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Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party

Former American political party (1918–1944)

Former American political party (1918–1944)

FieldValue
nameFarmer–Labor Party of Minnesota
logoFile:Farmer-Labor Party Ballot logo.jpg
foundation
dissolution
ideologyCo-operative commonwealth
Left-wing populismAttributed to multiple sources:{{bulleted list
* {{cite booklast1Hudelsonfirst1=Richardlast2=Rossfirst2=Carlpublication-date=2006title=By the ore docks : a working people's history of Duluth.url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F865CRqof1oClocation=Minnesotapublisher=University of Minnesota Pressisbn=978-0-8166-9760-1oclc=320324829access-date=2025-02-26}}
* {{cite weblastCallaghanfirst=Peterdate=2019-09-18title=As the DFL marks its 75th anniversary, do the party's Farmer-Labor roots still mean anything?url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2019/09/as-the-dfl-marks-its-75th-anniversary-do-the-partys-farmer-labor-roots-still-mean-anything/website=minnpost.comlocation=Minnesotapublisher=MinnPostaccess-date=2025-02-26quote=Though the state’s dominant political force at the time was the Republican Party, the populist Farmer-Labor Party had managed to do better than the Democrats… But the Farmer-Labor party wasn’t formed to represent agricultural interests or rural interests. Rather, it was founded as a populist party with a socialist flavor, one that grew out of the Nonpartisan League, an effort by small farmers to fight the power of the grain conglomerates and the railroads, wrote Augsburg University professor Michael J. Lansing in his history of the movement, “Insurgent Democracy.”}}
* {{cite weblastO’Connellfirst=Tomtitle=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944website=mnopedia.orglocation=Minnesotapublisher=MNOPEDIAaccess-date=2025-02-26quote=The FLP movement continues to influence Minnesota politics. Its progressive populism led to the liberalism of such DFL leaders as Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Eugene McCarthy.}}
* {{cite webdate2024-11-05title=La Follette lost 100 years ago, but his progressivism lives onurl= https://captimes.com/opinion/john-nichols/opinion-la-follette-lost-100-years-ago-but-his-progressivism-lives-on/article_55c93ca6-9ad6-11ef-9677-73580077e957.htmlaccess-date=2025-01-14publisher=The Cap Timesarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211211147/https://captimes.com/opinion/john-nichols/opinion-la-follette-lost-100-years-ago-but-his-progressivism-lives-on/article_55c93ca6-9ad6-11ef-9677-73580077e957.htmlarchive-date=11 December 2024language=en-USquote= In fact, the program that La Follette ran on — taxing the rich, cracking down on Wall Street abuses, empowering workers to organize unions, defending small farmers, breaking up corporate trusts, strengthening public utilities — fueled a resurgence of left-wing populist movements across the upper Midwest: the Non-Partisan League of North Dakota, the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota and the Progressive Party of Wisconsin.}}
* {{cite weblastGreeleyfirst=Patrickdate=2024-11-11title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populismurl=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walzwebsite=Jacobin.compublisher=Jacobinaccess-date=2025-03-21quote=The story of Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party in the early 20th century is instructive for the Left, especially in light of this week’s election results… The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) is one of only two state-level parties affiliated nationally with the Democratic Party to use a unique name. The other is the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party. These two parties actually share a common history, and this history explains the reasons for the distinction. Now, decades later, these names are all that remains of that history and of the populist movement that once flourished in the upper Midwest… As the party merged into the Democratic machine, its populist energies were chewed up and spat out. As the DFL’s star ascended, the populist elements that had made up the Farmer-Labor Party became a distant memory.}}
* {{cite weblastSavickifirst=Drewdate=2020-08-10title=The Road to 270: Minnesotaurl=https://www.270towin.com/news/2020/08/10/the-road-270-minnesota_1080.htmlwebsite=270towin.comlocation=Minnesotaaccess-date=2025-04-16quote=In the 1920s, members of the national left-wing populist movement called the Nonpartisan League stood for election under a new banner, the Farmer Labor Party.}}
* {{cite weblastPaxtonfirst=Gabrieldate=2024-09-26title=Who is Tim Walz? Understanding the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party can help make sense of the VP candidateurl=https://theconversation.com/who-is-tim-walz-understanding-the-minnesota-democratic-farmer-labor-party-can-help-make-sense-of-the-vp-candidate-239027website=Theconversation.compublisher=The Conversationquote=Like Walz, this movement took a populist stance against political and economic elites. This Farmer-Labor tradition, in many ways, is a foil to the conservative-populism that is popular today. Unlike Trump’s appeal to middle America, this Minnesota brand of populism was not an attempt to save white Christian manhood. Instead, it was a genuine recognition that working people – especially those in middle America – needed to actively push back against economic inequality and forces that threatened the middle class.access-date=2025-02-26}}
}}</ref><br>Progressivism{{refn<ref>{{cite weblastO’Connellfirst=Tomtitle=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944website=mnopedia.orglocation=Minnesotapublisher=MNOPEDIAaccess-date=2025-02-26quote=Minnesota's Farmer-Labor Party (FLP) represents one of the most successful progressive third-party coalitions in American history.}}}}
Social democracy
Laborism
Anti-capitalism
Factions:
Socialism
Isolationism}}
positionLeft-wing{{bulleted list
* {{cite weblastO’Connellfirst=Tomtitle=Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944url=https://www.mnopedia.org/minnesota-farmer-labor-party-1924-1944website=mnopedia.orglocation=Minnesotapublisher=MNOPEDIAaccess-date=2025-02-26quote=The FLP developed a political viewpoint that was to the left of both the New Deal of the 1930s and the Democratic Party of the early 2000s.}}
* {{cite journallastYoungdalefirst=James M.date=1986title=Populism, Democracy and Paradigm Shifturl=https://rauli.cbs.dk/index.php/assc/article/download/1189/1190/4043journal=American Studies in Scandinaviavolume=18pages=42access-date=2025-03-21quote=[…], but still radicalism remained implicit in their planks as they gravitated toward being a left wing of the New Deal.}}
* {{cite weblastGreeleyfirst=Patrickdate=2024-11-11title=The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populismurl=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/minnesota-dfl-midwest-populism-walzwebsite=Jacobin.compublisher=Jacobinaccess-date=2025-04-15quote=Leaders reasoned that it made little sense for two left-leaning minority parties to continue struggling with one another with little chance of overcoming their Republican opponents in the near term.}}
* {{cite thesislastHaalafirst=Corydate=2020title=The Progressive Center: Midwestern Liberalism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/928/degree=Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)location=Wisconsinpublisher=Marquette Universityaccess-date=2025-04-16quote=In the majority of these states, during either the 1890s or interwar years, left-wing third-party movements—the Populist Party, Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, North Dakota Nonpartisan League, and Wisconsin Progressive Party}}
* {{cite weblastMaisanofirst=Chrisdate=2020-06-12title=Labor Party in the USAurl=https://jacobin.com/2020/06/labor-party-in-the-usa-workers-party-historywebsite=Jacobin.compublisher=Jacobinaccess-date=2025-04-28}}
nationalNone (1918–1919)
Labor Party of the United States (1919–1920)
Farmer–Labor Party of the United States (1920–1923)
Federated Farmer–Labor Party (1923–1924)
Farmer–Labor Party of the United States (1924–1936)
None (1936–1944)
mergerNonpartisan League
Duluth Union Labor Party
successorMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
colorcode
countrythe United States

Left-wing populismAttributed to multiple sources:{{bulleted list|

Labor Party of the United States (1919–1920) Farmer–Labor Party of the United States (1920–1923) Federated Farmer–Labor Party (1923–1924) Farmer–Labor Party of the United States (1924–1936) None (1936–1944) Duluth Union Labor Party The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party (FLP), officially known as the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota, was a left-wing American political party in Minnesota between 1918 and 1944. The FLP largely dominated Minnesota politics during the Great Depression. It was one of the most successful statewide third party movements in United States history and the longest-lasting and most fruitful affiliate of the national Farmer–Labor movement. At its height in the 1920s and 1930s, FLP members included three Minnesota governors, four United States senators, eight United States representatives and a majority in the Minnesota legislature.

In 1944, Hubert H. Humphrey and Elmer Benson worked to merge the party with the state's Democratic Party, forming the contemporary Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.

History

The FLP ran on a platform of farmer and labor union protection, government ownership of certain industries, and social security laws.

In 1936, the FLP was informally allied with the New Deal coalition and supported the reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt was building a national coalition and wanted a solid base in Minnesota, where the Democrats were a weak third party. Roosevelt had a deal with Governor Olson whereby the FLP would get federal patronage, and in turn the FLP would work to block a third-party ticket against Roosevelt in 1936.

One of the primary obstacles of the party, besides constant vilification on the pages of local and state newspapers, was the difficulty of uniting the party's divergent base and maintaining political union between rural farmers and urban laborers who often had little in common other than the populist perception that they were an oppressed class of hardworking producers exploited by a small elite. A powerful pro-Communist element wanted fusion during World War II to ensure solidarity between the USSR and the USA, as partners against the Nazis.

According to political scientist George Mayer:

The farmer approached problems as a proprietor or petty capitalist. Relief to him meant a mitigation of conditions that interfered with successful farming. It involved such things as tax reduction, easier access to credit, and a floor under farm prices. His individualist psychology did not create scruples against government aid, but he welcomed it only as long as it improved agricultural conditions. When official paternalism took the form of public works or the dole, he openly opposed it because assistance on such terms forced him to abandon his chosen profession, to submerge his individuality in the labor crew, and to suffer the humiliation of the bread line. Besides, a public works program required increased revenue, and since the state relied heavily on the property tax, the cost of the program seemed likely to fall primarily on him. At the opposite end of the seesaw sat the city worker, who sought relief from the hunger, exposure, and disease that followed the wake of unemployment. Dependent on an impersonal industrial machine, he had sloughed off the frontier tradition of individualism for the more serviceable doctrine of cooperation through trade unionism. Unlike the depressed farmer, the unemployed worker often had no property or economic stake to protect. He was largely immune to taxation and had nothing to lose by backing proposals to dilute property rights or redistribute the wealth. Driven by the primitive instinct to survive, the worker demanded financial relief measures from the state.

The New Deal farm programs made the American Farm Bureau Federation the main organization for farmers. It was hostile to the FLP, leaving the FLP without power regarding farm economics.

The Minnesota Democratic Party, led by Hubert Humphrey, was able to absorb the Farmer–Labor Party on April 15, 1944, creating the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Humphrey and his team expelled the Communist element from the new organization.

Notable members

The 1922 Farmer–Labor Convention, held in Minneapolis

Governors of Minnesota

  • Floyd B. Olson (1931–1936)
  • Hjalmar Petersen (1936–1937)
  • Elmer Austin Benson (1937–1939)

Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota

  • Henry M. Arens (1931–1933)
  • Konrad K. Solberg (1933–1935)
  • Hjalmar Petersen (1935–1936)
  • Gottfrid Lindsten (1937–1939)

Attorneys General of Minnesota

  • Harry H. Peterson (1933–1936)
  • William S. Ervin (1936–1939)

Minnesota State Treasurers

  • C. A. Halverson (1937–1939)

United States Senators

  • Henrik Shipstead (1923–1941); later became a Republican
  • Magnus Johnson (1923–1925)
  • Elmer Austin Benson (1935–1937)
  • Ernest Lundeen (1937–1940)

United States Representatives

  • Charles August Lindbergh (1907–1917) (elected as a Republican)
  • William Leighton Carss (1919–1921, 1925–1929)
  • Ole J. Kvale (1923–1929)
  • Knud Wefald (1923–1927)
  • Paul John Kvale (1929–1939)
  • Henry M. Arens (1933–1935)
  • Magnus Johnson (1933–1935)
  • Ernest Lundeen (1933–1937); had previously served as a Republican Representative (1915–1917), also served in the Senate
  • Francis Shoemaker (1933–1935)
  • Rich T. Buckler (1935–1943)
  • John T. Bernard (1937–1939)
  • Dewey Johnson (1937–1939)
  • Henry Teigan (1937–1939)
  • Harold Hagen (1943–1955); served as a Republican after 1945

Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives

  • Charles Munn (1933–1935)
  • Harold H. Barker (1937–1939)

Minnesota State Legislators

  • Samuel H. Bellman (1935–1938)
  • Willard F. Bennett (1933–1943)
  • Myrtle Cain (1923–1924)
  • John W. Cox (1935–1938)
  • Andrew Olaf Devold (1915–1918, 1919–1926, 1931–1939)

Local Politicians

  • William A. Anderson, Mayor of Minneapolis (1931–1933)
  • Thomas E. Latimer, Mayor of Minneapolis (1935–1937)
  • William Mahoney, Mayor of St. Paul (1932–1934)

Other members

  • Nellie Stone Johnson, civil rights activist
  • Thomas Van Lear, former mayor of Minneapolis
  • Walter Liggett, journalist
  • Willard Munger, future state legislator
  • Susie Williamson Stageberg, called the "Mother of Farmer-Labor"

Electoral history

Federal offices

U.S. SenateU.S. House of RepresentativesYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceElectionLeaderVotesSeatsPositionControl1918191819201920192219221923 (S)192419261926192819281930193019321932193419341936 (S)1936193819381940194019421942
Did Not ContestDid Not Contest
No Seat UpN/A62,3328.34%
Henrik Shipstead325,372ElectedN/A35,5515.58%1
Magnus Johnson290,165Elected1924N/A337,03541.48%2Republican}}
Magnus Johnson380,6462nd of 5
No Seat UpN/A230,75835.03%1
Henrik Shipstead665,169Re-electedN/A251,12625.84%1
Ernest Lundeen178,6713rd of 5N/A271,59935.75%
No Seat UpN/A388,61638.75%4
Henrik Shipstead503,379Re-electedN/A376,92737.86%2
Did Not Contest1936N/A462,71442.40%2Farmer-Labor}}
Ernest Lundeen663,363Elected
No Seat UpN/A338,68431.63%4
Elmer Austin Benson310,8752nd of 5N/A298,25024.74%
Elmer Austin Benson213,9652nd of 4N/A151,68419.92%

Minnesota state offices

GovernorLieutenant GovernorAttorney GeneralYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceSecretary of StateTreasurerAuditorYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceYearNominee# votes% votesPlaceYearNominee# votes% votesPlace
1918David H. Evans111,9482nd of 51918Did Not Contest1918Did Not Contest
1920Did Not Contest1920Did Not Contest1920Did Not Contest
1922Magnus Johnson295,4792nd of 31922Arthur A. Siegler267,4172nd of 31922Roy C. Smelker254,7152nd of 3
1924Floyd B. Olson366,0292nd of 51924Emil E. Holmes345,6332nd of 31924Thomas V. Sullivan342,2362nd of 3
1926Magnus Johnson266,8452nd of 31926Emil E. Holmes236,3072nd of 31926Frank McAllister214,7812nd of 3
1928Ernest Lundeen227,1932nd of 51928Thomas J. Meighen235,1332nd of 31928C. F. Gaarenstroom192,4722nd of 3
1930Floyd B. Olson473,154Elected1930Henry M. Arens345,225Elected1930Joseph B. Himsl256,5812nd of 3
1932Floyd B. Olson522,438Re-elected1932Konrad K. Solberg429,759Elected1932Harry H. Peterson379,418Elected
1934Floyd B. Olson468,812Re-elected1934Hjalmar Petersen428,897Elected1934Harry H. Peterson436,140Re-elected
1936Elmer Austin Benson680,342Elected1936Gottfrid Lindsten502,856Elected1936Harry H. Peterson530,815Re-elected
1938Elmer Austin Benson387,2632nd of 41938John J. Kinzer374,5772nd of 31938William S. Ervin378,3852nd of 3
1940Hjalmar Petersen459,6092nd of 41940Howard Y. Williams305,4182nd of 31940David J. Erickson284,3372nd of 3
1942Hjalmar Petersen299,9172nd of 51942Juls J. Anderson250,4102nd of 31942David J. Erickson187,0742nd of 3
1918Did Not Contest1918Did Not Contest1918Did Not Contest
1920Lily J. Anderson193,6582nd of 51920John P. Wagner191,4292nd of 41920Seat Not Up
1922Susie Williamson Stageberg247,7572nd of 31922Frank H. Keyes294,1022nd of 21922Eliza Evans Deming253,9132nd of 3
1924Susie Williamson Stageberg288,9462nd of 31924Carl M. "C. M." Berg322,5852nd of 31924Seat Not Up
1926Charles Olson217,4242nd of 21926Thomas J. Meighen244,8612nd of 21926S. O. Tjosvold218,0742nd of 2
1928Susie Williamson Stageberg178,0962nd of 31928Peter J. Seberger205,2282nd of 31928Seat Not Up
1930Anna Olson Determan209,5962nd of 41930Frederick B. Miller271,2862nd of 31930Henry Teigan260,2722nd of 3
1932John T. Lyons342,4962nd of 41932Albert H. Kleffman360,4982nd of 31932Seat Not Up
1934Konrad K. Solberg359,3222nd of 41934Albert H. Kleffman377,4722nd of 31934John T. Lyons379,6542nd of 3
1936Paul C. Hartig426,6682nd of 41936C. A. Halverson468,713Elected1936Seat Not Up
1938Paul A. Rasmussen328,4742nd of 31938C. A. Halverson378,1602nd of 31938John T. Lyons364,6362nd of 3
1940James I. Heller230,1482nd of 31940C. A. Halverson296,4772nd of 31940Seat Not Up
1942Daniel D. Collins146,8252nd of 31942Charles J. Johnson183,4582nd of 31942Did Not Contest

References

References

  1. O’Connell, Tom. "Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944". MNOPEDIA.
  2. O’Connell, Tom. (2018-09-06). "Minnesota Farmer-Laborism: One hundred years old". Southside Pride.
  3. J. Lee, Anders. (2023-03-27). "How Hubert H. Humphrey Purged the DFL of Socialists". The Racket.
  4. O’Connell, Tom. "Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, 1924–1944". MNOPEDIA.
  5. (2023). "FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE". FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
  6. "ABOUT FARMER-LABOR MOVEMENT: A MINNESOTA STORY". Twin Cities PBS.
  7. Dreier, Peter. (2011-04-11). "La Follette's Wisconsin Idea". University of Pennsylvania Press.
  8. Staff Writer. (2016-10-29). "Answer Man: Historic hotel has link to White House run". Associated Press.
  9. Paxton, Gabriel. (2024-09-26). "Who is Tim Walz? Understanding the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party can help make sense of the VP candidate". [[The Conversation (website).
  10. (2012). "Social democracy after the cold war". AU Press.
  11. Stec, Andy. (2018-12-06). "A new Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party". The Oracle.
  12. Erlandson, Henry. (2020-01-25). "Why is Minnesota's Democratic Party called the DFL?". Star Tribune.
  13. Callaghan, Peter. (2019-09-18). "As the DFL marks its 75th anniversary, do the party's Farmer-Labor roots still mean anything?". MinnPost.
  14. Mucaj, Rudin. (May 2022). "THE GOSPEL OF LABOR: HOW EVANGELICALISM SHAPED IMMIGRANT WORKERS' UNIONISM, AND BECAME THE FOUNDATION OF THE MINNESOTA FARMER-LABOR PARTY, 1800 TO 1917.". Kent State University.
  15. Greeley, Patrick. (2024-11-11). "The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism". Jacobin.
  16. Starr, Joseph R.. (June 1936). "Labor and Farmer Groups and Three-Party System". [[JSTOR]].
  17. (2016). "The Minnesota Farm-Labor Party: The Role of Third Parties in the Americanization of European Labor Radicals in the Great Lakes Region Region". Northern Michigan University's Center for Upper Peninsula Studies.
  18. Wright, Scott. (2022). "Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota". [[EBSCO Information Services.
  19. Paxton, Gabriel. (2024-09-26). "Who is Tim Walz? Understanding the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party can help make sense of the VP candidate". [[The Conversation (website).
  20. Youngdale, James M.. (1986). "Populism, Democracy and Paradigm Shift". American Studies in Scandinavia.
  21. Delton, Jennifer Alice. (2002). "Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party". University of Minnesota Press.
  22. Greeley, Patrick. (2024-11-11). "The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism". Jacobin.
  23. Savicki, Drew. (2020-08-10). "The Road to 270: Minnesota".
  24. (2023). "FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE". FARMER-LABOR EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
  25. "ABOUT FARMER-LABOR MOVEMENT: A MINNESOTA STORY". Twin Cities PBS.
  26. Staff Writer. (2016-10-29). "Answer Man: Historic hotel has link to White House run". Associated Press.
  27. "FLA 1934 Platform".
  28. "Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters".
  29. "The Rise and Fall of Midwest Populism".
  30. "Labor Party in the USA".
  31. (2016-10-29). "Answer Man: Historic hotel has link to White House run".
  32. "Farmer Labor Party". Spartacus.
  33. (2006). "By the Ore Docks: A Working People's History of Duluth". University of Minnesota Press.
  34. William E. Leuchtenburg, ''Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940'' (1963) p. 190.
  35. James S. Olson, ed. ''Historical Dictionary of the New Deal'' (1985) pp 164-165.
  36. Clifford Edward Clark, ed. ''Minnesota in a Century of Change: The State and its People since 1900'' (1989). pp 375–379.
  37. Arnold A. Offner, ''Hubert Humphrey: The Conscience of the Country'' (Yale University Press, 2018) pp. 25, 40–43.
  38. George H. Mayer, ''The Political Career of Floyd B. Olson'', (Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1987) 86-87.
  39. Richard M Valelly, ''Radicalism in the states : the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and the American political economy'' (1989) p. 15.
  40. Hubert H. Humphrey, ''The Education of a Public Man. My Life and Politics'' (1976) pp 84-85.
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