family farm. After Saxton died in 1872, La Follette, his mother, and his older sister moved to the nearby town of Madison. La Follette began attending the University of Wisconsin in 1875 and graduated in 1879 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was a mediocre student, but won a statewide oratory contest and established a student newspaper named the University Press. He was deeply influenced by the university's president, John Bascom, on issues of morality, ethics, and social justice. During his time at the university, he became a vegetarian, declaring that his diet gave him more energy and a "clear head".

La Follette met Belle Case while attending the University of Wisconsin, and they married on December 31, 1881, at her family home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. She became a leader in the feminist movement, an advocate of women's suffrage and an important influence on the development of La Follette's ideas.

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Early political career

In 1880, La Follette was admitted to the state bar association. He ran for office as the district attorney for Dane County, Wisconsin, in the same year, marking a long career in politics. George E. Bryant, a wealthy Republican Party businessman and landowner from Madison, became his protégé. He gained the House of Representatives in 1884, becoming the youngest member of the subsequent 49th Congress. His political views were broadly in tune with those of other Northern Republicans at the time; he endorsed higher tariff rates and maintained a close relationship with William McKinley. He did, however, occasionally deviate from the party's positions as he voted for the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. He also condemned racial discrimination in the Southern United States and favoured the Lodge Bill, which would have guaranteed federal protections against African Americans disenfranchised in the South. "He's a great fellow that even his adversaries like him," Milwaukee Sentinel described him as. La Follette's political views were not concerned with racial and ethnic issues. La Follette, author Jorn Brégin, said 'on at least one occasion, referred to an African American as a 'coon' and a 'blamed nigger,' if only for the amusing effect." His wife was a vocal defender of civil rights.

La Follette, a 35-year-old man, was forced to leave office in the 1890 Democratic Landlide. Several contributing factors led to his defeat, including a compulsory education bill passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature in 1889. Since the law mandated that core subjects in schools be taught in English, it contributed to a divide between Catholic and Lutheran groups in Wisconsin. La Follette's support for the secure McKinley Tariff may have also been instrumental in his loss. La Follette returned to Madison to begin a private law practice following the election. Kris Stahl wrote that he became known as "Fighting Bob" La Follette because of his "extraordinarily vivacious" and dominating personality.

La Follette reveals that after Senator Philetus Sawyer attempted to bribe him, he had a political epiphany in 1891. Sawyer allegedly offered the money in order for La Follette to deceive his brother-in-law, Judge Robert G. Siebecker, who was presiding over a lawsuit involving state funds that Republican officials had allegedly embezzled. But La Follette's public rumors of bribery sparked a split with several acquaintances and party leaders, although he continued to support Republican candidates like John Coit Spooner. He also supported McKinley's bid for president in the 1896 election, and he denounced Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan as a radical. La Follette began building a coalition of dissatisfied Republicans, many of whom were young and well educated. Rather than bolting the party or resigning from politics, many of whom were young and well-educated. Former Governor William D. Hoard and Isaac Stephenson, the latter of whom published a pro-La Follette newspaper, were among his key allies. Not only did La Follette's alliance include several members from the state's huge Scandinavian population, such as Nils P. Haugen, Pee Lenroot, and James O. Davidson.

La Follette's crew began winning the office of Governor of Wisconsin in 1894. Haugen ran for governor in 1894, but William H. Upham defeated him as his campaign manager, but he was defeated by William H. Upham. In 1896, La Follette ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, but Edward Scofield was defeated by Edward Scofield; La Follette said Scofield only gained the nomination after conservative party leaders bribed certain Republican delegates. Despite the pleas of some backers, La Follette decided not to run as an independent in the aftermath of the election, and after the election, he turned down an invitation from President William McKinley to act as the Currency Comptroller. With primary elections that allowed voters to freely select candidates, La Follette began in 1897, arguing for the replacement of party caucuses and conventions, the traditional method of partisan nominations for office. He also denounced the clout of businesses, alleging that they had taken over the Republican Party. These liberal positions had become increasingly popular in the wake of the Panic of 1893, a dramatic economic recession that prompted many to reevaluate their political views.

La Follette ran for governor for the second time in 1898, but Scofield defeated him in the Republican primary. La Follette made a third attempt for governor in 1900 and gained the Republican nomination in part because he found an understanding with many of the conservative party leaders. La Follette, a national candidate, defeated his Democratic rival Louis G. Bomrich in the general election, winning just under 60% of the popular vote.

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