The LaFollettes, Progressivism, and the Wisconsin Idea: The 1930s in the Badger State

Abstract

This paper investigates the political economy of the state of Wisconsin during the years of the Great Depression. In the existing literature, state responses to the economic downturn have been overshadowed by the changes happening in the federal government during the period. The paper is broken into nine sections. Section I is an introduction. Section II gives an overview of Wisconsin during the 1930s. Section III explores the LaFollette family and the growth of the Progressive Party in Wisconsin. Section IV is a detailed discussion of the Unemployment Reserves and Compensation Act of 1932, the first of its kind in the United States. Section V looks into the debate over income taxes versus property taxes. Section VI discusses Chapter 15 of the 1935 Session Laws. Section VII describes data categorization I did to fill a gap in federal records. Section VIII is an early empirical look at the drivers of state tax revenue during the 1930s. Section IX is a bibliography.