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Book/Printed Material La Follette's autobiography; a personal narrative of political experiences,

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About this Item

Title

  • La Follette's autobiography; a personal narrative of political experiences,

Summary

  • The autobiography of Robert La Follette (1855-1925) traces the political life and accomplishments of this eminent Republican politician from his election as district attorney for Dane County, Wisconsin in 1880 to the presidential campaign of 1912, when his bid to dislodge President William Howard Taft was pushed aside by former president Theodore Roosevelt on the Progressive Party's national ticket. The book emphasizes tactics, strategies, and coalition-building as well as La Follette's assessments of various local and national public figures. We learn little about La Follette's childhood, education, legal training or family life, although he does pay tribute to his wife, a lawyer and civic reformer in her own right. La Follette served three terms in Congress (1885-1891); and after a decade of private law practice and grassroots activism, was elected Wisconsin's governor (1900-1904). From 1905 until his death, La Follette was a senator. He crusaded at state and national level against powerful, unregulated business interests--especially the railroads--which he felt exerted undue influence upon government. He also championed open primary elections, equitable taxation of corporations, and public management of public resources by highly qualified, non-partisan public servants. While many of these influential reforms were instituted at the state level during his governorship, his contribution in the Senate may have had less to do with his legislative record than with his ability to rally forces around well-articulated programs.

Names

  • La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855-1925.

Created / Published

  • Madison, Wis., The Robert M. La Follette Co., 1913.

Headings

  • -  United States--Politics and government--1909-1913
  • -  Wisconsin--Politics and government--1848-1950
  • -  Presidents--United States--Election--1912

Medium

  • xii, 807, [1] p. front., plates, ports., facsim. 21 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • E664.L16 L16

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 13007510

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions in the materials in the Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910 materials. The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, General Collections and Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

Further copyright information is also available at American Memory and Copyright.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

La Follette, Robert M. La Follette's autobiography; a personal narrative of political experiences. Madison, Wis., The Robert M. La Follette Co, 1913. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/13007510/.

APA citation style:

La Follette, R. M. (1913) La Follette's autobiography; a personal narrative of political experiences. Madison, Wis., The Robert M. La Follette Co. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/13007510/.

MLA citation style:

La Follette, Robert M. La Follette's autobiography; a personal narrative of political experiences. Madison, Wis., The Robert M. La Follette Co, 1913. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/13007510/>.