Nancy C. Unger - Belle La Follette: Progressive Era Reformer

On August 20, 1931, the New York Times hailed Belle Case La Follette as probably the least known yet most influential of all the American women who have had to do with public affairs. A dedicated advocate for womens suffrage, peace, and other causes, she served as a key advisor to her husband, leading Progressive politician Robert La Follette. She also wielded considerable influence through her own speeches and journalism, as when she opposed racism by speaking out against the segregation of the federal government under President Woodrow Wilson.

In a concise, lively, and engaging narrative, Nancy C. Unger shows how Belle La Follette uniquely contributed to progressive reform, as well as the ways her work was typical of womenand progressivesof her time. Supported by primary documents and a robust companion website, this book introduces students of American history to an extraordinary woman and the era of progressive reform.

Nancy C. Unger is Professor of History at Santa Clara University. She is the author of Beyond Natures Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History and Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer.

S eries E ditor: P aul F inkelman

Routledge Historical Americans is a series of short, vibrant biographies that illuminate the lives of Americans who have had an impact on the world. Each book includes a brief overview of the persons life and puts that person into historical context through essential primary documents, written both by the subjects and about them. A series website supports the books, containing extra images and documents, links to further research, and where possible, multimedia sources on the subjects. Perfect for including in any course on American History, the books in the Routledge Historical Americans series show the impact everyday people can have on the course of history.

Woody Guthrie: Writing Americas Songs

Ronald D. Cohen

Frederick Douglass: Reformer and Statesman

L. Diane Barnes

Thurgood Marshall: Race, Rights, and the Struggle for a More Perfect Union

Charles L. Zelden

Harry S. Truman: The Coming of the Cold War

Nicole L. Anslover

John Winthrop: Founding the City upon a Hill

Michael Parker

John F. Kennedy: The Spirit of Cold War Liberalism

Jason K. Duncan

Bill Clinton: Building a Bridge to the New Millennium

David H. Bennett

Ronald Reagan: Champion of Conservative America

James H. Broussard

Laura Ingalls Wilder: American Writer on the Prairie

Sallie Ketcham

Benjamin Franklin: American Founder, Atlantic Citizen

Nathan R. Kozuskanich

Brigham Young: Sovereign in America

David Vaughn Mason

Mary Lincoln: Southern Girl, Northern Woman

Stacy Pratt McDermott

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Civil War Soldier, Supreme Court Justice

Susan-Mary Grant

Belle La Follette: Progressive Era Reformer

Nancy C. Unger

Harriet Tubman: Slavery, the Civil War, and Civil Rights in the Nineteenth Century

Kristen T. Oertel

Nancy C. Unger

First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

And by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2016 Taylor & Francis

The right of Nancy C. Unger to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Unger, Nancy C.
Belle La Follette : progressive era reformer / Nancy C. Unger.
pages cm. (Routledge historical Americans)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.La Follette, Belle Case, 18591931.2.Legislators spousesUnited States
Biography.3.SuffragistsUnited StatesBiography.4.FeministsUnited
StatesBiography.5.La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 18551925.
6.Progressivism (United States politics)History20th century.I.Title.
E664.L155U54 2015
305.42092dc23
[B]
2015008160

ISBN: 978-1-138-77976-1 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-77977-8 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-77105-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Minion and Scala Sans
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

For my mother

Eunice M. Unger

Writing this book was a joy. My gratitude knows no bounds for the faith Routledge editor Kimberly Guinta and series editor Paul Finkelman placed in Belle La Follettes story (and in me). The anonymous readers reports they garnered on the original proposal were enormously helpful and encouraging. Paul cast his keen editorial eye on the manuscript and improved it in important ways. My thanks to Santa Clara University for a course release and generous grant that allowed me to revisit the La Follette Family Collection in the Library of Congress in the spring of 2014. The staff at the Library of Congress is superb, and I am especially indebted to Barbara Natanson in the Prints and Photographs Division. Im also grateful to John Buenker, Naomi Andrews, and Joshua Maricich for their careful reading of this manuscript, and for their thoughtful contributions and enthusiastic support. Christopher McKnight Nichols, despite the press of many other obligations, generously brought his considerable expertise to Chapter Five. My husband Don Whitebread, whos been forced to live with the La Follettes as unofficial members of our marriage, remains unstinting in his encouragement as well as commentary. Mary Whisner, editor extraordinaire, brought her magic as well to every chapter. The History Departments office manager Judy Gillette, and student workers Michaela Ahlstrom and Allison Byrne, provided printouts and meticulous transcriptions of scans of the original documents. Gloria Hofer provided brilliant technical assistance. Maggie Stich carried out research, bringing back valuable documents from Wisconsin, and Mary Stieve sent the results of important research as well. At Routledge, Genevieve Aoki expertly shepherded this manuscript throughout the entire process from proposal through publication. Thanks also to my students, especially in my womens history classes and the Progressive Era seminar, for their interest in the La Follettes and enthusiasm for progressive reform.

Words that appear in italics were emphasized in the original. Misspellings and typos have been corrected, and punctuation added for the sake of clarity.