Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party

Farmer–Labor Party of Minnesota
Founded	1918 (1918)
Dissolved	1944 (1944)
Merger of	Nonpartisan League Duluth Union Labor Party
Succeeded by	Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Ideology	Left-wing populism Progressivism Democratic socialism Co-operative economics
Political position	Left-wing
National affiliation	None (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)
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party (FLP) 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 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

Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party political banner atop a car, circa 1925

The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party emerged from the Non-Partisan League (NPL), which had expanded from North Dakota into Minnesota in 1918, and the Union Labor Party (ULP) of Duluth, Minnesota, which was founded in February 1918. In 1919, the NPL reorganized as the Working People's Non-Partisan League (WPNPL). In February 1920, the ULP joined the WPNPL.

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

• 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

See also: United States congressional delegations from Minnesota

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. Senate						U.S. House of Representatives
Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes	Election	Leader	Votes		Seats	Position	Control
1918	Did Not Contest					1918	Did Not Contest			0 / 10		Republican
1920	No Seat Up					1920	N/A	62,332	8.34%	0 / 10		Republican
1922	Henrik Shipstead	325,372	47.10 / 100	Elected		1922	N/A	35,551	5.58%	1 / 10	1	Republican
1923 (S)	Magnus Johnson	290,165	57.48 / 100	Elected		1924	N/A	337,035	41.48%	3 / 10	2	Republican
1924	Magnus Johnson	380,646	45.50 / 100	2nd of 5
1926	No Seat Up					1926	N/A	230,758	35.03%	2 / 10	1	Republican
1928	Henrik Shipstead	665,169	65.38 / 100	Re-elected		1928	N/A	251,126	25.84%	1 / 10	1	Republican
1930	Ernest Lundeen	178,671	22.89 / 100	3rd of 5		1930	N/A	271,599	35.75%	1 / 10		Republican
1932	No Seat Up					1932	N/A	388,616	38.75%	5 / 9	4	Farmer-Labor
1934	Henrik Shipstead	503,379	49.87 / 100	Re-elected		1934	N/A	376,927	37.86%	3 / 9	2	Republican
1936 (S)	Did Not Contest					1936	N/A	462,714	42.40%	5 / 9	2	Farmer-Labor
1936	Ernest Lundeen	663,363	62.24 / 100	Elected
1938	No Seat Up					1938	N/A	338,684	31.63%	1 / 9	4	Republican
1940	Elmer Austin Benson	310,875	25.70 / 100	2nd of 5		1940	N/A	298,250	24.74%	1 / 9		Republican
1942	Elmer Austin Benson	213,965	28.21 / 100	2nd of 4		1942	N/A	151,684	19.92%	1 / 9		Republican

Minnesota state offices

Governor						Lieutenant Governor						Attorney General
Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes	Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes	Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes
1918	David H. Evans	111,948	30.28 / 100	2nd of 5		1918	Did Not Contest					1918	Did Not Contest
1920	Did Not Contest					1920	Did Not Contest					1920	Did Not Contest
1922	Magnus Johnson	295,479	43.13 / 100	2nd of 3		1922	Arthur A. Siegler	267,417	39.59 / 100	2nd of 3		1922	Roy C. Smelker	254,715	39.41 / 100	2nd of 3
1924	Floyd B. Olson	366,029	43.84 / 100	2nd of 5		1924	Emil E. Holmes	345,633	42.86 / 100	2nd of 3		1924	Thomas V. Sullivan	342,236	42.59 / 100	2nd of 3
1926	Magnus Johnson	266,845	38.09 / 100	2nd of 3		1926	Emil E. Holmes	236,307	35.62 / 100	2nd of 3		1926	Frank McAllister	214,781	33.32 / 100	2nd of 3
1928	Ernest Lundeen	227,193	22.72 / 100	2nd of 5		1928	Thomas J. Meighen	235,133	24.96 / 100	2nd of 3		1928	C. F. Gaarenstroom	192,472	20.87 / 100	2nd of 3
1930	Floyd B. Olson	473,154	59.34 / 100	Elected		1930	Henry M. Arens	345,225	50.32 / 100	Elected		1930	Joseph B. Himsl	256,581	36.57 / 100	2nd of 3
1932	Floyd B. Olson	522,438	50.57 / 100	Re-elected		1932	Konrad K. Solberg	429,759	45.34 / 100	Elected		1932	Harry H. Peterson	379,418	39.87 / 100	Elected
1934	Floyd B. Olson	468,812	44.61 / 100	Re-elected		1934	Hjalmar Petersen	428,897	43.64 / 100	Elected		1934	Harry H. Peterson	436,140	44.89 / 100	Re-elected
1936	Elmer Austin Benson	680,342	60.74 / 100	Elected		1936	Gottfrid Lindsten	502,856	47.46 / 100	Elected		1936	Harry H. Peterson	530,815	49.62 / 100	Re-elected
1938	Elmer Austin Benson	387,263	34.18 / 100	2nd of 4		1938	John J. Kinzer	374,577	34.73 / 100	2nd of 3		1938	William S. Ervin	378,385	35.56 / 100	2nd of 3
1940	Hjalmar Petersen	459,609	36.55 / 100	2nd of 4		1940	Howard Y. Williams	305,418	26.11 / 100	2nd of 3		1940	David J. Erickson	284,337	24.35 / 100	2nd of 3
1942	Hjalmar Petersen	299,917	37.76 / 100	2nd of 5		1942	Juls J. Anderson	250,410	33.42 / 100	2nd of 3		1942	David J. Erickson	187,074	25.48 / 100	2nd of 3
Secretary of State						Treasurer						Auditor
Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes	Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes	Year	Nominee	# votes	% votes	Place	Notes
1918	Did Not Contest					1918	Did Not Contest					1918	Did Not Contest
1920	Lily J. Anderson	193,658	26.37 / 100	2nd of 5		1920	John P. Wagner	191,429	26.19 / 100	2nd of 4		1920	Seat Not Up
1922	Susie Williamson Stageberg	247,757	37.37 / 100	2nd of 3		1922	Frank H. Keyes	294,102	46.39 / 100	2nd of 2		1922	Eliza Evans Deming	253,913	39.60 / 100	2nd of 3
1924	Susie Williamson Stageberg	288,946	35.75 / 100	2nd of 3		1924	Carl M. "C. M." Berg	322,585	40.67 / 100	2nd of 3		1924	Seat Not Up
1926	Charles Olson	217,424	32.60 / 100	2nd of 2		1926	Thomas J. Meighen	244,861	38.89 / 100	2nd of 2		1926	S. O. Tjosvold	218,074	34.52 / 100	2nd of 2
1928	Susie Williamson Stageberg	178,096	18.41 / 100	2nd of 3		1928	Peter J. Seberger	205,228	21.95 / 100	2nd of 3		1928	Seat Not Up
1930	Anna Olson Determan	209,596	27.36 / 100	2nd of 4		1930	Frederick B. Miller	271,286	37.41 / 100	2nd of 3		1930	Henry Teigan	260,272	35.96 / 100	2nd of 3
1932	John T. Lyons	342,496	34.79 / 100	2nd of 4		1932	Albert H. Kleffman	360,498	37.72 / 100	2nd of 3		1932	Seat Not Up
1934	Konrad K. Solberg	359,322	35.46 / 100	2nd of 4		1934	Albert H. Kleffman	377,472	38.78 / 100	2nd of 3		1934	John T. Lyons	379,654	38.69 / 100	2nd of 3
1936	Paul C. Hartig	426,668	39.16 / 100	2nd of 4		1936	C. A. Halverson	468,713	43.79 / 100	Elected		1936	Seat Not Up
1938	Paul A. Rasmussen	328,474	29.81 / 100	2nd of 3		1938	C. A. Halverson	378,160	35.27 / 100	2nd of 3		1938	John T. Lyons	364,636	33.98 / 100	2nd of 3
1940	James I. Heller	230,148	19.07 / 100	2nd of 3		1940	C. A. Halverson	296,477	25.25 / 100	2nd of 3		1940	Seat Not Up
1942	Daniel D. Collins	146,825	19.07 / 100	2nd of 3		1942	Charles J. Johnson	183,458	24.78 / 100	2nd of 3		1942	Did Not Contest

See also

• Non-Partisan League
• New Deal coalition

Further reading

• Benson, Elmer A. "Politics in My Lifetime." Minnesota History 47 (1980): 154-60. online
• Delton, Jennifer. Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party (2002) focus on how Humphrey used race issue to take over FLP..
• Garlid, George W. "The Antiwar Dilemma of the Farmer-Labor Party." Minnesota History (1967): 365-374. in JSTOR
• Gieske, Millard L. Minnesota Farmer-Laborism: The Third-Party Alternative (1979) 389pp
• Haynes, John Earl. Dubious alliance: the making of Minnesota's DFL Party (U of Minnesota Press, 1984)
• Haynes, John Earl. "Farm Coops and the Election of Hubert Humphrey to the Senate." Agricultural History (1983): 201-211. in JSTOR
• Haynes, John Earl. "The new history of the communist party in state politics: The implications for mainstream political history." Labor History (1986) 27#4 pp: 549-563.
• Hyman, Colette A. "Culture as Strategy: Popular Front Politics and the Minneapolis Theatre Union, 1935-39." Minnesota History (1991): 294-306. in JSTOR
• Lovin, Hugh T. "The Fall of Farmer-Labor Parties, 1936-1938." Pacific Northwest Quarterly (1971): 16-26. in JSTOR
• McCoy, Donald R. Angry voices: Left-of-center politics in the New Deal era (1958; reprint 2012)
• Mayer, George H. The Political Career of Floyd B. Olson (1987)
• Mitau, G. Theodore. "The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Schism of 1948." Minnesota History (1955): 187-194. in JSTOR
• Naftalin, Arthur. "The Tradition of Protest and the Roots of the Farmer-Labor Party." Minnesota History 35.2 (1956): 53-63. online
• Rude, Leslie G. "The rhetoric of farmer‐labor agitators." Communication Studies 20.4 (1969): 280-285.
• Sofchalk, Donald G. "Union and Ethnic Group Influence in the 1938 Election on the Minnesota Iron Ranges." Journal of the West (2003) 42#3 pp: 66-74.
• Valelly, Richard M. Radicalism in the States: The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and the American Political Economy (University of Chicago Press, 1989)

External links

• Article on the Minnesota Farmer–Labor party from The Progressive Populist
• Minnesota Farmer–Labor
• Farmer–Labor information page
• The Farmer Labor Party 1918–1924 Organizational history of attempts to form a national Farmer–Labor Party. Marxist Internet Archive. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
• TOWARD THE COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH: AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORY OF THE FARMER–LABOR MOVEMENT IN MINNESOTA (1917–1948). 232 page online copy of Thomas Gerald O'Connell's 1979 Phd thesis from The Union Institute.
• Luoma, Everett E.: The Farmer Takes A Holiday. Exposition Press, 1967.