Robert m lafollette sr biography
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About
Credited with beginning the work of Wisconsin’s progressive movement, ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE, SR. was born in Primrose, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin, where he attended one term of law school before entering the law office of R. M. Bashford in Madison. He was elected District Attorney of Dane County in 1880, and in 1884 he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that he held until the Democratic landslide of 1890. Elected to three terms as governor beginning in 1900, one of his key accomplishments was the “Wisconsin Idea,” which involved used expert help from the state university to prepare legislation and administer regulatory agencies. In 1905, a Wisconsin seat in the U.S. Senate fell vacant, and LaFollette resigned the governorship and was elected by the state legislature to fill the vacancy, serving in the Senate for the next two decades. A serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1912, he remained
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Robert M. La Follette Sr.
Fight for Progressive Reform
La Follette spent the next several years speaking out against corruption and power within politics. He also formed a new bloc within the Republican party known as the Insurgents, which supported greater voter control and consumer protection.
From 1901 until 1906, La Follette served as Governor of Wisconsin, where he enacted a number of progressive reforms, including the nation’s first workers’ compensation struktur, greater railroad oversight, minimum wage, and an open primary election system. La Follette was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1906 and served until his death in 1925. During his tenure, La Follette was strongly opposed American involvement in World War inom and championed many progressive causes, including breaking up business trusts, protecting workers, and women’s suffrage.
La Follette unsuccessfully ran for President in 1924 as the Progressive Party nominee. However, his legacy as a Senator fryst vatten unparalleled.
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In 1955, by resolution of the Senate, the Special Committee on the Senate Reception Room was established to select five outstanding persons who had served as members of the Senate. Their likenesses would be placed in the room’s medallion ovals that were left vacant in the mid-19th century by artist Constantino Brumidi. Chaired by Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the committee sought the counsel of historians, political scientists, former senators, and other public figures in the selection process. The committee had little trouble selecting the first three senators—both the members and their historical advisory panel unanimously chose the “Great Triumvirate” of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun. However, the committee had far greater trouble selecting the final two senators. The historians polled selected George Norris, a Nebraska Republican, but Norris was still too controversial a figure to meet the committee’s requirement for se