Belle La Follette

BELLE LA FOLLETTE 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 women’s 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 gov- ernment 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 women—and progressives—of her time. Supported by primary documents and a robust companion website, this book intro- duces 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 Nature’s Housekeepers: American Women in Environmen- tal History and Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer. ROUTLEDGE HISTORICAL AMERICANS SERIES EDITOR: PAUL FINKELMAN 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 person’s 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, con- taining 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 Ameri- cans series show the impact everyday people can have on the course of history. Woody Guthrie: Writing America’s 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 This page intentionally left blank BELLE LA FOLLETTE PROGRESSIVE ERA REFORMER NANCY C. UNGER 6241-959-Finalpass-0FM.indd 5 7/20/2015 8:26:18 PM www.routledge.com/cw/HistoricalAmericans 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, 1859–1931. 2. Legislators’ spouses—United States— Biography. 3. Suffragists—United States—Biography. 4. Feminists—United States—Biography. 5. La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855–1925. 6. Progressivism (United States politics)—History—20th century. I. Title. E664.L155U54 2015 305.42092—dc23 [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 6241-959-Finalpass-0FM.indd 6 7/20/2015 8:26:18 PM For my mother Eunice M. Unger This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Acknowledgments and a Note on Sources xi Abbreviations in Notes xiii Introduction “One of the Nation’s Greatest Women” 1 PART I Belle La Follette 9 Chapter 1 The Making of a Feminist 11 Chapter 2 Seeking Balance: Marriage, Motherhood, and the Challenges of Progressive Womanhood 32 Chapter 3 The Flowering of a Progressive: Journalist and Suffrage Leader 58 Chapter 4 “The Successor to Harriet Beecher Stowe” 88 Chapter 5 Champion of World Peace and Disarmament 116 Chapter 6 Ensuring a Legacy 142 PART II Documents 161 Index 195 This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND A NOTE ON SOURCES 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 Follette’s 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. I’m 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, who’s 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 extraor- dinaire, brought her magic as well to every chapter. The History Depart- ment’s 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 women’s history classes xii • Acknowledgments and a Note on Sources 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. Misspell- ings and typos have been corrected, and punctuation added for the sake of clarity. ABBREVIATIONS IN NOTES APB Albert Barton Papers BCL Belle Case La Follette FL Fola La Follette LFP La Follette Family Papers, Library of Congress LM La Follette’s Magazine ML Mary La Follette PFL Philip Fox La Follette RLP Robert La Follette Papers RML Robert M. La Follette RML, Jr. Robert M. La Follette, Jr. WHS Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin WW Woodrow Wilson This page intentionally left blank “One of the Nation’s Greatest Women” introduction “One of the Nation’s Greatest Women” When Belle Case La Follette died in 1931 at the age of seventy-two, newspa- pers across the nation carried the story on their front page. Many of the tributes featured variations of one paper’s prediction that “Mrs. La Follette will go down in history as one of the nation’s greatest women.” Yet she faded quickly from popular memory. In the twenty-first century, those few who have heard of her are primarily in her home state of Wisconsin, and even they continually mispronounce her name (“Follette” rhymes with “wallet,” and her first name is pronounced “Bell,” not “Bella.”) Although she is rarely recalled, Belle Case La Follette nevertheless remains critical to the Ameri- can experience. She campaigned tirelessly and effectively in support of a variety of causes. She was particularly dedicated to world disarmament and to civil rights for African Americans, and always and most avidly to advanc- ing women’s rights. All three causes, she believed, were inextricably bound together, especially the last two. In her words, “The business of being a woman is, in many ways, like being a member of a despised race.”1 Despite her activism, even scholars of the period of progressive reform to which she contributed so significantly seldom note Belle La Follette. Instead, texts that feature women’s reform achievements at the turn of the twentieth century perpetually highlight Jane Addams, pioneering social worker, author, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. There are a number of possible candidates to chronicle from this period in order to broaden awareness of women’s contributions through their activism: radical Emma Goldman; philanthropist Mary Dreier; labor activists Florence Kelley and Rose Schneiderman; industrial medicine pioneer Alice Hamilton; and civil 2 • Introduction rights activists Ida Wells Barnett and Mary Church Terrell.

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