Wisconsin’s political conditions were very conducive for socialist advance in the early twentieth century. After World War I, the Wisconsin Democratic Party disappeared, for all intents and purposes, at the state level due to the party’s support for the war.
Wisconsin Republicans experienced constant ideological factionalism between a progressive wing, led by Robert La Follette Sr, and a conservative wing. Always on the lookout for opportunities, socialists frequently sided with the progressive wing of the Republican Party and brokered deals with their new allies to advance their agenda. Socialists and progressive Republicans created their own de facto caucus to seize control of the state’s legislative agenda from the more conservative members.
Wisconsin socialists found immediate success in the statehouse by being willing to work with their allies, as well as knowing when to play hardball. The first socialist-authored bills signed into law came in 1905. One bill mandated that married women receive their paychecks themselves, instead of employers sending them to husbands. The other bills focused on workplace safety, improving air quality in factories, and raising the number of workplace-safety inspectors.
These legislative achievements do not appear radical on their face, but they meant something to the socialists’ working-class constituents who called for those reforms. As socialists achieved tangible results, no matter how small, they proved to their supporters that they would fight for change. Socialist voters rewarded the effort by sending elected socialists to the statehouse for forty years.
Wisconsin socialists’ pragmatic governing style meant they would help shape and vote for Republican-authored bills as well. In 1911, socialists worked with progressive Republicans to approve sweeping reforms demanded by the state’s labor movement, including shorter working hours and a workmen’s compensation program. The creation of workmen’s compensation was notable because the idea started as a socialist bill written by Frederick Brockhausen, state representative and secretary of the Wisconsin State Federation of Labor (WSFL), in 1905. Six years later, Republicans embraced workmen’s compensation, which ensured its passage alongside socialist votes.
The socialists’ close relationship with progressive Republicans allowed the Socialist Party to apply political pressure through tangible threats. Socialists knew that progressive Republicans needed socialist votes to pass their proposals, so the socialist caucus would threaten to withhold their votes unless Republican leaders supported some socialist bills in return. For example, Republican governor John Blaine ran as a champion of the labor movement during the 1924 elections.