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Remembering the Civil War in Wisconsin

Wisconsin's Famous Man Mound

BOOK EXCERPT A Nation within a Nation r-^gdby — CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY'S HISTORY?

hether you are curious about your community's ist, how to preserve or share its history, or ways i meet and learn from others who share your terests, the Wisconsin Historical Society can -ielp. We offer a wide variety of services, resources, and networking opportunities to help you discover the unique place you call home.

STA7 SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY wiscons history. WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY V I

WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Division Administrator & State Historic Preservation Officer Michael E. Stevens

Editorial Director Kathryn L. Borkowski

Editor Jane M. de Broux

Managing Editor Diane T. Drexler

Research and Editorial Assistants Rachel Cordasco, Jesse J. Gant, Joel Heiman, Mike Nemer, John 2 Loyal Democrats Nondorf, John Zimm John Cudahy, Jim Farley, and the Designer Politics and Diplomacy of the Zucker Design New Deal Era, 1933-1941 THE WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY (ISSN 0043-6534), by Thomas Spencer published quarterly, is a benefit of full membership in the Wisconsin Historical Society. 16 A Spirit Striding Upon the Earth Full membership levels start at $45 for individuals and $65 for Wisconsin's Famous Man Mound institutions. To join or for more information, visit our Web site at wisconsinhistory.org/membership or contact the Membership by Amy Rosebrough Office at 888-748-7479 or e-mail [email protected].

The Wisconsin Magazine of History has been published quarterly 24 A Nation within a Nation since 1917 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Copyright© 2011 Voices of the Oneidas in Wisconsin by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. edited by L. Gordon McLester III ISSN 0043-6534 (print) and Laurence M. Hauptman ISSN 1943-7366 (online)

For permission to reuse text from the Wisconsin Magazine of His­ 28 "Patriotism Is Above Political tory, (ISSN 0043-6534), please access www.copyright.com or con­ tact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Consideration" Danvers, MA, 01923,978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organiza­ A Look Back at the Fiftieth tion that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. Anniversary of the Civil War in For permission to reuse photographs from the Wisconsin Magazine Wisconsin of History, identified with WHi or WHS contact: by Jesse J. Gant Visual Materials Archivist, 816 State Street, Madison.WI, 53706. '-H'03t The Wisconsin Magazine of History, welcomes the submission of 42 The Federal Writers' Project articles and image essays. Contributor guidelines can be found on the Wisconsin Historical Society website at wisconsinhistory.org/ in Wisconsin, 1935-1942 wmh/contribute.asp. by Michael Edmonds

The Wisconsin Historical Society does not assume responsibility for statements made by contributors. 55 Letters Periodicals postage paid at Madison, Wl 53706-1417. 7ISCON5IN CIRCUS I Back issues, if available, are $8.95 plus postage (888-999-1669). 56 Curio IE HAL WHITta'! P&OJECT, Microfilmed copies are available through UMI Periodicals in 7\ Microfilm, part of National Archive Publishing, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106, www.napubco.com.

On the front cover: Milwaukee's most famous Civil War monument was dedicated in 1898, near the heart of the present-day Marquette University Campus along Wisconsin Avenue. Designed by Milwaukee artist John Conway, the monument was dedicated as part of Wisconsin's fiftieth anniversary of statehood celebration.

PHOTO BY JOEL HEIMAN VOLUME 94, NUMBER 3 / SPRING 2011 FDR campaign banner, 1932 *TK*k^7m U AMERICA JOHN CUDAHY, JIM FARLEY, AND THE FDR campaigning for president in Milwaukee, 1932. Both Farley and Cudahy were early supporters of Roosevelt's candidacy, with Farley directing the 1932 campaign. WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

uring the 1930s, John Cudahy and James A. Farley developed a friendship that was based in part on their Irish American heritage and their mutual service to President Franklin Roosevelt —^""^^ and the Democratic Party. The rela­ tionship between John Cudahy and Jim Farley provides a use­ ful backdrop against which to view the political and diplomatic developments of the New Deal era. Their candid correspon­ dence offers unique insights into political issues, especially in Wisconsin, where both men were actively involved in the Dem­ ocratic Party. Their letters further confirm the important con­ tribution they made to the Roosevelt administration. Cudahy and Farley demonstrated a devout loyalty to the President and the party, but these dual loyalties would erode by decade's end due to personal and political issues at home and abroad. Farley, born May 30, 1888, was a native of Grassy Point, New York. He directed Roosevelt's presidential campaign in 1932 and served as Democratic National Committee chairman and an officer of the president's cabinet. As U.S. postmaster general during the New Deal years from 1933—1940, he played an influential role in the politics of the New Deal. Cudahy, born on December 10, 1887, was the son of Patrick Cudahy, founder of the Cudahy Brothers meat packing com­ pany. John Cudahy graduated from Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin Law School, and later served in Portrait of John Cudahy, 1941 World War I. Long active in Democratic politics in Wisconsin and an early supporter of Franklin Roosevelt's presidential can­ didacy in 1932, Cudahy received several appointments in the Roosevelt administration, serving as ambassador to Poland known early on that he would support Progressive candidates or (1933—1937), minister to Ireland (1937—1940), and ambassador encourage Democrats to create fusion tickets with the Progres­ to Belgium and Luxembourg January to July, 1940). sives, where such arrangements were workable. Following Roosevelt's election, national committeeman and Wisconsin Democrats worried that Roosevelt would openly Sheboygan newspaper editor Charles Broughton and other endorse incumbent senator Robert La Follette Jr., and they Wisconsin Democrats lobbied for Cudahy's appointment as an shared their fears with Farley. Wisconsin was particularly vexing ambassador. Their efforts reflected their gratitude for his long- for Farley, who believed strongly in the concept of party regu­ term service to the party. Cudahy was well educated, but most larity, but was equally committed to carrying out the president's importantly, he supported Roosevelt prior to the Democratic wishes. On more than one occasion, Roosevelt discussed the sit­ convention in Chicago and contributed generously to his cam­ uation with Farley and told him to "take care" of La Follette. paign fund. On a visit to Milwaukee in July 1934, Farley publicly stated Although he preferred an appointment to Cuba, Cudahy that he believed the president would support the Democratic enthusiastically accepted his selection as ambassador to Poland. nominee. Privately, he was less confident. A frustrated Farley As one scholar noted, Cudahy's genuine concern for a peace­ commented to presidential advisor Louis Howe that "there ful world and his lack of personal political ambition made him isn't anything I can say and there isn't much you can say either, "potentially" a great diplomat. The appointment proved he [the president] wants to see him [La Follette] reelected."0 important in an era of rising militarism in Nazi Germany. An additional problem for Farley and the Wisconsin Politics, not diplomacy, brought Cudahy and Farley together. Democrats was finding a viable pro-Roosevelt candidate to run Farley oversaw the congressional elections of 1934, an impor­ against La Follette. Prior to the Democratic primary, national tant barometer of the public's acceptance of the New Deal. The committeeman Charles Broughton was a favorite of the admin­ Progressive Republican tradition in Wisconsin and the influence istration, and he had Farley's trust and respect. Gertrude of the La Follette family made it difficult for Democrats to be Bowler was also a candidate. Well known throughout Wiscon­ elected in the state. Supportive of Progressives, Roosevelt let it be sin for her tireless work on behalf of women's rights and Pro-

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home myself and run for the Senate." Farley consoled Cudahy by saying that Callahan could not possibly defeat La Follette.7 Cudahy also wrote Broughton and was equally adamant in his claim that Callahan must be defeated. He stated that Democrats were entitled to know the facts and it was the duty of party leaders to see that they did. He further lamented that Broughton had dropped out of the race. In August, Roosevelt visited Wisconsin to speak at Green Bay's tercentenary celebration. The president did his best to allay Farley's fears by telling him that he would see La Follette and tell "Bob" that he and Farley were for him, but if the local organization wants to support someone else, "there is nothing we can do." His speech delivered subtle praise for La Follette without openly endorsing him. Democrats and Progressives were disappointed that Roosevelt was not more enthusiastic for their respective candidates, but he accomplished his mission and avoided alienating either side. On election day, Progressives won an impressive victory in the state, with Progressive Republican candidates carrying seven of the ten congressional races and Robert La Follette Jr. winning an easy reelection. Farley and the Wisconsin Democrats were most disappointed in incumbent governor Albert Schmedeman's loss to Progressive Philip La Follette, brother of the senator.10 In the wake of the election, Farley was left to deal with the ongoing factionalism in the state party. These divisions, caused primarily by patronage and the Progressive Republican pres­ Portrait of James Farley, undated ence in Wisconsin, posed difficult challenges for the Democratic Party chairman. Letters to Farley from party leaders around the state attributed it to the continued devotion of many hibition repeal, she was the first woman from Wisconsin to be Democrats to Al Smith, an outspoken critic of the administra­ named to the Democratic National Committee. Like tion and to a failure to conciliate the Callahan faction and other Broughton, she was a committed and loyal supporter of the disgruntled Democrats following the 1932 election. president. The fact that she and Broughton were business asso­ Complaints about patronage going to Progressive candi­ ciates complicated the issue and eventually led to Broughton's dates were also common. Some party leaders charged that decision to drop out of the race. Democrats needed to cooperate better with the Progressives Unfortunately for Farley, factionalism within the party led instead of constantly opposing them. One leader added that if to five candidates entering the primary. Bowler ran a distant the Democratic organization in Wisconsin could only be as lib­ third to the winner, former Democratic National Committee­ eral as President Roosevelt, they would elect a state ticket.12 man John Callahan, the least desirable of all the candidates The state of Wisconsin politics put Farley in a precarious from Farley and the administration's point of view. Callahan position. He supported pro-Roosevelt Democrats, solved fac­ had opposed Roosevelt's nomination in 1932, and Roosevelt's tional differences when he could, and provided campaign sup­ supporters charged that he falsely claimed that FDR was port for Democratic candidates as best he could. As much as aligned with the Ku JKlux IClan. fellow Democrats complained to him, Progressives believed his Although he was out of the country, Cudahy took more lack of understanding had damaged the Progressive cause and than a passing interest in the campaign, and he found Calla­ Roosevelt's best interests.13 han's selection upsetting. He wrote Farley, urging him to do While Farley wrestled with domestic politics, Cudahy everything possible to defeat Callahan. He called Callahan directed his energies to his diplomatic duties in Warsaw. Stat­ vain and pompous and noted that he would be "impossible as ing that he would never be a "silk stocking" diplomat, a refer­ a Senator, causing no end of squabbles." He told Farley "it is ence to those who achieved their appointments because of infinitely better that La Follette or the regular Republican can­ monetary donations, he worked hard to prove it. His frequent didate win," and concluded by stating, "If I ever thought we dispatches to Roosevelt provided thoughtful analysis that the would get in such a mess in Wisconsin, I would have gone president found useful as war approached in Europe.14

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President Roosevelt speaking to a Green Bay crowd during that city's tercentenary celebration, 1934. The president is flanked by Governor Schmedeman (in white), Senator Robert M. La Follette Jr. (applauding), and the mayor of Green Bay (wearing a bow tie), among others.

In late 1933, Cudahy correctly observed the growing and esteem. Obediently yours," a statement that further nationalism in Germany and stated that "the allegiance to affirmed his loyalty and commitment to the president.15 Hitler borders on fanaticism." He noted that the country was Letters sent over the next two years accurately charted Ger­ being organized on a "military basis," although it did not many's increased military buildup and the state of European appear at that time to be a "large scale" preparation. He con­ politics, and they cast an ominous shadow over prospects for cluded his letter to Roosevelt by writing "with profound respect world peace. By late 1935, Cudahy described the rapidly

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** fe*« Guest ticket for the second session of the 1932 Democratic National Convention

changing political climate in Europe and, in for Governor in 1936 against Phillip La Follette. Cudahy con­ particular, the change of attitude in Great sidered the proposal but said no. Farley, too, was interested in Britain regarding the possibility of war due to the 1936 gubernatorial race in Wisconsin as a prelude to Roo­ the "rearmament of Germany and the bel­ sevelt's reelection. Farley stated that the president assured him ligerent attitude of Italy." In early 1936, Cud­ that he would not endorse La Follette. ahy astutely observed that developments in More of a concern for both Roosevelt and Farley was ensur­ Europe were being shaped "as a precedent ing Progressives' support for Roosevelt's reelection in 1936. upon an armed, aggressive Germany two Many Wisconsin Progressives talked of a possible third party years from now." movement. Roosevelt told Farley that one reason he spoke on As conflict and the potential for all-out war La Follette's behalf in 1934 was to "hold that group in line for increased in Europe, the Roosevelt adminis­ 1936."20 tration sponsored a series of neutrality acts Seeking to head off a third party movement like that of 1912 designed to lessen the potential for an interna­ and 1924, the administration organized the Progressive tional incident involving Americans. Cudahy National Committee, a non-party organization, to attract Pro­ enthusiastically supported the legislation and gressive support for the president's reelection bid. A number of ^^B praised Roosevelt's leadership. Roosevelt Wisconsin Progressives joined the committee, including Phillip responded by stating that Cudahy's corre­ La Follette, George Schneier, Harry Stuhoff, Gardner With- spondence reflected his "basic thought" row, Gerald W. Boileau, and Thomas Amlie. Robert La Fol­ regarding neutrality." lette Jr. was named chairman. The committee held rallies, Farley and Cudahy corresponded very little during Roo­ delivered campaign addresses, and distributed literature, all sevelt's first term, although one letter attests to their growing designed to attract Progressives and other liberals to the pres­ friendship. In November 1934, Cudahy noted that he found ident's campaign. solace in a photograph of Farley that hung over his desk. He As the election neared, Cudahy and other ambassadors stated "your genial characteristic image looks down upon my returned home to help with the president's reelection cam­ desk here at the embassy and does much to dispel the gloomy paign. Cudahy delivered a number of addresses around the atmosphere of these somber winter days in Poland." country and over the radio in support of Roosevelt, boldly Politics would soon again occupy both Farley and Cudahy's promising to deliver three million Polish American votes. In attention. In the fall of 1935, stories surfaced that Wisconsin Buffalo, he addressed a Polish American rally and defended Democratic leaders had spoken with Cudahy about running the President's neutrality legislation, reciprocal trade agree-

SPRING2011 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY ments, and the most recent monetary | American K<°> Men in European Peace agreement. He called those agreements I and legislation "the most outstanding | practical contribution to world peace | made during recent years by any exec- | utive in any country of the world." Roosevelt's concern over losing Pro­ gressive support in the campaign proved unfounded. He carried Wiscon­ sin easily by over 500,000 votes, although Democrats lost all seven Con­ gressional seats to the Progressives and Phillip La Follette won an easy reelec­ tion. Democratic gubernatorial candi­ date Albert Lueck finished a distant third. Nationwide, Roosevelt won a landslide victory. He carried 46 of the 48 states and captured 523 electoral votes to his opponent's 8. Following the election, Cudahy and Farley grew closer and their correspon­ dence increased. Cudahy sought and received a new appointment as minister i\\\^e to Ireland, something Farley supported and reportedly helped arrange. Farley By a Staff Artist ol THI CMBISTIAN SCIENCE MOM sent heartfelt congratulations to Cudahy and told him to "enjoy Sketch of John Cudahy (right), 1933 the place," while doing much for "our country" and offering valuable advice "to those with whom you come in contact." Differences between the president and Farley over the direc­ tion of the party continued to grow during Roosevelt's second administration. Roosevelt's decision to oppose several conser­ vative incumbent Democrats in the 1938 primaries was par­ ticularly upsetting to Farley. Reports of a break between him and the president were common knowledge among those in the administration. Attorney General Homer Cummings noted in his diary that Farley was "pretty well fed up," and if he could get a good connection, he would leave the cabinet. As the 1940 election grew nearer, Farley's loyalties were fur­ ther tested. As early as 1937, his name surfaced in public opin­ ion polls as a possible Democratic nominee in 1940. The polls reflected his popularity within the party more than his presi­ dential qualifications, but he explored his potential candidacy with Democrats he trusted, including Cudahy. Farley's disenchantment with the direction of the adminis­ tration and his own presidential aspirations dominated his cor­ respondence with Cudahy in 1939 and 1940. In July 1939, Cudahy visited Farley at his Washington office while on a vaca­ tion. Farley told him "a majority of leaders and active workers James Farley and FDR sharing a laugh at Jefferson Island, Louisiana, in the Party did not want Roosevelt again because of the influ­ undated ence of the Ickes-Corcoran-Cohen group." He added, "The people of this country are sick and tired of the Roosevelts." He further stated that the president "thinks I am not qualified for

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country. At one particular address at the Victoria Hotel in Cork, Cudahy RE-ELECT praised his friend as a "man of activ­ ity" who helped erase a million-dollar deficit in the U.S. Post Office. He AMERICA'S LEADING SENATOR boldly predicted, "The next President of the United States will be Mr. James Aloysius Farley." Later, worried that he had given his friend a premature endorsement for president, he asked Farley to make a discreet inquiry to see if the administration was upset with his remarks. - Jk Farley's departure from Ireland coincided with Great Britain's decla­ ration of war on Germany in 1939. Cudahy's letters to him after the visit reflected a more somber mood. He shared with Farley the details of the sinking of the British passenger ship r tr Athenia and the efforts to assist sur­ vivors who were brought to Galway on KEEP WISCONSIN'S a Norwegian ship. He concluded the letter on a positive note, asking Farley to "give his love to the girls [Farley's BOB daughters and wife]" and asked him to let him "hear the gossip at home," since it will be "very dull here soon." Upon his return to the United States, Farley planned to deliver a statement to the press concerning his LA FOLLETTE world trip, but the outbreak of war in Europe made such a gesture appear inappropriate. The text of the undeliv­ ON THE JOB ered speech reflected his growing disil­ lusionment with his status in the PROGRESSIVE PARTY administration and affirmed his loyalty to the Democratic Party." In October 1939, Farley wrote Progressive senator Robert La Follette's reelection campaign in 1934 disrupted Farley and the Cudahy and updated him on the Wisconsin Democrats'attempts to elect one of their own. Quietly supported by FDR, La Follette won easily. pending neutrality bill that the presi­ dent was supporting and Farley was helping guide through Congress. He the Presidency." Cudahy lent a sympathetic ear to Farley but commended the president for doing a "magnificent job since did little more than give nominal encouragement. According to the day war was declared." He told Cudahy he would be Farley, Cudahy said, "I [Farley] would make a good President delighted to see him when he returned "so that we can catch and he would be glad to help when the time comes." up on the news." Two months after their visit, Farley and his family left on a Cudahy's letters to Farley focused mostly upon war and European tour. The five-week tour concluded in Ireland, where events in Europe. He was gravely concerned about the state Cudahy served as Farley's unofficial host and traveled with him of the world and stated his continued belief that neutrality throughout the Irish Free State. Cudahy enjoyed Farley's com­ was in the best interests of the United States. He called the pany and took a great deal of pride in showing him around the war an "economy of waste" and praised Roosevelt's "superb

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best I have seen." While Cudahy was sharply critical of the appeasement policy, Roosevelt replied that there were many in the United States who "would really like me to be a Neville Chamberlain."32 The seriousness of war did not pre­ vent a discussion of politics between the two, especially in late 1939. In a direct reference to the question of whether Roosevelt would run for a third term, Farley added that everything will remain at a standstill "until the Presi­ ( dent expresses himself one way or the other." Farley's own presidential aspi­ rations soon became part of the dis­ cussion. Farley opposed the third term on principle, but personal ambition «^| also fueled his aspirations. Cudahy acknowledged Farley's opposition to ^^^*JB «i die third term and his willingness to IH "go to the mat on that issue." At the -~"B end of one note, he added, "there have ^^^ ^ been many compensations for my ^^B interest in political life, but please believe I do not flatter when I tell you that your friendship I regard as the greatest compensation. Farley's pursuit of the nomination would test their friendship. Cudahy's earlier offer of doing what he could to help Farley was based on the assump­ tion that Roosevelt would not run for a third term. Concerned for his friend, but bound by service to the president, Charles Broughton and James Farley in Oconomowoc, August 6,1937 he steered a fine line between support­ ing Farley without openly endorsing his candidacy. Cudahy did his best to offer moral leadership" for submerging politics in getting neutrality leg­ support. He told Farley, "I believe you would make an excel­ islation passed.31 lent President of the United States because you have the gifts of His hope for an early peace conference led him to be overly a great business executive," praising him as a good "judge of optimistic about the prospect for peace. He told Farley that capacity and the human equation." Farley remained confident Russia's desire to "stand apart" from the conflict would make that he could win the nomination, believing the president would Hitler more moderate and "open minded" to some type of set­ not run. He said he was trying to remain "cool, calm and col­ tlement. He likewise referred to Italy as one of the "great neu­ lected," waiting for the president to declare his intentions. trals" who, along with the United States, could lead the way to Farley never directly asked Cudahy for an endorsement, but a settlement of the conflict. he may have hoped that Cudahy would use his influence Still, much of his analysis proved insightful and prescient. among the Wisconsin Democrats. Farley told Cudahy he was Following his report to the President on the Munich Confer­ conferring with Charles Broughton, Leo Crowley, and Otto ence of 1938 that led to a British cabinet crisis and charges of LaBudde and privately he believed he would have the state's "appeasement," Roosevelt told Cudahy that his analysis "is the delegates if Roosevelt did not run.

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Farley did have considerable support among Democrats in FDR campaign pin, 1936.The Wisconsin, and he worked to solidify it. In the summer of president was overwhelmingly 1937, he attended a large testimonial on his behalf in Mil­ reelected that year, capturing waukee and delivered an endorsement for Ryan Duffy's 46 out of 48 states. reelection to the U.S. Senate in 1938. Wisconsin WHI IMAGE ID 80907 Democrats were still divided and, privately, Farley pre­ dicted Duffy would lose. His prognosis proved accu­ FDR/John Garner rate. Duffy lost his senate seat and Progressives lost campaign button, 1936 every state race and five of the seven congressional WHI IMAGE ID 80906 seats. The results reflected a Republican resurgence across the country that Farley publicly attributed to local and statewide conditions. Privately, he placed the blame on Roosevelt's intervention in the Democratic pri­ maries to "purge" more conservative Democrats and on pub lie dissatisfaction with New Deal spending programs In February 1940, Wisconsin Democrats met to select del­ egates for the Democratic National Convention in July. The conference in Wisconsin Rapids showed the divisions within the state party. Charles Broughton backed a slate of delegates that listed Roosevelt as the first choice and Farley as the second if the president chose not to run. Broughton praised Farley for quent and friendly letters as an endorsement of Farley's Presi­ his "patriotism and loyalty to the New Deal." dential ambitions. He told Farley "Don't bother to write me," Another faction, led by Outagamie County Chairman Gus- for "you have too much correspondence." In another letter, he tave Keller, supported Roosevelt but favored Indiana Governor again asked Farley, "please do not include me among your cor­ Paul McNutt if Roosevelt declined to run. An anti-Roosevelt respondents. Leave that to Eddie" [Roddan], a mutual friend faction, consisting of former supporters of Al Smith, backed who worked in the publicity division of the Democratic 39 Garner. On April 2, Wisconsin Democrats voted throughout National Committee. the state, and the Broughton slate, with Farley as a second In January 1940, Cudahy was appointed ambassador to choice, won 14 of the 24.36 Belgium, an appointment Farley praised. Cudahy updated Far­ Throughout this time, Farley continued to vent his frustra­ ley on the situation in Belgium and accurately predicted a tions to Cudahy. He was particularly upset over a story written major German offensive in the near future. by journalist Ernest Lindley in which Lindley quoted the pres­ ident as saying he did not think a Catholic could be elected president. Farley noted that Roosevelt did not deny saying it. A newspaper clipping discussing Roosevelt's support for Progressive He told Cudahy he was entering into the most critical time of candidates, Manitowoc Herald Times, August 19,1937 his career and trying to handle it in a 000 pounds and imports 6,000,000 uavt? tu \ftxy my uacft way that "will meet with the approval of §e Mad? in the five years of 192S-32. runs up to H.S00. my friends."37 |/Pthe Cudahy's responses were subtle and »n two was a candid. He told Farley "it has always been my belief that he [the president] Roosevelt's 'Macaulay* does not want to run again. But he will not leave the White House at this critical time unless he can find a man to take his Blast Speech Stresses Split place in which he has confidence." He T. Me- of events which have completely agreed with Farley that it was demoral­ I class Political Picture Has Changed changed the political picture since izing for the party, but added that ^assin, Since Second Term Began the president began his second rvivors term seven months ago today. because of conditions in Europe, "he a of a 7 Months Ago The Black appointment In itself may be forced to run." 'which was evidence of tho changing po­ of six WASHINGTON' (/P)—President litical scenes. It topped off a sud­ Cudahy also became more guarded ,• yard, Roosevelt's aggressiveness since den shift in senate leadership, in in his correspondence, worried perhaps l, died' the collapse of his legislative pro­ which the death of Senator Robin­ ter he gram—evidenced anew in his Ko- son of Arkansas was only a part. that Roosevelt would interpret his fre- rii fill- anoke island speech—emphasized At the outset of,the session, Rob­ yer to today the potentialities of the split inson and Senators Harrison of ipe. which has developed within' his Mississippi and Byrnes of South party during this session ot con­ Carolina were the acknowledged gress. senate leaders and Roosevelt spokesmen on Capitol hill.. ' The chief executive followed up Suddenly, younger and more lib- r' * his selection of liberal -Senator WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON

I tu*./-i//UM7*AA March 9, l938# Dear John:-

*our analysis of what hnr, •— «...... „. ^ llce • «-l «.h th. ieMlm "*"

John Cudahy served as Ambassador to several European nations during the buildup to World War II. He is seen in this ca. 1940 photo on board a Belgian ship. aon't you?

As ever yours, In Cudahy's letter to Farley dated April 15, three months before the Democratic National Convention, he told Farley that he believed Roosevelt had the "highest opinion" of his ***-*^ [Farley's] "character and capacity." He added "but I think ^<&&L-^£^ I realize the President's position that he feels he may be wEUerJohn cuaahy forced to run." He said, "I do not think there is any other American Legation, *> person on the horizon who is capable of handling the Pres­ Ireland. idency from the angle of Europe during the war." He con­ cluded by stating, "I think of you with a great deal of sympathy in the trying position you find yourself in," but knew he would conduct himself as a "sportsman," always mindful of " [your] duty towards the country and your party."41 Letter from FDR to John Cudahy (Minister of Ireland) marked "confidential," September 3,1938 The April 15 letter was the last letter exchanged by the two once close correspondents for nearly two years. It is uncertain whether the hiatus was caused by Farley's disappointment in Cudahy not being more supportive of his candidacy or by the \ -Mukiyto'W impending crisis in Belgium. In July, Democrats overwhelm­ ingly nominated Roosevelt, while Farley received only 72 of p the over 1,095 delegate votes. Shortly after the convention, he resigned as Democratic National Chairman and U.S. Post­ master General. He later reflected that he was "deprived of a place on the Party ticket, not by the Party, but by the Presi­ dent." Responding to a request that he remain as party chair­ ** '"^9r '--- *'^**Sx ^^| man, Farley curtly replied that "the Party owes me more than I owe the Party."

President Roosevelt appointed James Farley U.S. Postmaster General. He is seen here during National Airmail Week in 1938.

l 2 Letter from John Cudahy to James Farley, September 12, 1939, regarding Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war. In the handwritten note at the end, Cudahy writes, in part, "Everything the best to you and let me hear the gossip at Dublin, September 12th, 1939. home."

By the time the Democratic convention started, Dear Jim, since you Cudahy was dealing with diplomatic crises that made a n Tne Calendar says It * ° ^int"of excitement the Democratic convention seem less important. Ger­ went away from "f^fis reckoned, It Is at and crowded events as many's invasion of Belgium and the events sur­ least ten years. .^ One event P-ssed upon another^^^ rounding it helped precipitate a break in his once-close relationship with the president. followed a/^°0f Lerlcans'here clamoring to Cudahy lobbied for a commitment from the Allies was a great jam or ™ , delay. You ha ment s r to defend Belgium against an impending German invasion. His failure to get such a commitment and Roosevelt's strong disapproval of easing immigra­ tion laws to allow thousands of German and East European refugees into the United States left him disillusioned. Cudahy was angered, too, by the State Department's release of a confidential report he sent pertaining to the military situation in Europe. Cudahy claimed this led to scurrilous rumors S^SESS"?-™* organisation, hut I« about Leopold's defeatist attitude. "He blamed the turn of events on the President personally." The Honorable ^^aster'General, If Roosevelt sensed a growing breach, it did •jjashington- not surface publicly. His correspondence with Cudahy in April and early May displays concern not only for what was happening in Europe, but .uii.j well the .c -as nanaied, and he has expressed his also for Cudahy's own personal safety. He told appreciation to the Irish authorities. These people raised five hundred pounds by voluntary con­ his ambassador, "take care of yourself and don't tribution, and another five hundred was given by the Government. I have always said the Irish were take any unnecessary risks." On May 10, the sloppy and incompetent, and I am very glad to testify that on this occasion nothing could have been more Germans invaded Belgium. Cudahy remained capably and effectively handled. The Bishop of Galway, Er. Browne, a big upstanding man was, I at his post, traveling briefly to Berlin in June to believe, the genius back of the whole organisation. He struck me as a man of exceptional executive talent. file reports and give the charge d'affaires, Alexan­ If you have time, I would be grateful if you der Kirk, a long-overdue leave of absence. could write a word or two to Sean T. 0'Kelly who, besides being Vice President is Llinister for Education. In July, German authorities asked him to leave I know he would appreciate this very much. the country. On his return to the United States, he When we reached the ship bringing the survivors of the Athenia to Galway, I went aboard immediately stopped in London and conducted an interview and interviewed the Captain of the lost ship. Also I talked with other Officers, members of the crew and arranged by Ambassador Joseph Kennedy. In his a number of passengers, and as soon as we landed at Galway I got off a dispatch to the State Department remarks, he criticized the Western democracies for at once, telling that my evidence determined that the Athenia had been torpedoed. After sending this failing to provide an adequate defense for Belgium first telegram I spent fifty minutes trying to get the Legation at Dublin, and I am afraid my language and called the conduct of German soldiers during has blighted for ever my hope of eternal felicity. At last, with a very frayed nervous system, I got the invasion exemplary and better than that of off a second dispatch by open telegram from the Post Office. This second message said that the ship many American soldiers he could remember. The had been struck by a torpedo and by a shell fired from a quarter eight hundred to a thousand on the statements reflected his long-standing frustration port side of the ship. The second projectile passed through the air. Our Naval Attache, Captain Kirk.-CiA" over the Allies' handling of the Belgian situation. I met right after sending this second report, had flown from London to investigate the matter, and his Cudahy's remarks garnered criticism in Great evidence did not substantiate my statement on the second explosion. But Churchill, in making his Britain and the United States and led to his offi­ report of the Admiralty to the House of Commons on September 7th, said there were two explosions; one cial recall. Sumner Welles repudiated his remarks the torpedo under the water, and the other a shell projected through the air which struck the deck of and stated that the Cudahy interview was unau­ the destroyed ship. thorized and "in violation of standing instruc­ tions." Cudahy refused to retract the remarks. As

SPRING 2011 13 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

he prepared to return to the United States, he told friends, "I men were loyal and devoted to party and president, but dra­ know I am going home to be crucified, but the truth must be matic and far-reaching developments at home and abroad ulti­ told" and "I won't desert my Belgium." mately challenged their dual loyalties. Cudahy anticipated that he would be asked to resign when Their story demonstrates the fluid and rapidly changing he returned home, but no immediate action was taken. The nature of politics and diplomacy during the turbulent decade President did not publicly reprimand him, and his interview of the 1930s. It also illustrates the complex state of Wisconsin with Sumner Welles was said to be cordial. Over one thousand politics and the split between Progressives and Democrats supporters greeted him when he landed at LaGuardia airport, within the state. Cudahy and Farley could not have foreseen a gathering arranged by two of Cudahy's friends. such developments when their service in the administration Although he expected an imminent dismissal from the began, nor could they have envisioned how severely their loy­ administration, Cudahy actively supported the president's alty to the president would be tested. Forced to make difficult reelection. In early September, Wisconsin Democrats pro­ choices, they left the administration disillusioned, but remained moted Cudahy for the U.S. Senate and staged a write-in cam­ loyal Irishmen and devoted Democrats. Kd paign to get his name in the Democratic primary. He was noncommittal when asked if he would agree to run, but the last-minute effort failed. ' Letter from Cudahy to Farley, April 15,1940, discussing Roosevelt's Following the president's reelection, Cudahy resigned, and decision to run for a third term his resignation was promptly accepted. He was informed that there would be no future appoint­ ments in the administration. Follow- £ ing his departure, he worked briefly 8 as a correspondent for Time-Life M sfloXs, BolsiM* magazine and at one point arranged s r\l 15. 18*0. an interview with Adolph Hitler that I portrayed the German leader as a a "reasonable man." This led to further f public criticism. In 1941, Cudahy sup­ cr^oTift*. ported the America First movement to "keep America out of war." In Febru­ Door JJJBJ iatoror.f-ne and ary 1943, he was appointed head of ,-our very I an Gr&iofui lor Wisconsin's Civilian Defense. Several irrforwAiV© letter. months later, he died after falling while 4->„,t tlw Prosidont is do- i 0Un assure *««»* ^' ^ u havc done horseback riding. fron thine In the three years following their votc to you * w£s* r^rT o-inioWn ~ hiEhe=t departures from the Roosevelt adminis­ ihn° thi^"U^r'ane "laW'^ttK* canityi hoe -«*• tration, Cudahy and Farley saw each rne situation IJjjj- jaffififar £ . other on at least one occasion. After leaving the administration, Farley took a ? 2£l* £ Jj-i-f £ B^ outlo* overdo position with the Coca-Cola export cor­ poration, and Cudahy visited him in his " Slw no my oo f«M£i^Jd ur country w»» M ^^ pn nsntin,, B«>- New York office in May 1942. There is no •v raic'a intorc indication of what the two discussed, but Farley's follow-up letter noted how much he enjoyed the visit and asked him to "keep in touch."49 The relationship of Jim Farley and John Cudahy and their candid correspondence reveals much about politics and diplomacy over hero and he «** tho leading ^^ h0», during the 1930s. Both men made vital con­ Trine all his £*^ JKW &&&$&. tributions to the Roosevelt administration every Chanoo^ ^President rce-rto* his *i«*l and, in many ways, contributed to the pres­ ident's political and diplomatic success. Both The honorable Joineo A. Farley. Fostoastor GeneralD,. C. Washington, WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

Notes gress; Farley Memo, December 19, 1938, Box 43, Farley Papers, Library of Congress; Diary of Homer Stille Cummings, November 26, 1938, 206—207, University of Virginia Mss. Col­ 1. James A. Farley, Behind the Ballots (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1938), lection, Charlottesville, Virginia. gives an overview of Farley's early life and career in the 1930s; Daniel Scroop, Mr. Democrat: 26. George Gallup, The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971, vol. I (New York: Random Jim Farley, the New Deal and the Making of the Modern American Politics (Ann Arbor: Uni­ House, 1972), 54. versity of Michigan Press, 2006), is the only major published scholarly work on Farley. 27. Farley Memo July 7, 1939, Box 44, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. 2. Sharon Mailman, "Milwaukee's John Cudahy," Historical Messenger 32 (Autumn 1976): 28. "A Gay Folk, the Irish, and Farley a Broth of a Boy," Milwaukee Journal, September 17, 70-87; Timothy P. Maga, "Diplomat Among Kings: John Cudahy and Leopold II," Wiscon­ 1939; Cudahy to Farley, October 19, 1939, Box 8, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. sin Magazine of History 67, no. 2 (Winter 1983-1984): 83-98; "J.C. Cudahy Killed in Fall 29. Cudahy to Farley, September 12, 1939, Box 8, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. from Horse," New York Times, September 7, 1943, 25. "Always a Hard Rider, John Cudahy 30. Farley to Cudahy, October 5, 1939, Box 8, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. Rode the Path of Thrills in War and in Peace," Milwaukee Journal, September 7, 1943, 1. 31. Cudahy to Farley, October 19, November 30, 1939, Box 8, Farley Papers, Library of Con­ 3. Edward M. Levine, The Irish and Irish Politicians (South Bend, IN: University of Notre gress. Dame Press, 1966), 177—178, discusses the important role of loyalty in Irish politics; Maga, 32. Cudahy to Farley, October 19, 1938, Box 8, Farley Papers, Library of Congress; FDR to 85;Wintcr Everett, "Around the Statchousc," Wisconsin State Journal, April 10, 1933, 3; "Sen­ Cudahy, April 16, 1938, FDR: His Personal Letters, vol. II, 776; Kenneth S. Davis, FDR: Into ate Confirms," Sheboygan Press, May 25, 1937, 12; "Always a Hard Rider, John Cudahy Rode the Storm, 1937-1940: A History (New York: Random House, 1993), 197. the Path of Thrills in War and in Peace," Milwaukee Journal, September 7, 1943, 1; The finan­ 33. Farley to Cudahy, October 31, 1939, and Cudahy to Farley, November 30, 1939, Box 8, cial contributions of several of those receiving diplomatic appointments can be found in Louise Farley Papers, Library of Congress. Overacker, "Campaign Funds in a Depression Year," American Political Science Review 27 34. Cudahy to Farley, February 14, 1940, and Farley to Cudahy, December 23, January 17, (October 1933): 782. 1940, Cudahy Papers, Box 1, Cudahy Papers, MCHS; Farley Memo [February 1940], Box 44, 4. 'J.C. Cudahy Killed in Fall from Horse," New York Times September 7, 1943, 25. Farley Papers, Library of Congress. 5. Scroop, 95-96; See Louis Howe to Farley, November 6, 1934, and Farley to Howe, August 35. "Farley Soothes Foes of the LaFollette's," p. 10, New York Times, July 28, 1937, 10; A 15, 1934, Box 34, Official File (OF) 300, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and good analysis of the factionalism in the party and the results of the 1938 elections in Wiscon­ Museum, Hyde Park, New York; Farley Memos, August 14, 1934, and May 1, 1935, Box 38, sin can be found in Miller, 158-160; Farley to Roosevelt, November 7, 1938, OF 300, FDR James A. Farley Papers, U.S. Library of Congress, Washington DC; An analysis of the cam­ Library; For analysis of the election results across the country see Milton Plesur, "The Repub­ paign and the challenges it presented for both Roosevelt and Farley can be found in Jonathan lican Congressional Comeback of 1938," The Review of Politics 24 (October 1962): 525-562; Kasparck, "FDR's 'Old Friends' in Wisconsin: Presidential Finesse in the Land of La Fol­ Farley Memo June 8, 1938, Box 43, Farley Papers, Library of Congress; James A. Farleyjim lette," Wisconsin Magazine of History 84, no. 4 (Summer 2001): 17-24; John E. Miller, Gov­ Farley's Story (New York: McGraw Hill, 1947), 154. ernor Phillip La Follette, the Wisconsin Progressives and the New Deal (Columbia: University 36. Bernard Donahoe, Private Plans and Public Dangers: The Story of FDR's Third Nomi­ of Missouri Press, 1982), 50-51. nation (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1965), 144-145; 'Just What is the 6. "Farley May Have Aided LaFollette," Hammond (IN) Times, March 23, 1934, 65; "When Strategy?" Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, February 14, 1940, 6; "Crowley Visit to Wisconsin Then Was Now; The Kingmakers' Queen," p. 9, Sheboygan Press, June 5, 1976, 9, Seen As Another Gesture in Favor of Broughton's Ticket," Sheboyan Press, March 20, 1940, 7. Background on Callahan's opposition to Roosevelt can be found in Earland I. Carlson, 5; Jon Wyngaard, "Under the Capitol Dome," p. 6, Appleton Post, April 6, 1940. "Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fight for the Presidential Nomination, 1928-1932," (PhD diss., [Uni­ 37. Farley to Cudahy, March 18, 1940, Box 1, Cudahy Papers, MCHS. versity of Michigan], 1955), 322-326; Cudahy to Farley, October 8, 1934 and Farley to Cud­ 38. Cudahy to Farley, March 5, April 15, 1940, Box l',Cudahy Papers, MCHS. ahy, October 22, 1934, Box 3, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. 39. Cudahy to Farley, February 14, March 5, 1940, Box 1, Cudahy Papers, MCHS. 8. Cudahy to Broughton, October 8, 1934, Box 3, Charles E. Broughton Papers, University 40. Farley to Cudahyjanuary 8, March 18, 1940, and Cudahy to Farley, Box 1, Cudahy of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Papers, MCHS; Maga, 91. 9. See Farley to Louis Howe, July 29, 1934, OF 300, Box 34, FDR Library; Farley Memo June 41. Cudahy to Farley, April 15, 1940, Cudahy Papers, MCHS. 19, 1934, Box 38, Farley Papers, Library of Congress; Kasparek, 22-24. 42. Donahoe, 173, 181-182; Farley Memos, May 14 June 17June 28, 1940, Box 45, Farley 10. Analysis of the results can be found in Miller, 59—60, Papers, Library of Congress. 11. C. E. Broughton to Farley, July 23, 1936, Otto LaBudde to Farley, October 2, 1936, Charles 43. Maga, 93-94. Hammcrslcy to Farley, September 23, 1936, John McConiglc to Farley, September 22, 1936, 44. See FDR to Cudahy, April 17, and May 8, 1940, in FDR: His Personal Letters, vol. II, Box 1101, Farley Correspondence, Democratic National Committee Records, FDR Library, 1017, 1024; Maga, 94-95; "Cudahy Arrives in Berlin," New York Times, June 8, 1940, 2. 12. John O'Brien to Farley, September 15, 1936,John Wolf to Farley, September 23, 1936, 45. Maga, 96; "Cudahy's Remarks Rouse Washington," New York Times, August 8, 1940, 1. Hammcrslcy to Farley, September 23, 1936, LaBudde to Farley July 20, 1936, McGoniglc to 46. "Cudahy Recalled Over Belgian Talk," p. 1, New York Times, August 10, 1940, 1. Farley, September 22, 1936, Duffy to Farley, August 20, 1936 Box 1101, Farley Correspon­ 47. Confidential Report from Robert Brennan to Joseph P. Walshe, August 20, 1940, Docu­ dence, DNC Records, FDR Library. ments on Irish Foreign Policy, vol. VI, cd. Catriona Crowe, ct.al. (Dublin: Royal Irish Acad­ 13. Harold L. Ickcs, The Secret Diary of Harold L. Ickcs: The First Thousand Days, 1933- emy, 2008): 332-333; "Cudahy Gets Endorsement of Democrats," Sheboygan Press, 1936 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953), 150. September 12, 1940, 1; "Arm to Keep Democracy Cudahy Says," Wisconsin State Journal, 14. "Cudahy in Poland Shuns 'Silk Stocking' Envoy Role," 1. September 15, 1940, 3; "Cudahy Sees Willkic Victory As Cause for Joy in Dictator Lands," 15. Sec Cudahy to Roosevelt, December 27, 1933, in Franklin D. Roosevelt and Foreign Affairs, Lima News, October 22, 1940, 6. vol. I, ed. Edgar Nixon (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969), 553-555. 48. Maga, 96-97; "Roosevelt 'Peace' Urged by Cudahy," New York Times, August 11, 1941, 16. Cudahy to Roosevelt, October 11, 1935, and January 3, 1936, in Franklin D. Roosevelt and 6; "Cudahy Ask Poll on War," New York Times, November 5, 1940, 3; '"42 Drive Started by Foreign Affairs, vol. Ill, cd. Edgar Nixon (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University America First," New York Times, December 4, 1941, 12; "Cudahy Heads Wisconsin Defense," Press, 1969), 21-23, 158-160; Cudahy to Secretary of State, April 5, 1935, in U.S. Department New York Times, February 21, 1943, 23. of State, Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, vol. II, ed. (Washington: 49. Farley to Cudahy, May 22, 1942, Box 1, Cudahy Papers, MCHS. Government Printing Office 1935), 322. 17. Cudahy to Roosevelt January 3, 16, 1936, FDR and Foreign Affairs, vol. Ill, 158-160; FDR to Cudahyjanuary 21, 1936, FDR: His Personal Letters 1928-1945, vol. I, ed. Elliott Roosevelt (New York: Ducll, Sloan, and Pearce, 1950), 547. 18. Cudahy to Farley, November 6, 1934, Box 3, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. 19. Winter Everett, "Around the Statehouse," Wisconsin State Journal, September 20, 1935, ABOUT THE AUTHOR 4; "Winter Everett, "Around the Statchousc," December 5, 1935, 4; Memo June 3, 1936, Box 39, Farley Papers, Library of Congress; Miller, 98. 20. The Wisconsin Progressives' desire for a third party is discussed in Roger T. Johnson, Thomas Spencer received his PhD in Robert M. La Follette, Jr. and the Decline of the Progressive Party in Wisconsin (Madison: State Historical Society for the Department of History, 1964), 39-40. Farley Memo, May 1, American history from the University of 1935, Box 38, Farley Papers, Library of Congress. Notre Dame. He currently serves as a 21. See Donald R. McCoy, "The Progressive National Committee of 1936," Western Politi­ member of the associate faculty in history cal Quarterly 9 June 1956): 454-469; Robert La Follette Jr. to Marguerite LeHand, October 26, 1936, Wisconsin, 1933-1937, OF 300, DNC Records, FDR Library. at Indiana University, South Bend, and 22. William Bullitt to Roosevelt, February 22, 1936, in FDR and Foreign Affairs, vol. Ill, 205- teaches for the Bend Community School 206; FDR to Cudahy, April 15, 1936, in FDR: His Personal Letters, 1928-1945, vol. I, 577. 23. A brief survey of the Wisconsin vote can be found in Miller, 98. Corporation. His principal area of research 24. Maga, 86; Farley to Cudahy, May 21, 1937, Box 1, John Cudahy Papers, Milwaukee is twentieth-century political history, with a special interest in the County Historical Society (MCHS), Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 25. Background on the disillusionment of some liberals with Farley in the 1936 campaign can politics of the New Deal era, and he has published a number of be found in Arthur M. Schlesinger, The Age of Roosevelt: The Politics of Upheaval (Boston: articles on the politics and personalities of the Roosevelt admin­ Houghton Mifflin Co.1960), 572-573, 575-576 Joseph Lash, Eleanor and Franklin (New York: Norton, 1971), 579—580; A list of speeches given by Farley in the first term can be found in istration in the 1930s. Speeches of James A. Farley, November 6, 1932—March 27, 1937, President's Personal File 309, FDR Library; Farley Memo, October 5, 1934, Box 35, Farley Papers, Library of Con­

SPRING 2011 1 5 .. visitor stands on the right leg of the Man Mound in this early photograph. The body of the mound is roughly outlined with lime or chalk dust.

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A SPIRIT STRIDIrjG UPON THE EARTH WISCONSIN'S FAMOUS MAN MOUND

BY AMY ROSEBROUGH 1 ">.^- '^r 'j&U;

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«is'#"« ; yaK*^ *il|*S^5$ B^iaHWwr; • *m U IN L. IVII LLC. IMIMIUIVI ago, a small community of people gath­ ered north of the Baraboo Valley and transformed the very ground upon which they stood. Basket load by basket load, earth was carried in and sculpted into the mounded form of a gigantic horned human spirit—Wisconsin's famous Man Mound. The rituals surrounding the creation of the Man Mound can only be guessed; perhaps the mounds were built to celebrate the seasons, mourn the dead, or bring balance to the world. While much of the meaning of the mound has been lost to time, one message from its creators remains loud and clear: we have marked this place as sacred; remember it and remember us. Archaeologists use the term effigy builder to describe a popula­ tion of Native Americans that lived in the oak savannahs of southern Wisconsin and adjoining portions of Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois between AD 700 and AD 1200. Though the effigy builders shared the practice of building earthen mounds in the shapes (effigies) of ani­ mals, birds, and spirits, they probably weren't members of a single tribe or culture. Instead, the different clusters of effigy mounds noted in places like Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Lake probably marked the territories of independent communities with their own—albeit similar—ways of life. The effigy builders lived during a period of great change. Bow and arrow hunting technology was introduced just prior to AD 700. Corn was brought to Wisconsin not long afterward. Mississippian peoples from the great civilization of Cahokia settled at Aztalan and other sites, bringing new technologies and religions to the effigy builders. As a result, a way of life adapted to changing seasonal resources began to give way to more settled farming societies, setting the stage for the emergence of the historically documented Native Nations of Wisconsin. The Man Mound has survived the passage of a thousand winters and countless tempests. Its most significant threat throughout that great span of time has come from recent human indifference. Most of Wisconsin's other mounds, built in abstract geometric shapes or in the forms of animals, birds, and spirits, were destroyed shortly after Euro-American settlement, a two-thousand-year historical record swept away in the relative blink of an eye. The Man Mound, however, found champions in a small cadre of antiquarians, archaeologists, and preservationists who protected the mound, keeping the memory of a long-vanished community alive for generations to come. In 1859, local surveyor and antiquarian W. H. Canfield was told of an unusual mound at the base of a slope of the North Range of the Baraboo Hills, a short distance northeast of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Canfield made a detailed map of the earthen sculpture and sent a copy to famed naturalist Increase Lapham, who had published the first scholarly account of Wisconsin's effigy mounds only a few years previously. Canfield described the mound as "the most interesting I have ever seen."

Opposite page: Looking south, the torso and head of the Man Mound stand 30 U«* out where the grass has been allowed to grow longer on the mound.

W. H. Canfield survey of the Man Mound, July 23,1859

19 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

Amazed, Lapham quickly published a new article describ­ Despite Lapham's enthusiasm and some initial public ing the Man Mound, along with a small number of other excitement, the Man Mound gently faded back into obscurity. humanoid mounds discovered in southern Wisconsin. Lapham In 1905, Arlow Stout and H. E. Cole, members of the Wis­ wrote: consin Archeological Society, decided to revisit the Man Mound as part of a survey and census of mound groups in I wish to announce the discovery by Mr. William H. Sauk County. To their dismay, they realized that a road had Canfield, near Baraboo, in Sauk County, of an ancient been cut through the lower legs of the figure and that the artificial mound, or earth-work, of the most strange and landowner was planning to plow the mound. An alarm was extraordinary character of any yet brought to light. It raised, and an informal coalition began to rally to save the represents, as will be seen by the accompanying draw­ unique mound. ing, very clearly and decidedly, the human form, in the By 1907, the Sauk County Historical Society, the Wisconsin act of walking, and with an expression of boldness and Archeological Society, and the Wisconsin Federation of decision that cannot be mistaken. . . . All of the lines of Women's Clubs succeeded in raising the $225.00 needed to pur­ this most singular effigy are curved gracefully and much chase the Man Mound property. After much work of clearing effort has been bestowed upon its construction. trees and brush from the mound, on August 7, 1908, several hun­ dred members of the three organizations gathered to dedicate the Man Mound Park with the mound itself as the center- piece.The new park was one of the first of its kind—an ancient monument purchased not for excavation or exploitation, but for preservation. Canfield's survey revealed that the man mound originally stood 214 feet from head to foot. Like many effigies, the mound was raised in low relief, belying the monumentality of the earthwork. The figure is that of a human or humanoid spirit, depicted as if walking towards the west. Both legs are slightly bent at the knee, and the arms are bent as if swinging in mid- stride. Two horns (or horns on a headdress) extend from the top of the head—a feature associated with many Native Amer­ ican sacred beings. Tablet at the Man Mound, unveiled August 7,1908

Map of Baraboo with W. H. Canfield's drawings of area mounds, including the Man Mound .

DifSrrnt }•;„. Visitors to the Man Mound can observe a human-shaped image carefully sculpted in low-relief by people who inhabited the Baraboo Range some 1000 years ago.

At one time, the mound was one of several similar struc­ tures. At least five other man mounds once stood in Sauk and Richland Counties, each slightly different from the next. Only W1LLBCYFAM0CS one of these five, the La Valle Man Mound, located northwest of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, was sculpted in a walking pose, so it BARABOO MOCND bore the greatest resemblance to its more famous cousin. The Wisconsin Arclieologists Get rest were simple human shapes, legs straight and arms held out Option on Tract Contain­ or hanging at the sides. Other effigy mounds sometimes ing: Antiquity. described as having human form are more likely to have rep­ HUGE FIGURE OF INDIAN resented swallows, thunderbirds, or other avian species. 1'ublic Park Will Be Made of Land The limited geographic distribution of the confirmed man and Ancient Work Preserved tor mounds may tell us an important fact about their builders. Posterity by Students.

Archaeologists hypothesize that the effigies may have been At a meeting held In com 1th tho Wisconsin Teachers" association", last even­ ing, definite plans were made for the pur­ symbols identifying the people who lived in each area, much chase at an early .1; r the tract ot Jam! In Sauk county containing the most perfect cfhgy mound In the world. like the animal totems associated with many Native American The Wisconsin Archeological society and the Sank County Historical Focletv axe >•> art together in the purchase of thr. tract clans today. If so, the clan or subpopulation responsible for and will transform it into a public park (or the use of all who care to sen the im­ mense figure of a prehistoric human boln^ the man mounds was never widespread. At the same time, man 216 feet long. Present at the meeting wen- Attorney Q, mounds represent only one effigy form documented in Sauk I (Vast, l. h. Whitney, O. J, Habhegger. 0. K. Brown, and W. K. Flint, Milwaukee: F. S. Hyer. Stevens Point, an'l A. B. Stout, Baraboo. and Richland Counties. Effigies in the vicinity of Baraboo were For several years Mr. Stout, Instructor In Botonce In the flarsihoo High school, han been making efforts to arouse interest in particularly diverse, including deer or elk, bear, long-tailed tut project to purchase the tract containing the mound awl t-hm^greserva It from '. struct ton. 1'ntil lately he ha water spirits, birds, and fork-tailed swallows or thunderbirds. to secure a prfc" on the property, but yes­ terday he came to the city with an option for the purchase of tin lan'l for B60. This This variation suggests that the Baraboo area was once home sum. together with a sum sufficient t • Blear away the underbrush and make a small park rurrptinded with a fence, will he raised to a diverse community, perhaps reflecting its proximity to the among members of Ihe two foCl*M*« " ,:l probata that within the next year the mound •'ill have be-ideri to Issue an invita­ the site to create a park tion to be read at today's general ees:-ien of the teachers' association, inviting all members of the society or others who are Inieretted. to attend a reception at the rooms of the Ringelsen collection, 3fi'' Third , SPRING 2011 street, this evening;. 21 ,'!«•. A '•.:••••'•''• •t.:vi,,..-.-s.*••«•>• . >ivV:?, CVSfFP** At ground level, the Man Mound blends in to the rolling Sauk County terrain

The surviving portion of the Man Mound can be seen through the trees. The lower legs and feet of the mound were cut off by the construction of Man Mound Road in the 1800s.

22 wisconsinhistory.org Notes

1. William H. Canfield, Outline Sketches of Sauk County (Baraboo, WI: A. N. Kellogg Repub­ lic Office, 1861). 2. Increase A. Lapham, Man-Shaped Mounds in Wisconsin (Madison: State Historical Soci­ ety of Wisconsin, 1906), 365-368. 3. Arlow B. Stout, "Summary of the Archaeology of Eastern Sauk County," The Wisconsin Archeologist 5, no. 2 (1906): 227-288. 4. Charles E. Brown, "The Desired Purchase and Preservation of the Celebrated Man Mound," The Wisconsin Archeologist 6, no. 1 (1906): 45-46. 5. Charles E. Brown, "The Preservation of the Man Mound," The Wisconsin Archeologist 7, no. 4 (1908): 140. 6. Robert Birmingham and Leslie Eisenbcrg, Indian Mounds of Wisconsin (Madison: Uni­ versity of Wisconsin Press, 2000).

of the Wisconsin River near modern Muscoda, Wisconsin. Within each territory, mounds and mound groups identify locations set aside for ritual purposes. The mounds, for the most part, were built using local earth scraped from adjacent The location of the long since destroyed Man Mound's legs are kept areas. Some contain ritual deposits of ash, burned stones, or painted on Man Mound Road, and the location of the feet is marked colored earths. Most cover graves or other burial features, in the neighboring farm's pasture. making them funeral monuments as well as ritual sculptures. Since the Man Mound was never excavated, it cannot be said with any certainty whether the mound marks one or more ABOUT THE AUTHOR graves, but the possibility cannot be dismissed. Today, the Man Mound speaks to its visitors of continuity— Amy L. Rosebrough is an archaeologist of lessons passed from generation to generation and from cen­ with the Division of Historic Preservation tury to century. The mound remains sacred to Wisconsin's Native and Public History at the Wisconsin His­ torical Society. A native of the Missouri Peoples, and it is a tangible reminder of a long and rich heritage. Ozarks, she has had an interest in archae­ In 1908, the people of Wisconsin saved the Man Mound to honor ology and art history since childhood, cul­ that past and enrich the minds and spirits of future citizens. In minating in a PhD in archaeology from the 2008, their great-grandchildren gathered around the mound University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has conducted extensive again to celebrate their success and rededicate the park, bringing research on the effigy mound builders of the Midwest and co- it back from obscurity once again. With our respect and care, the authored the grade school workbook Water Panthers, Bears, and Man Mound will continue to stride towards the sunset for gen­ Thunderbirds: Exploring Wisconsin's Effigy Mounds with Bobbie erations more to come. IKfl Malone, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

VISIT THE MAN MOUND

Man Mound County Park is located on the south side of Man Mound Road, two and a half miles east of County Highway T and four miles northeast of Baraboo. The park is owned and jointly maintained by the Sauk County Historical Society and the Sauk County Park Department. It is free to all visitors.

SPRING 2011 23 JilSfation within cfiNdtiion Voices of the Oneidas in Wisconsin

EDITED BY L. GORDON MOLESTER III AND LAURENCE M. HAUPTMAN

The following is excerpted from A ^fiVation common culture. They maintained Nation within a Nation: Voices of the within their Iroquoian way of life at home on Oneidas in Wisconsin edited by L. Gor­ the reservation and in their sizable don McLester III and Laurence M. ^]Vation Indian community in Milwaukee, but Hauptman, recently published by the Wisconsin Oneida tribal existence was Wisconsin Historical Society Press. constantly threatened. They were par­ Voices of the ticularly beset beginning in the last he Wisconsin Oneidas are a Oneidas in Wisconsin decades of the nineteenth century, remarkable Native American when local, state, and federal govern­ Tcommunity. Despite their sepa­ ments tried to forcibly amalgamate ration from their ancient Iroquois them into the American polity. homeland in central New York—the A Nation Within a Nation: Voices Oneidas are one of the original Six of the Wisconsin Oneida focuses on Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy the years 1900 to 1975. The editors did that also include the Mohawks, not arbitrarily choose the beginning Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and and end dates. The year 1900 marks Tuscaroras—they have persevered, the start of several events that led to a retaining their family connections and devastating loss of land for the Wis­ sense of community; maintaining their consin Oneidas. Over the next sev­ tribal government, one that has been modified in form over enty-five years, they weathered these cataclysms and began the the years; and asserting their long-standing treaty relationship process of creating the modern-day Wisconsin Oneida Nation. with and obligations to the United States. In the face of over­ In 1900-1901, the Wisconsin state legislature first consid­ bearing outside influences that included federal policies of ered creating the town of Hobart in Brown County and the removal, assimilation, and threats to end their tribal existence, town of Oneida in Outagamie County out of lands reserved to they have always maintained their status as a sovereign nation. the Oneidas under the amended Treaty of Buffalo Creek of Well before their first federal treaty with the United States February 3, 1838. In 1903, these two new towns were estab­ in 1784, the Oneidas had extensive diplomatic experiences with lished by state law. This state statutory action, questionable European and other Indian nations. Today, the Oneida Nation under federal Indian law, was a disaster to the Oneidas in the of Indians of Wisconsin have a government-to-government long run. By 1934, the year of the Indian Reorganization Act, relationship with Washington, one that can be traced back to the Wisconsin Oneida reservation had been reduced by more its alliance with the patriot cause in the American Revolution. than sixty-five thousand acres. In times of the American nation's struggles, Oneidas have By 1975, however, the Wisconsin Oneidas were well under come to the aid of their ally, paying a high price for their way at rebuilding their modern nation. National Indian poli­ valiant efforts on battlefields, from Oriskany in 1777 to Iraq cies had changed and, as we will see, Wisconsin Oneidas were and Afghanistan. Yet, as this collection shows, too often fed­ in Washington, D.C., and involved in the design of this new eral, state, and local officials have attempted to undermine the "age of self-determination." Tribal member Robert L. Bennett, Oneidas' status as a sovereign nation composed of the original whose oral history account is included in part 4, was the first occupants of North America who are tied by kinship and a American Indian since Reconstruction to be appointed com-

24 wisconsinhistory.org WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY missioner of Indian affairs, serving in that capacity during the related to the New York land claim, the Wisconsin Oneidas administration of President Lyndon Johnson. In the mid-1970s, have retained their culture and remained a sovereign nation, Ernest Stevens Sr., also represented in this volume, served on and they have begun to overcome the limitations on their self- the American Indian Policy Review Commission established rule imposed by outsiders in Washington, D.C.; Albany, New by the United States Congress. The Wisconsin Oneidas' lead­ York; and Madison, Wisconsin. Today, the Wisconsin Oneidas ership role in national Indian policy making has continued are committed to providing for their people's future by bring­ since the 1970s as well: Richard Hill and Ernest Stevens Jr. ing educational, economic, and social betterment to tribal have both headed the National Indian Gaming Association, members. They encourage tribal members to seek greater eco­ and Carl Artman served as assistant secretary of the interior for nomic opportunities through higher education that is available Indian affairs in 2007-2008. only off the reservation. In this strategy, however, the Wiscon­ sin Oneidas, and most Native Americans, face the dilemma of maintaining a unique culture in the face of outside values that often are distinct from Oneida traditions. In this respect and in Long before the civil rights revolution or red power activism others, the Wisconsin Oneidas follow the Iroquoian creed: they of the 1960s and '70s, Wisconsin Oneidas were developing have a responsibility to ensure their survival as a people by con­ strategies of survival—maintaining a vibrant community life, cerning themselves with the "seven generations to come." attempting to preserve their language by working with anthro­ pologists and organizing singing societies, adapting to Mil­ Reviving Oneida Lacemaking waukee city life but never losing touch with kin at the Oneida In this essay, Betty McLester and Debra Jenny discuss their reservation, learning new artistic traditions such as lacework efforts to revive the traditional art of lacemaking in the mod­ that engendered pride and provided some money in hard ern Oneida community. times, and pursuing centuries-old land claims in federal courts. Hence, the Wisconsin Oneidas were and still are highly adapt­ By World War I, more than one hundred women were able people. They changed their political governing system in involved in the project. Every two weeks, they delivered lace the 1820s, 1870s, early twentieth century, during the Indian to the association [Sybil Carter Lace Association] in New New Deal of the 1930s, and again in 1969, all to maintain sov­ York City. The Oneida women were very busy. They did one ereignty within their territory and meet the challenges they hundred to three hundred dollar commissioned pieces for the faced in each era. From a hereditary council of chiefs in the ladies in New York City. The association ended its work in 1820s brought from New York state to a nine-member elected 1926; however, [Oneida postmaster] Josephine Webster [and tribal council in 1969, they adjusted to new circumstances other women] kept up lacemaking until her retirement in while maintaining their status as a sov­ ereign nation. It is little wonder that the Wisconsin Oneidas were among the Oneida lacemakers in the early 1900s, showcasing a tablecloth and lacemaking tools. From left to first Indian nations to take advantage of right: Mrs. Jonas Skenandore, Mary James, Josephine Webster, Tillie Baird, Angeline Hill, and Mrs. Levinia John. the decision in the Cabazon case of 1987 that led to the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act of 1988. Nor is it a surprise that the Wisconsin Oneidas have aggressively pursued their land claims in New York state and defended their sovereignty against local and Wisconsin state efforts to extend jurisdiction. These accomplishments of Wiscon­ sin Oneidas, individually and collec­ tively, have significance beyond recent history. They reveal a recurring theme brought out in this book: namely, the Oneidas' ability to adapt to change while remaining an Iroquoian people. This adaptability was clearly evident in the period 1900 to 1975. Although there has been a recent setback in the courts WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

1953. A lady named Sister Augusta tried to revive lacemak­ ing in the region after that time. Today we are again attempting to revive the interest in Oneida lacemaking. The effort needs to be encouraged from an early age, and there is a definite learning curve in becom­ ing a skilled lacemaker, a highly labor-intensive endeavor. Woody Webster [Josephine Webster's son] donated a bushel basket full of bobbins to the Oneida Nation Museum, and from them we can see that the women used whatever wood was available to make the bobbins. Some look like wooden dolls chopped off at the legs. Others look like Belgian, Bohemian, and German bobbins. We have studied the lace made by the Oneida women of the earlier times. They made every type of lace known, though we have not yet found any surviving examples of pillow lace, which is made by attaching thread to a wooden bobbin and twisting it in a certain way and then pinning it onto a pillow as work continues. The Oneida women employed four-strand braiding, used simple geometric designs, or mastered compli­ cated lace patterns [that resulted in their masterpiece at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine]. It is nearly impossible to differentiate lacemaking styles used by the Oneidas from other expert lacemakers of the time, though one way is to note that some of the Oneida lace had Indian motifs. But because any Dr. Josiah Powless, an Oneida physician who was killed on the western lacemaker could get ideas about patterns out of a book, styles front in WWI, upon graduating from school at Carlisle, PA, in 1891 were borrowed, and this was fair game. The Indian women who worked on the eight projects supported by the associa­ tion [two others were short-lived among the Senecas and Onondagas in New York] also copied patterns to guide their Alfred Powless was in the 120th Field Artillery Band. Herman work. These patterns were often on architectural blue paper or Willie Kelly served in the 429th Battalion, Signal Corps, while linen or from select diagrams on tissue paper. Reuben King served as corporal with Company C, 9th Field By studying the work of these past lacemakers, we can see Signal Battalion. Brothers George and Wallace Cooper, how precise they were. Looking at two original photographs George and William Cornelius, Chauncey and Levi Baird, of the St. John the Divine lace, at the exactness of the pin­ Milton and Philip Summers, and Hyson and Julius Hill also hole, we can appreciate how incredibly great this piece is. served in the AEF, as did the three sons of Daniel and Cassie The women's talent of working from a simple outline and (Webster) Denny. Emanuel Powless, a veteran of the Spanish- expertly crossing and twisting the pattern is amazing. The American War, also fought in France during World War I. A grapevine ivy design in the lace is actually the theme of the few Wisconsin Oneidas, including Roderick Cornelius, served cathedral. The lace also depicts an eagle—regarded by Onei­ in both World War I and World War II.2 das as a protector, rising above everyone and everything, Several Oneidas served at higher ranks: Parker Websters watching for danger—an image that clearly had spiritual was a staff sergeant in the 54th Pioneer Infantry, Joel Howard meaning to the Indian women. Cornelius was a pharmacist mate first class in the navy, and Cora Elm Sinnard, a Carlisle graduate and a highly trained Oneidas in World War I nurse, also served in the war zone in France. But without a Here, Loretta Metoxen shares the distinguished service of doubt the most famous Wisconsin Oneida to serve in the war Oneida physician Josiah Powless during World War I. effort was Dr. Josiah Powless, first lieutenant in the Medical Detachment of the 308th Infantry, 2nd Division, who gave his At least 115 Wisconsin Oneidas served in World War I in life in the fighting on the western front in 1918.6 Powless's sac­ diverse capacities. Oneidas were enlisted men and served as rifice was not forgotten: on November 6 and 7, 2003, the privates, privates first class, and corporals in the United States United States Army honored his extraordinary courage as a Army. A significant number served in the Quartermaster physician and soldier in a ceremony at Fort Sam Houston, San Corps and at supply depots. John R. Doxtator was a cook. Antonio, Texas, by dedicating a building in his honor.

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Josiah Alvin Powless was born on the Oneida reservation Detachment of the 308th Infantry, 77th Division. He was also on August 1, 1871, the son of Peter A. and Rebecca Powless. He in the "Lost Battalion" in the Argonne Forest: a battalion of attended grade school on the reservation, probably at the Holy six hundred men who went on patrol in the forest and returned Apostle's Mission School, where he graduated at age fourteen. with only two hundred. On October 14, 1918, near Chevieres, Afterward, he entered the United States Indian Industrial France, Lieutenant Powless crossed an area of intense machine School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he continued studies gun and artillery fire to go to the aid of a wounded comrade, for another six years and graduated in 1891 at the age of twenty. Captain James M. McKibben. Powless dressed McKibben's (Powless was one of 492 Oneida students at Carlisle; at least 27 wounds and carried him to the rear. McKibben did not sur­ of these Carlisle-educated Oneidas eventually served in the vive, and Powless was seriously wounded. military during World War I. ) He then availed himself of a short Five days before the end of the war, Powless died from his course at Dickenson Preparatory School at Carlisle before wounds at the age of forty-seven. He was posthumously awarded returning home to Wisconsin to teach at the Oneida Indian the Distinguished Service Cross by the commanding general of Boarding School (the Government School) that opened in 1893. the American Expeditionary Forces, General John J. (Blackjack) Powless yearned to become a physician, but he had no Pershing, according to direction of President Woodrow Wilson means to attain his goals. It was at this time that the Reverend and under provision of an act of Congress. He is buried in the Mr. Merrill, Holy Apostle's pastor, made a trip east to seek Holy Apostles Church cemetery in Oneida, Wisconsin. Ml funds for the Oneida Hospital, for a badly needed water plant, and for the establishment of a small industry. During his pres­ entation to a group in the Chapel of Old St. Paul's Church, Notes Merrill mentioned the great need for a resident physician to 1. For example, Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin, Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution (New York: Hill and Wang, 2006); Carl Benn, The Iro­ care for more than two thousand Oneida people at the mis­ quois in the War of 1812 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 155-159; Laurence M. sion. Merrill said of this meeting: Hauptman, The Iroquois in the Civil War: From Battlefield to Reservation (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1993), 67-84. 2. Oneida Military Records, Oneida Nation of Indians of Wisconsin (ONIW), Oneida Cultural Heritage Department (OCHD), Oneida, WI. God indeed blessed that small meeting to us and to the 3. Ibid. Oneidas. One of the number there assembled, Miss 4. Ibid. 5. Oneida Boarding School Records, ONIW, OCHD, Oneida, WI. For the names, see Ethel M. Cheney, President of the Junior Auxiliary of Laurence M. Hauptman and L. Gordon McLester III, eds., The Oneida Indians in the Age St. Paul's Church, came forward to gladden the heart of of Allotment 1860-1920, appendix (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006). 6. For the Oneidas at Carlisle, sec Barbara Landis, "The Oneidas at Carlisle," in Hauptman the Missionary and all his people with a promise that and McLester, The Oneida Indians in the Age of Allotment, 48-55. Sec also Linda Witmcr, she would undertake to provide means for the educa­ The Indian Industrial School: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1879-1918 (Carlisle, PA: Cumberland County Historical Society, 1993). tion of a physician for Oneida. 7. Julia Bloomfield, The Oneidas, 2nd ed. (New York: Alden, 1907). 8. Ibid. As a result of this support, Josiah Powless was able to enter Milwaukee Medical College in 1900. According to one source: "... this young Oneida Indian, in his twenty-eighth year, had ABOUT THE AUTHOR finished with great credit a four years' course of study at the L. Gordon McLester III is an Oneida tribal historian. He is coedi- College and graduated, not only with honors but with the same tor ofThe Oneida Indian Journey and TheOneidalndiansin the Age splendid record for moral character and attractive personality of Allotment and coauthor of Chief Daniel Bread and the Oneida 7 as he won while at Carlisle." Nation of Indians all with Laurence M. Hauptman. McLester lives in At home on the Oneida reservation, Powless was a princi­ Oneida, Wisconsin. pal participant in church events. Additionally, he was among seven Oneida men who made up the very first election board, Laurence M. Hauptman is SUNY Distinguished Professor of His­ allowing Oneidas to vote in public elections. On November 1, tory at SUNY New Paltz, where he has taught Native American his­ 1897, he married Electa Skenandoah. After graduation from tory since 1971. Hauptman is the author, co-author, or co-editor of fifteen books on the Iroquois and other Native Americans. He medical school in 1904, he returned to Oneida as the director has testified as an expert witness before committees of both and physician of the Oneida Hospital. His wife served as assis­ houses of Congress and in the federal courts and has served as a tant director and nurse. The hospital had been established in historical consultant for the Wisconsin Oneidas, the Cayugas, the 1898 by Solomon S. Burleson, an Episcopal missionary. For Mashantucket Pequots, and the Senecas. The Oneida Indian Jour­ twelve years, Dr. Powless carried out his duties at the hospital ney, which Professor Hauptman co-edited with L. Gordon while also caring for the Oneida children at the Oneida Board­ McLester III, won the Wisconsin Historical Society prize for best ing School, which also had a small hospital on site. community history in the year 2000. Dr. Powless enlisted on April 1, 1918, and on June 11 was sent overseas to France, where he served with the Medical

SPRING 2011 27 "Patriotism Is Above A Look Back at the Fiftieth Anniversary

BY J ESSE J GANT GEORGE MCMILLAN, LIKE MANY UNION SOLDIERS, PROBABLY DID NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF A GREAT MAN, OR A KEY FIGURE IN THE LONG ARC OF HISTORY. He likely would have preferred the tide of "com­ moner"—one who humbly did what he could in service to his country. And yet, memories of the war plagued George McMil­ lan for a long time, memories that no passage of time could erase. Evidence comes from his peculiar visit to the Shiloh bat­ tlefield in 1912, where, as a young man fifty years earlier, he had found himself on the front lines, bearing the brunt of a Confed­ erate ambush that soon erupted into the opening volleys of one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles.1 He visited the battlefield fifty years later on a remarkable quest. He was looking for a tree, but not just any tree. On the morning of April 6, 1862, he arrived at the edge of a field where the Confederate lines had opened fire on his comrades in the Sixteenth Wisconsin. The Confederate volley killed McMillan's captain, Edward Saxe, who became one of the battle's first casu­ alties. By plain luck, McMillan found himself near a thick trunk tucked deep into the Tennessee forest. No measure of bravery or manhood saved him that day. He lived because he was lucky, and fifty years later, he still felt a need to find the spot of his near- death experience and commune with it again. On his return visit, he had himself photographed near the tree's base. Tellingly, he wrote, "This tree sheltered me" at the bottom of the image. With the photo, the historical record of George McMillan at Shiloh in 1912 falls silent.2 Political Consideration" of the Civil War in Wisconsin

During a reunion of the Sixteenth Wisconsin Infantry in 1912, fifty years after serving during the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, George McMillan felt compelled to visit the tree that saved his life. The words "This Tree Sheltered Me" are scribbled at the bottom of the photo. George McMillan (front row, fourth from left) stands with veterans and guests of the Sixteenth Wisconsin Volunteers assembled before the Wisconsin monument on the Shiloh, Tennessee, battlefield in 1912.

Many lessons could be drawn from George McMillan's had decades after the war to reflect upon and remember a cru­ photograph, now housed in the archives of the Wisconsin His­ cial point—the men opposite him on the field that morning at torical Society. One is that the Civil War killed soldiers in new Shiloh had gone to war to defend and protect slavery3 and bewildering ways, often on a scale that went above and The year 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the begin­ beyond anything that had been experienced before. However ning of the Civil War, a moment that will once again ignite much veterans tried to dress up and valorize the brutality of debates about the enduring meanings of that conflict, along their recollections in their postwar reunions and monument with discussions of the ways in which the Civil War has influ­ ceremonies, everyone who lived through it knew how desper­ enced contemporary understanding of what it means to be an ation and violence characterized Civil War combat. Battle American. The anniversary affords an opportunity to reflect doled out death at random and claimed the courageous along on some of the ways in which the Civil War has been remem­ with the shirkers. Men like McMillan were left to reflect upon bered during key anniversaries in the past, from the opening their experiences with death, and McMillan's trip to Shiloh in years of Reconstruction down to the era of Civil Rights and 1912 suggests that sometimes the wounds never fully healed. beyond. Perhaps no major Civil War anniversary has had as The stories told at reunions and monument dedications were profound an effect on the nature and contour of America's about giving veterans the consolation they desperately needed. Civil War memory as the events of 1911 — 1915. The fiftieth McMillan also knew that the war was in some ways about anniversary marked the triumph of a patriotic memory of the slavery. Civil War soldiers fought in some of the bloodiest con­ Civil War. The anniversary celebrations were significant flicts in United States history, and they did so repeatedly, many because they offered so many key participants an opportunity of them for several years, across dozens of battlefields. McMil­ to come together and forge a usable sense of what the war lan stayed in the army for the duration of the war. His dedica­ meant for future generations. Ultimately, white Americans tion to the cause, like that of so many Civil War soldiers, cannot between 1911 and 1915 chose to forget the war's racial legacies be explained without considering the intensity of the Civil War's in favor of promoting a romantic narrative about a nation that ideological struggle and the political goals soldiers understood had tragically, yet heroically, engaged in a regrettable Civil their presence in the ranks implied. Though McMillan might War. Yet, far from promoting the reconciliation and healing not have dwelled on it during that fateful morning at Shiloh, he the anniversary organizers so craved, the nation's collective

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Veterans, friends, and onlookers assembled before fit the Camp Randall Memorial -' Arch on Dedication Day, •iiiuiiiiiiiiitMiniiiiiiiiMiiiiHHiii.iiiiiiliilllinniiiiiniriil June 18,1912.

Hosea Rood became an important leader within the veteran's community, helping organize the effort to memorialize the Civil War training ground at Camp Randall. Rood also led an effort to speak out against the lynchings of African Americans in the Deep South.

A youthful Hosea Rood, many years before he became the state instructor for the Grand Army of the Republic. Rood served in the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry, which left Camp Randall for the front in early 1862.

WHI IMAGE ID 79850 "Old Abe,"the live bald eagle carried into combat by members of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry, became the state's most enduring symbol of the Civil War. A statue in his image graced the top of the Camp Randall Memorial Arch. efforts to remember seemed only to prove that some conflicts anniversary looms on the horizon. The stories collected here are never resolved. will offer a series of portraits of what made the anniversaries of How postwar Americans searched for healing tells us much 1911 so important and, ultimately, so tragic. Wisconsin's desire about how Americans have remembered the Civil War, but lit­ to participate in the crafting of a national reunion narrative tle about the realities that defined the harrowing decades of the during the fiftieth anniversary trumped the challenge that so mid-nineteenth century. Wisconsinites may wonder why the many ex-abolitionists, Union soldiers, and freed people had Civil War continues to matter at all—the state has no battlefields, struggled so long for: the promise of equality. In the end, the and its population of freed blacks was miniscule in comparison yearning for reconciliation turned the Civil War into a lesson to other parts of the Union in 1861. For many, the ongoing cul­ on national patriotism and thereby instilled a heritage that tural fixation on the Civil War (but not on slavery) sometimes diverted the war from its true legacies. seems like an unwillingness to let go of the past. So much of this sense, however, is rooted in precisely what is wrong with how Camp Randall, 1912 Americans remember that war. Too many read the words "Civil There is no evidence to indicate that George McMillan War" and automatically think of re-enactments and of massed made it to the dedication of the memorial arch at Madison's formations of nonideological Blue and Gray troops. Americans Camp Randall a few months after his April visit to Shiloh in have been trained to forget or otherwise deny the profound ques­ 1912, but he likely knew some of the men who did. The memo­ tions and systems of thought that motivated Civil War soldiers, rial arch dedicated at Camp Randall in June 1912 represented including the thousands of soldiers who hailed from Wisconsin. the state's most ambitious effort to commemorate the Civil And they've been trained to ignore some of the key actors who War during its fiftieth anniversary. Like so many monument- defined that period, namely African Americans.0 dedication ceremonies of the era, however, the festivities and Wisconsinites during the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil events surrounding the Camp Randall dedication dodged the War participated in a grand national dialogue about the Civil slavery question in favor of promoting more politically agree­ War's meaning, a dialogue likely to resonate as this year's 150th able lessons in martial heroism and patriotism. A close look at

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Eighth Wisconsin Infantry and earned notoriety for his camp MAY30, tricks and battlefield courage. Old Abe lent stability and time- 904- lessness to the design, suggesting through its usage of a potent political symbol that memory of the soldiers' sacrifices would live forever. Americans at the time understood monuments to be the perfect vehicles for teaching specific lessons about the war. One lesson held that regardless of their motivations, both Union and Confederate soldiers were courageous, and there­ fore both worthy of the reunited nation's collective admiration. Unlike a tree in the Tennessee woods, in other words, a mon­ ument had the force of permanence behind it. The decision to locate the monument on the Camp Randall grounds seemed like an obvious one for many veterans, includ­ ing William J. McKay. McKay walked by the old campground in 1909 and wondered why Camp Randall didn't already have a memorial to commemorate what had happened there. McKay's idea for a memorial on the spot quickly caught on for obvious reasons: between 1861 and 1865, the vast majority of Wisconsin's soldiers had been trained at Camp Randall, then the state's largest training facility for soldiers. The place understandably stirred deep memories for the veterans, as it simultaneously evoked not only memories of the war years, but also the nostalgia of youth.

William J. McKay served in the Forty-fourth Wisconsin Infantry. Near the end of his life, he served as the model for the statue representing the heroic Union veteran at the base of the Camp Randall Memorial Arch. IN WISCONSIN SCHOOLS

^LITHO.COMMNY.

Old Abe's image became popular fodder for nostalgic postwar imagery and advertisements. The imagery helped citizens forget that Memorial Day originated as a celebration led by ex-slaves near Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1865. Thousands of the city's residents, many of them former slaves, gathered on May 1 to sing "John Brown's Body"and celebrate Emancipation.

the negotiations that took place behind the scenes hints at some of the complex politics and motives underlying the act of remembering during that important anniversary. The memorial-arch dedication was meant to serve as a kind of capstone event for the anniversary. The arch's design was intended to metaphorically connect the past to the present, serving to remind onlookers that the young men who had come to Camp Randall in 1861 returned fifty years later as grizzled, but wiser, old men. The lesson seemed to be that while these old men were taught hard lessons during the war, they never wavered in their dedication to the flag, and were therefore honorable. Atop the arch, cresting the bridge from past to present, sat Wisconsin's famous Civil War icon, Old Abe, the bald eagle who served alongside the men of the M

SPRING 2011 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

Camp Randall may have been an emotionally resonant place for Wisconsin's veterans, but by 1911, the grounds were increasingly under the threat of competing interests, including the nearby University of Wisconsin and several area businesses that hoped to develop the spot. Leaders within the veterans' organizations knew that their struggle to place a monument on the grounds would have to please a number of competing constituencies. Fortunately for the veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the key veterans' organization for Union soldiers, had a capable patriotic instructor, Hosea W. Rood, who quickly turned his formidable rhetorical abilities to the campaign for the monument. Rood had an intense interest in the politics of the Civil War's memory. At times, he could be incredibly lucid about the war's enduring meaning and why it was so important for Americans to remember. As he put it in a Memorial Day speech he drafted for 1912, "The real issue of the war, as stated by Mr. Lincoln in his second inaugural, not long before his death, was the slavery question. It is true the nation did not enter upon the war for the purpose of freeing the slave, and would not have made the war for that purpose. And yet slavery caused the war. But for slav­ ery, there would have been no war of the rebellion." Rood made a crucial point in his reference to Lincoln's second inaugural address. In it, the president came to see the Civil War in terms of divine reckoning for the national sin of slavery. Lincoln wrote, "If God wills that it [the war] continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash People began to consider Gettysburg sacred ground immediately shall be paid by another drawn with the sword ... so still it must after the battle. In 1869, Governor Lucius Fairchild of Wisconsin and be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous alto­ guests visited the battlefield as the first monuments appeared. As gether.'" Lincoln's reference to the nation's might and wealth colonel of the Second Wisconsin Infantry, Fairchild lost his arm in battle at Gettysburg on July 1,1863. being built on the backs of slaves differed substantially from the WHI IMAGE ID 34319 rhetoric that surrounded the Camp Randall dedication nearly fifty years later. Rood's invocation of Lincoln starkly contrasted with the more moderate appeal Rood made in the pages of the Madison of that patriotic struggle must serve to remind those who look Democrat. Whenever he spoke to the general public, Rood upon them of the cost and value of our free institutions... men departed from his belief that slavery caused the war, and opted and women must undertake to order their lives in harmony with instead to characterize the war as an "unfortunate" turn in the our enlightened institutions . . . [monuments] will be silent nation's history. "The State of Wisconsin was not quite thirteen everyday teachers of patriotism." In taking a careful measure years old when our unfortunate Civil War broke out," he wrote. of the nation's political winds, Rood reasoned that the safest Knowing the risks he faced in referencing (and therefore politi­ way to guarantee support for a monument would be to shift his cizing) the slavery issue, Rood skirted it. "We can in a measure primary appeal to a lesson grounded in national patriotism. comprehend how much our free and reunited country has cost A similar story played out in Rood's appeal to University of us," he explained. Careful readers would have noticed his ref­ Wisconsin president Charles Van Hise. Writing on behalf of erence to a free country and taken it for what it was worth. the "twenty thousand veterans living in our good state Wis­ Rood, of course, knew the risk of engaging in a direct discussion consin," Rood explained that "ever since we were young stu­ of slavery. He wanted to sell the public on the idea of appro­ dents in Camp Randall, we have felt something of a sense of priating money to support a monument at Camp Randall. ownership in the grounds." At the time, the University of Wis­ Patriotism, not an earnest reckoning with slavery's memory, consin already featured an impressive monument to Abraham would have to be his selling point. Repeating his references to Lincoln, which adorned the top of Bascom Hill. Rood the nation's free institutions, he wrote, "Appropriate memorials believed that the Lincoln statue helped the campus remem-

34 wisconsinhistory.org

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dedication would avoid all potential political pitfalls. "I do not suppose that politics will have anything to do with this matter," he assured the governor, "for patriotism is above political considera­ tion." From the vantage point of 1909, when Rood's pitch to the state com­ menced, he seemed confi­ dent that the monument could be finished in two years, just in time for the planned 1912 dedication. But he was already looking beyond the dedication, hoping to rouse support for

The Civil War unleashed an unprecedented effort to transform the efforts further down the line. In his letters to McGovern, Rood landscape through memorials and monuments to the war dead. Still explained, "I am undertaking to have memorial markers a prominent feature of Waukesha's Cutler Park, this 1911 monument placed at every old camp of rendezvous during the war ... I was one of many dedicated during the fiftieth anniversary. Only a think it well worthwhile for us to mark our historic spots and 12 handful of northern monuments featured depictions of black troops. cherish our patriotic traditions." At around the same time, Jerome A. Watrous, a former Iron Brigade soldier, wrote the governor to recommend C. E. Warner and Dr. William J. McKay as "excellent men" for the commission. ber the lessons of the Civil War, but he felt that the campus The commission was tremendously successful, and in the needed something more. The Lincoln statue, he explained, end the state legislature granted it $25,000, an impressive sum. "brought thousands of our brightest young men and women The legislature also set aside several acres of land to surround . . . into its benign influence." But a monument to the soldiers the memorial, creating a place of solace and reflection sepa­ of the Civil War would also remind the university's students rate from the surrounding hustle and bustle of the University that tremendous sacrifice accompanied the emancipation of of Wisconsin campus. The monument commission seemed the slaves. If Lincoln symbolized the heights to which Wis­ pleased with these developments, as many veterans remem­ consin's university students might aspire in seeking a higher bered Camp Randall as a restrictive space, where access used education, a memorial arch would remind them that such to be granted only with a military pass. The new grounds, they heights might only be reached by the dedicated work and sac­ believed, would be open to all, affording residents a chance to rifice of regular people who risked everything to make such remember and reflect on this part of their history. lofty goals and ideals possible.11 The commission also went to work writing invitations to In making his sales pitch to Wisconsin governor Francis E. surviving veterans and their families. For many, the trip to McGovern, Rood again emphasized that the memorial arch Madison posed a substantial health risk. In March 1912, with

3 6 wisconsinhistory.org A panoramic view of the soldier reunion at Gettysburg in July 1913. Though many African American and Native American soldiers from Wisconsin fought for the Union, postwar reunions rarely commemorated the contributions to the war effort made by nonwhite soldiers.

the dedication looming, a Richmond Center man wrote his comrades to say that he and his wife would attend the reunion barring sickness, assuring his friends that they "can count on me and mine if all is well." The man grew melancholy at thoughts of missing the reunion. "It will be the last chance for some of us to see our Comrades once again," he noted. Another veteran, living in Neenah, wrote, "I certainly hope I may be able to be there. I am the only one [veteran] now liv­ ing in this vicinity." E. G. Pince of Florida, meanwhile, wor­ ried that the distance would keep him from attending. "Would rejoice to meet you there," he wrote, "but it is a long way . . . and the old man isn't as flip as he used to be." Pince offered to host his former comrades in the Sunshine State instead, where the weather seemed more alluring. "Hundreds of the old coffee- coolers are finding it out," he said. Despite age, infirmity, and distance, Wisconsin veterans from across the country looked forward to Camp Randall Dedication Day as the signature event of the state's fiftieth Civil War anniversary. At dawn on June 18, 1912, the sun rose high and warm over Madison. Veterans, their families, and onlookers from all over the state witnessed the unveiling of the Camp Randall Memo­ rial Arch. It was made of Vermont gray granite contracted through the Woodbury Granite Company, the same firm that had handled the reconstruction of the state capital after the fire in 1904. Unfortunately, none of the figures intended to adorn the finalized arch were finished, so the monument was dedicated in an incomplete state. Nobody seemed to mind; that evening, there was a huge bonfire, and the veterans gathered around to sing songs. Photos show no African Americans in attendance, and records documenting the day list only scattered and oblique references to slavery and emancipation. Wisconsin's black sol­ Samuel Banks served as the Wisconsin commissioner for the Fiftieth diers also went unmentioned in the reunion accounts. Anniversary Celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation. According to the commission's report, he became the first African Gettysburg, 1913 American ever to speak before the upper chamber of the state State-level celebrations and remembrances like the one at legislature when he appeared to ask for the state's support in Camp Randall were common during the fiftieth anniversary, but organizing the festivities. larger, national-level events were held as well. By far the biggest reunion of the fiftieth anniversary occurred at the Gettysburg battlefield in July 1913. Veterans from across the country

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swarmed to Pennsylvania, making the Gettysburg reunion the largest gather­ ing of Civil War soldiers to occur since the war itself. More than fifty thousand soldiers ultimately attended. Despite the oppressive July heat, many stayed in tents located on the battlefield.18 Wisconsin soldiers had played an important role in the Gettysburg cam­ paign, and no unit won more acclaim for its part in the battle than the leg­ endary "Iron Brigade of the West," which comprised three of Wisconsin's most famous Civil War regiments. One of the highlights of the Gettysburg reunion was the Iron Brigade tent, where some four hundred survivors registered to watch speeches and see former enemies work for forgiveness and reconciliation. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's newspaper editors did their part to make sure those at home could follow along. The Daily Com­ monwealth of Fond du Lac ran a full front-page spread, complete with a map of the Gettysburg battlefield and twin images of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union General John Reynolds. The newspaper also ran pictures of some of the Wisconsin monuments at the battlefield. The Gettysburg reunion gave the country a much needed exercise in catharsis, but once again it came at the expense of deepening the national denial of what the war should be remembered for. President Woodrow Wilson, the first Southerner elected to the White House since the Civil War, served as the reunion's keynote speaker. With Congress and the War Depart­ ment's support, Wilson's presence ulti­ mately helped legislators commit nearly After 1865, a vast industry developed to capitalize on the nostalgia $450,000 to the reunion. The states themselves added a com­ and sentiment of Civil War remembrance. The tension posed between bined $1,750,000 to the monies allocated by the state of Penn­ celebrating soldiers purely for their bravery and remembering that sylvania, which took the lead in organizing the affair. The the war enabled four million ex-slaves to live "among the free" monies guaranteed that any veteran of the Civil War who characterized the industry. wished to travel to Pennsylvania to take part in the ceremonies would have free transportation to and from the event. Onlookers saw the reunion, in other words, as an opportu­ nity to forge a new political consensus. Imagining the old sec­ tional animosities as a thing of the past, many wanted to believe

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that the nation's wounds had fully healed, and with healing would come the end of all sectional and partisan bitterness. "I crave the privilege of speaking to you for a few minutes on what those fifty years have meant," Wilson said. "What have they meant? They have meant peace and union and vigor, and the maturity and might of a great nation." When the Belleville (Illi­ nois) News-Democrat reported that the veterans who listened to Wilson met his words with "rebel yells" and polite, subdued applause, it left its readers to decide whether those in the audi­ ence really believed what they were being told. Despite stories of healing and reconciliation that poured over the pages of northern and southern newspapers in the days after the reunion, many accounts were bittersweet. The pummeling July heat killed several of the veterans. Edgar Bigsby of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, died in his sleep at the reunion, but newspapers, hoping to keep the narrative of rec­ onciliation intact, reassured readers that he had at least died "among his friends." Another veteran, James H. Richardson of the Fourteenth Indiana Infantry, became lost and died, presumably from heat stroke, after he wandered away from the train depot in Cincinnati on his way home. Newspapers did what they could to make these deaths meaningful. "The dead are honored, of course. There is hardly a survivor of the great conflict here who does not feel at their present age death is to be expected and that coming here, surround by the friends and comrades of fifty years, [death] is robbed of much of its terror.

Chicago, 1915 Back home in Wisconsin, meanwhile, the state's African Americans worked to produce an alternative memory of the war's meaning. Like many blacks in the Upper Midwest, they Governor Emmanuel Philipp of Wisconsin did not attend the Fiftieth had celebrated a holiday fondly referred to as Emancipation Anniversary Celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation held in Day, whereby communities in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Beloit, and Chicago in 1915. Instead, he wrote a letter mixing compliments and elsewhere honored what was understood to be the war's most criticisms of black citizens. meaningful legacy. In 1910, the state's African Americans num­ bered roughly 3,000. In 1915, this small but determined com­ munity organized itself and sent a delegation to Chicago, where a national celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation was able in comparison to the woes of the free market faced during underway. In doing so, they positioned emancipation as the Reconstruction. But African Americans knew better than to defining legacy of the war, and therefore refuted conservative blame existing conditions on the trends of the marketplace, and white attempts to depict slavery as a benevolent system and the they looked no further than their own family histories to know Civil War as a tragic and regrettable mistake. And while white- that those who wished to cast slavery and the Confederate dominated veterans' reunions tended to celebrate patriotism and Army in a harmless light often had more insidious intentions. soldierly sacrifice as their key organizing principles, the eman­ Apologists for slavery wanted to silence the history of white vig- cipation celebration in Chicago sought to place the struggle for ilantism that terrorized black families and communities after equality squarely at the center of the lessons it hoped to teach. 1865. For this reason and others, the decision to organize and In 1910, deep cultural forces were at work to encourage send a delegation to Chicago in 1915 is important to recognize, Americans to forget slavery. In addition to the themes of rec­ for it suggests that African Americans recognized continued onciliation popularized at countless veterans' reunions and hopes in the United States rested on keeping the promise and Memorial Day parades, professional historians produced challenge of equality alive in the minds of white Americans. accounts that depicted the system as beneficial or even prefer- That promise centered on restoring honesty to the historical

SPRING 2011 3 9 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

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record, and honesty started with answering the question of how black citizen in state history to speak before the upper cham­ slavery ought to be remembered. ber. "Such a privilege had never before in the history of the The half-century anniversary of the Emancipation Procla­ Wisconsin legislature been extended to a member of the col­ mation seemed like the perfect time to keep those important ored race," the state report indicated. questions alive. Held between August 22 and September 16, Yet for all the preparation and hope invested in the anniver­ 1915, the celebration's organizers asked each state to send rep­ sary celebration, the realities of the historical moment afforded resentatives to put together displays and presentations show­ whites numerous opportunities to degrade and humiliate the casing the progress African Americans had made in the fifty assembled black leaders. Wisconsin's own governor, Emanuel L. years since the end of slavery. In Wisconsin, that planning Philipp, hoped to demonstrate his benevolence, not by attending started in December 1914, when an original committee of the festivities in person—he explained that he was too busy—but eleven members organized. This committee included leaders by preparing a written statement to be read at the festival. "I within the progressive white community and a team of black wish to compliment our colored citizens upon this exhibit of their leaders from around the state. And just like the veterans who talent and industry. For a race so recently raised from slavery had sought support from the state for their memorial, the com­ the advancement of the American Negro is in many ways mittee sought the help of the state legislature. In June 1915, remarkable," he wrote. But Philipp, quick to offer compliments Samuel R. Banks, an African American representative on the and praise, soon turned his speech into an attack. "To be suc­ commission, spoke before the Wisconsin state senate in favor of cessful ... a man must own land," he said. "Being acquainted a bill to offer support for the exposition. He became the first with the colored man ... I am aware of his carelessness in the

40 wisconsinhistory.org WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY matter of saving his earnings." Philipp went on to blame the gath­ Pamphlet, Hosea W. Rood, "Camp Randall Memorial Arch," 1912, WVM, 1; Unnamed Camp Randall Clipping, Papers and Photographs, 1886-1930, Mss 363, Box 4, Folder 33, ered African Americans for their unequal position in American Undated, WVM. society, effectively ignoring or denying the bitter history that 9. Speech Transcript, "Memorial Day," Hosea W. Rood, GAR Memorial Hall Records, May 30, 1912, Mss 4, Box 1, Folder 13, WVM. stood between his words and the war's end. And though his com­ 10. Undated clipping, H. W. Rood, "Memorial Gate and Arch," Madison Democrat, 1909, WVM, 2. ments were hardly unique for the moment in which they were 11. Hosea W. Rood to Charles Van Hise, Undated, GAR Memorial Hall Records, Mss 4, Box delivered, they remain painful for their injustice. 1, Folder 1, WVM. 12. Correspondence, Hosea W. Rood to Francis E. McGovern, July 3, 1911, Francis E. White Civil War veterans, North and South, knew full well McGovern Papers, Wis Mss OF, Box 29, Folder 1, Wisconsin Historical Society. that the war would not have occurred if slavery hadn't existed. 13. Correspondence, Jerome Watrous to McGovern, July 3, 1911, Francis E. McGovern Papers, Wis Mss OF, Box 29, Folder 1, Wisconsin Historical Society. In Madison in 1912, some faced bitter resistance from a public 14. Correspondence, H. Y. Toms to Hosea Rood, March 13, 1912, Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Papers and Photographs, 1886-1912, WVM Mss 364, Box 12, Folder 20, WVM.' increasingly skeptical that the war had accomplished anything 15. Correspondence, Unidentified author to C.J. Greening, March 17, 1912, 11th Wisconsin useful or that slavery really was a regrettable system in the first Infantry Regiment, Papers and Photographs, 1886-1912, Mss 364, Box 12, Folder 20, WVM. 16. Correspondence, E. G. Pince to C. F. Greening, March 30, 1912, 11th Wisconsin Infantry place. At Gettysburg, many of the same veterans paraded for Regiment, Papers and Photographs, 1886-1912, Mss 364, Box 12, Folder 20, WVM. newspapers and politicians eager to capitalize on the soothing 17. Material in this paragraph draws from an undated, unnamed clipping in the collections at the Wisconsin Veterans' Museum. Sec Unnamed Camp Randall Clipping, Papers and Pho­ message of forgiveness and reconciliation, even if the veterans tographs, 1886-1930, Mss 363, Box 4, Folder 33, Undated, WVM. See also Hosea W. Rood, themselves were inwardly unwilling or unable to fully do so. "Camp Randall Memorial Arch," WVM, 1-3. 18. For an account of the Gettysburg reunion, see Blight, especially 6-12, 381—393. The state And Wisconsin's African Americans, who saw the increasing of Pennsylvania hosted the affair and printed the official report. See Pennsylvania Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg Commission, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Get­ cultural focus on the war's soldiers, battles, and campaigns as tysburg: Report of the Pennsylvania Commission, Presented to His Excellency, John K. Tener, the ultimate distraction from what the war had really been Governor of Pennsylvania, for Transmittal the General Assembly (Harrisburg, PA: Wm. Stan- Icy Ray, State Printer, 1914). about, found themselves ridiculed by the highest public official 19. For an account of the Iron Brigade at Gettysburg, see Lance Herdegen, Those Damned in their state. World War I ultimately turned America's atten­ Black Hats! The Iron Brigade in die Gettysburg Campaign (New York: Savas Beatie, 2008). 20. "Gettysburg: The First Day's Battle," The Daily Commonwealth (Fond du Lac), June 7, tion outward, and the fighting in Europe would mark a turning 1913. point in the national imagination. Meanwhile, Americans 21. Blight, 6-12, 381-393. 22. "Veterans Cheer Chief Executive President Wilson," Belleville News-Democrat, July 4, remained willing to accept profound inequalities at home. 1913, 5. The paper also ran a transcript of Wilson's speech. 23. For more on the death of Edgar Bigsby, sec "Gettysburg Reunion Papers," 1913, Volume In the fifty years after 1865, the challenges of equality were 1, WVM, 1 — 19; For more on the Indiana veteran, see William N. Pickerill, ed. Indiana at the ruthlessly scaled back by corruption and scandal, by southern Fiftiedi Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg: Report of the Fiftieth Anniversary Commis­ sion, of the Battle of Gettysburg, of Indiana, 1913, 29; For more coverage, see "Heat Kills Two white paramilitary actions, and by a growing consensus, North at Gettysburg," Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois), July 1, 1913, 5. and South, that inequality was tolerable so long as the status of 24. For an account of the Chicago festivities, see Fifty Years of Freedom: Report of Commit­ tee Representing State ofWisconsin at the Celebration of the Half-Century Anniversary of the whites remained protected. Such a consensus demanded that Emancipation Proclamation, Chicago, Aug. 22-Scpt. 16, 1915 (Madison: s.n., 1915). Histo­ rian Leslie Schwalm is the leading authority on black memory in the Upper Midwest. See the Civil War's challenges remain forgotten. That decision may her book, Emancipation's Diaspora: Race and Reconstruction in the Upper Midwest (Chapel have forever tainted the scope, reach, and potential promise of Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009). 25. Fifty Years of Freedom, Foreword, 9, 11—14, a Federal government dedicated to the proposition that all men 26. Fifty Years of Freedom, 9, 11-14. and women are created equal. Wi

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Notes Jesse J. Gant earned his master's degree 1. George B. McMillan Papers, Mss 71s, Ph 1040, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wis­ consin. For a short account of the Sixteenth Wisconsin at Shiloh, see Wiley Sword, Shiloh: from New York University in 2007, and is Bloody April (Dayton, OH: Morningside Bookshop Press, 2001), 148-151. working toward his PhD as a graduate stu­ 2. The photo is now digitized (WHi 74225) and hosted online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/ dent in the history department at the Uni­ whi/fullRecord.asp?id=74225&qstring=http%3A%2P/o2Fwww.wisconsinhistory.org%2Fwhi%2F results.asp%3Fscarch_typc%3Dbasic%26kcywordl%3D74225%26submit%3bsUBMIT versity of Wisconsin-Madison. When he's 3. For more on soldier motivations during the war, sec Chandra Manning, What This Cruel not researching, writing, and teaching, he War was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and the Civil War (Vintage: New York, 2007). On death and dying during the Civil War, see Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the also works as an editorial assistant for the American Civil War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008). Wisconsin Magazine of History. His current projects include a dis­ 4. David Blight, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (Cambridge: Belk­ nap Press of Harvard University Press, 2001). sertation on the ways Midwesterners have understood slavery 5. On the memory of slavery in the United States, see James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Hor- and the Civil War and a book-length study on the origins of the ton, cds. Slavery and Public History^: The Tough Stuff of American Memory (New York: New Press, 2006). bicycling industry for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press with 6. For an introduction to the Camp Randall dedication, see the Twenty-Third Wisconsin co-author Nick Hoffman. He would like to thank the staff at the Infantry Regiment, Reunion of die Twenty-Third Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry, Wisconsin Veterans' Museum for their help with this article. With an Account of the Dedication of the Memorial Arch at Camp Randall, Madison, Wis- consinjune 18th and 19th, 1912 (Madison, Wis.: s.n., 1912), 1. 7. Old Abe's story is chronicled in Richard H. Zeitlin, Old Abe the War Eagle: A True Story of the Civil War and Reconstruction (Madison: State Historical Society ofWisconsin, 1986). 8. Materials documenting the Camp Randall dedication arc scattered between the collections at the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Veterans' Museum. In addition to the Reunion of the Twenty-Third Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry, see the clipping by Hosea W. Rood, "Memorial Gate and Arch," 1909, Wisconsin Veterans' Museum (WVM), 2;

SPRING 2011 41 I

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V - The Federal Writers1 Project in Wisconsin, 1935-1942

BY MICHAEL EDMONDS

his spring marks the to eat like other people." By fall, seventieth anniversary Federal Writers' Project offices T of one of our state's most were sprouting up around the famous books, Wisconsin: A nation, charged with research­ Guide to the Badger State, by ing, writing, and editing texts the WPA Federal Writers Proj­ for local sponsors. ect. Plagued by internal prob­ The main assignment of lems and assaulted by external each state office was to produce enemies, the ragtag staff of the a travel guide. These were envi­ Wisconsin Writers' Project nev­ sioned as convenient reference ertheless produced a classic books "for tours, sight-seeing work that has delighted genera­ and investigation of local land­ tions ofWisconsin readers. WPA Administrator Harry Hopkins (left) and his First marks, objects of interest, fic­ Assistant Chief Aubrey Williams appear before a 1938 tional associations, or other A Dream Defined House Appropriations Committee Hearing. data of value to citizens . . ." Two years into Franklin D. Hopkins oversaw various public works projects Their automobile tours were to Roosevelt's New Deal, nearly including the creation of the Federal Writers'Project. be accompanied by essays giv­ 10 million Americans were still ing "an inclusive picture of the out of work and millions of scenic, historical, cultural, recre­ families faced destitution. So in the summer of 1935, Congress ational, economic, aesthetic, and commercial and industrial funded the Works Progress Administration to create jobs for resources" of each state.1 them. In addition to public works projects like building roads The Washington officials leading the writers' project had and bridges, WPA director Harry Hopkins set up programs to worked in poverty programs, served in settlement houses, and employ artists and writers. "Hell," he told critics, "they've got run refugee relief agencies. They insisted that the guides embrace the lives of all Americans, including marginalized peo­

Crowds of Milwaukeeans line up to register for unemployment ple who were typically ignored by mainstream publishers. They benefits at Milwaukee City Hall in the late 1930s. Even after years required every state project to capture the "native and folk back­ of New Deal programs, unemployment rates were in double grounds of rural localities." They encouraged local staff to inter­ digits throughout the 1930s. view factory workers, immigrants, former slaves, Indians,

WHI IMAGE ID 80339 manual laborers, and others whose voices had rarely been

SPRING 2011 43 WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

heard in accounts of America. Contemporaries called the guide series a "mirror to America," and when PBS produced a doc­ umentary about it in 2009, they called it "Soul of a People."2 But from the start, the writers' project harbored a funda­ mental contradiction: its first obligation was not to create lit­ erature, but to provide jobs. The law required 90 percent of its staff to come from official relief rolls, despite the fact that most of the chronically unemployed were poorly educated and lacked literary skills, while many also had severe personal prob­ lems. These were the people expected to do research, writing, and editing on a massive scale to produce a new portrait of America. The writers' project was a noble idea—common peo­ ple working together to create a common American identity— but it was absurd to think it would succeed.3 In October 1935, WPA officials selected Charles Brown, museum director at the Wisconsin Historical Society, to lead the Wisconsin project. Brown was a logical choice: he was This woodblock print by Frank Utpatel was used as a heading for a respected around the entire state, he had edited a scholarly section of the Wisconsin guide devoted to auto tours of the state. journal, and he was passionate about preserving folk traditions and local history. Because he already had a full-time position, he agreed to give the project general supervision for no salary if managers were secured to run the day-to-day operations. So the WPA appointed Ben Saunders of Madison as assis­ tant state director under Brown to handle administrative duties. Victor Taylor of Lake Mills was engaged to assist him, and George Fitch was hired to edit the Wisconsin guide. Dorothy Miller, a 39-year-old single mother, was put in charge of collecting folklore, and a clerical staff was brought on board before the end of the year. Washington initially required satellite projects in every city of 10,000 or more, "from which writers and investigators will comb the neighboring territory for color and historic infor­ mation." By early 1936, about 140 Federal Writers' Project staff members were at work in several offices across Wisconsin. Out­ side Madison, the largest Wisconsin offices opened in Mil­ waukee, headed by Victor S. Craun, a crony of the county board supervisors, and in Green Bay, where Charles Lease, an Oconto minister, was placed in charge of the work.

A Disastrous Beginning In Madison, Charles Brown installed the project near his own office in the Wisconsin Historical Society on the University ofWisconsin campus. In the first half of 1936, Dorothy Miller and seven field interviewers conducted more than 300 inter­ views around the state. When edited and typed, these yielded 1,000 stories, 3,000 songs, 1,500 games and superstitions, 9,000 sayings, and 8,000 other items. Brown proudly told the press This engraving by Charles Silver marked the passage of Wisconsin's that this horde of "folklore that has been related from genera­ Unemployment Compensation Law, the first in the nation. tion to generation and [that] would eventually die out, will blos­ som forth in its original form—in print for the first time." True to his word, within a year the project had issued Wis­ consin Indian Place Legends (January 1937, 55 pages); Wis-

44 wisconsinhistory.org . . >£ . -,

Ml. Km concealed its ineptitude by a great show of energy,") and at Milwaukee survived. But the worst was yet to come. In August 1936, WPA officials demanded that Brown take daily management firmly in hand. He agreed to work evenings, lunch hours, and weekends for $20 a day on top of his job as Museum director. He soon fell in love with folklore section head Dorothy Miller and, on April 7, 1937, while en route to a conference, they stopped in Rockford, Illinois, long enough to get married. Around the same time, Brown hired his adult son as a fieldworker. Saunders, still bitter from being fired, wrote a scathing let­ ter to the press demanding to know how WPA officials "could be so exceedingly kind and generous with federal funds to one family already pretty well financed by the state ofWisconsin." «* He protested that "it ought not to be necessary to supplement the income of a well-paid state employee with federal funds appropriated for unemployment relief." Although officials in Washington had approved all Brown's hiring decisions, the public charge of nepotism embarrassed him, and he resigned during November 1937. "Heading a Fed­ eral Writers Project in Wisconsin," he told a colleague, "as I did for two years much against my own wishes and in addition to Charles E. Brown and his wife Dorothy Miller, whom he met through my other work and at a real monetary loss to myself, was a very the Federal Writers' Project ungrateful undertaking not properly or fully appreciated here or in Washington." Adding insult to injury, the director of the State Historical Society insisted that Brown reimburse the gov­ ernment for the $540 he'd been paid and demanded that he consin Circus Lore (May 1937, 72 pages); Wisconsin Mush­ eject the writers' project from the Society's building. rooms (1937, 17 pages); and The Fighting Finches: Tales of Harold Miner had been on the project almost from the start Freebooters of the Pioneer Countryside in Rock andjefferson and "learned later that at this point the Project's national office Counties (1937, 31 pages). The editions were small and the vol­ seriously considered the abolition of the Wisconsin unit." It umes humble: 125 to 200 copies of each were mimeographed, seemed to him that the only thing accomplished in two years hand bound by the WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project, and of work had been to gather "a large accumulation of inaccurate distributed to public libraries for free. and inane material, all elaborately filed and cross-indexed. But folklore was Brown's only success. Every other aspect of When I left Madison this mass of material was stored (for it the Wisconsin writers' project fell apart. could not be destroyed, since it was Government property) in Assistant director Saunders was forced out by WPA officials the attic of a condemned school building, and everyone hoped in August 1936 for mismanagement. His place given to Jesse E. the rats would eat it."14 Boell, a martinet whose capricious dictates spawned union grievances and led to public chastisement by a special investi­ "Truly A Family" gating commission. Wisconsin guide editor George Fitch But Brown pulled off two crucial successes before resigning turned out to be "a kindly, bombastic old man who could nei­ in disgrace. First, he secured state support for the Wisconsin ther write well himself, recognize good writing by others, study, guide. On June 10, 1937, Governor Philip La Follette signed a learn, nor teach." And in the middle of this turmoil, Washing­ bill guaranteeing $7,500 to establish a special commission to ton reduced the Wisconsin project from 140 workers to only oversee publication and to cover printing costs. It also required 58 as federal funds were cut. that the volume total no more than 600 pages and be sold at "[TJhe county and district units broke down almost imme­ not more than 10 percent above its costs.15 diately," recalled Madison staff member Harold Miner, "partly But Brown's other success was more important. In April through lack of qualified personnel, partly through lack of 1937, he hired 36-year-old John J. Lyons to edit the guide. proper supervision, [and] largely through lack of proper plan­ Jack Lyons had come to Madison in 1928 to get his PhD in ning and administration in the State office in Madison." By English, and he was passionate about writing. He had taught the fall of 1936, only the units at Green Bay ("which had so far modern verse in the Pacific Northwest, where avant-garde poet

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George Oppen was among his students. He had visited the expatriate scene in Paris and become intimate with femi­ nist novelist Margery Latimer. By 1937, he had taught for nearly a decade in the university's English department and its School for Workers and been active in local union affairs. Lyons was knowledgeable, exacting, tactful, and determined, and after Brown's resignation he took over the entire statewide operation.16 "Within two months he had revitalized the staff and revolutionized the work," Miner recalled, "and I, who watched the miracle happen, don't know how he did it because it was done so gently. On his third day in office Lyons dismissed Fitch; then, by coaxing, by humoring, by the deftest flattery, by unwearying teaching, he trans­ formed a group of apathetic and cynical people into an enthusiastic and able staff. . . "The soggy, morose, quarrelsome atmosphere of the Project vanished before his infectious informality," Miner * continued, "and the staff acquired a splendid esprit de corps. I never knew Lyons to say an unkind word about Among the early successes of the Wisconsin branch of anyone's work, though he blue-penciled without mercy and the Federal Writers' Project were the short editions of sometimes required a manuscript to be rewritten twenty times mimeographed, hand-bound books telling colorful before he was satisfied. . . . The workers worshipped him; their tales of the Badger State. favorite nickname for him was 'Papa.' On his part, his solicitude

46 wisconsinhistory.org WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

did the writing, the next best the checking, and the least dependable did the copying research."18 The perpetually fluctuating workforce of semi-educated labor presented a major challenge. Every few months, parti­ san battles caused Congress to increase or decrease funding for the WPA; inside the WPA itself, officials routinely cut the writ­ ers' project as money was needed by other programs. At any given moment, Lyons' staff usually numbered about fifty in Madison and somewhat fewer in Milwaukee, though it rose at times as high as two hundred statewide. For most of the pro­ ject's life, Miner recalled, "workers were subjected to the fear of losing their jobs on a few days' notice." "Their 'subsistence wages' ranged from $62.50 to $83.50 a month," he continued, "and with these incomes many of them had to support families. By and large it was a young group, though some of the most sprightly were over 50, and Mr. Berg, MMHMHMMIC>:<^ '•:«« who manifested his age only by his courtesy and gentleness, was over 70 ... They bore poverty, opprobrium, and the recur­ rent strain of the quota cuts and shake-ups without losing their m self-respect, their respect for one another, or their keenness for and belief in what they were doing. \ ,Mm "There existed among them a gay, almost tender fellow-feel­ ing which I find it impossible to define or describe. One's stroke „"| ^^jtj*^'^ _^^=^^^ ^nss ^"^ZZfiSMBflH^EI .A lH~- -^^v*! V =, of good fortune became an occasion for spontaneous rejoicing gpplP jg ^Er^aa KBiii by all, and, what is rare and more remarkable, when one had a misfortune he knew that among the others he would find not ggglj^vvl \m% only sympathy but understanding. They were truly a family. ^Of*iT^^ME'• "'"'rr' ^^•HM ^H^KJI rd~;j The group had a group personality ... so whimsical, so 4Jlflffl|M M^ WmM t human, so unassumingly heroic that I feel like weeping when I remember those people." By early 1939, Lyons could report that the project had pub­ Woodblock prints by Frank Utpatel, illustrating vignettes from lished four folklore booklets and a 90-page guide to Portage. Wisconsin history and culture, were used as chapter headings In addition, his staff had completed the manuscripts of histor­ throughout the Wisconsin Guide. ical guidebooks to Madison, Milwaukee (500 pages), Wausau (250 pages), and Shorewood (100 pages). A pamphlet about the Rhinelander Logging Museum and a short vacation guide to Wisconsin were also close to completion, and dozens of scripts for them and his innumerable philanthropies among them were on historical topics were being broadcast on WHA radio. almost beyond reason. Yet he had little belief or trust in human Books about Mineral Point, Stoughton, Monroe, the Menom­ goodness, and suffered from a sense of disillusionment which inee Indian Reservation, and the northern cutover region had weighed upon him daily and hourly; he seemed to love people in been started. Most importantly, Lyons could report that the spite of themselves or himself." massive state guide was now ready for the printer. Lyons organized the staff into an efficient literary machine. The staff had labored long and hard on the project's cen­ "Roughly one third of our workers did the writing," he said in terpiece, whose heart consisted of detailed automobile touring his final report to Washington, "one third copying from refer­ routes. When the grassroots materials collected in 1935-1936 ence books, old newspapers, and other records. The remaining by local offices turned out to be useless, Lyons sent a middle- third checked this copying against the original records. . . . An aged tourist promoter named E. E. Peterson out on the road assignment was given to a research man, then to a checker, with Harold Miner. They covered more than 3,000 miles then to a writer. It was then edited for style, rewritten, edited, (while Miner added another 2,000 on his own) to describe tour checked for accuracy, edited, corrected by the writer, and then routes and record local history all across Wisconsin. typed in final copy. We employed a ratio of three typists and "Lyons still was dissatisfied, however," Miner recalled. one translator to 25 workers. Under this plan, our best people "[T]he tours lacked life and human interest; he envisioned them

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as revealing who Wisconsin people were and what they did as well as where they lived." But local color was hard to find. The WPA was widely despised, and community leaders generally refused to cooperate with Peterson and Miner. So Lyons ordered the Madison crew to scour small-town newspapers and rare books at the Wisconsin Historical Society for colorful anec­ dotes. Marie Dieter, a 1936 University of Wisconsin journalism graduate, oversaw this work and edited the revised tours as they flowed in from researchers, writers, and fact checkers. Other staff members, meanwhile, were drafting essays on statewide topics such as geography, Indians, immigration, industry, labor, agriculture, and the arts. Another set of essays described the state's largest cities. All of these texts were sub­ jected to the same careful research, editing, and quality control steps as the tours before being sent to academic experts for review. Aldo Leopold, Louise Phelps Kellogg, Selig Perlman, Elizabeth Brandeis, and William Ellery Leonard were among the specialists who vetted the essays. Woodblock prints for chapter headings were commissioned from artist Frank Utpa- tel, and photographer Harold Hone took hundreds of images around the state, 107 of which appeared in the final book.23 Finishing the Wisconsin guide took about 18 months, from the spring of 1937 until the end of 1938. As sections were com­ pleted, they were sent to the national office in Washington to be edited for content and cut down to size. The final manuscript was then double-checked one last time. "Each separate state­ ment," Miner recalled, "each sentence and fragment of a sen­ tence, was separately set forth, and the entire staff was sent into the libraries to look up the sources, to see that each fact had been correctly used, and bolster or modify it by additional research." By the end of 1938, the completed manuscript had been delivered to the printer and the entire text had been set in type. All the maps and illustrations had been cut into plates, galley proofs had been pulled and corrected, and the special state commission set up under the appropriation bill had given its final approval. The only thing left to do was compile the index. Then disaster struck.

Undermined by the Right In May 1938, Congress had established the House Com­ mittee on Un-American Activities, which quickly pursued alle­ gations that Communists had infiltrated the WPA. Although not as famous as its later McCarthy hearings, the 1938 HUAC testimony had memorable moments. For example, at one point a congressman asked whether Elizabethan playwright Christo­ pher Marlowe was a Communist and inquired if "Mr. Euripi­ Beer and pontification being integral to the Wisconsin experience, des" was guilty of teaching class consciousness. Utpatel made sure to include appropriate pictures of a man serving Lyons, Miner, and their colleagues in Wisconsin watched up a cold one and an enthusiastic speaker. the HUAC hearings closely. "It is true that there were Com­ munists on some of the Arts Projects," Miner wrote. "As one of the strictest of W.P.A. rules (a rule whose observance was always closely insisted upon by the anti-Administrationists themselves)

48 wisconsinhistory.org *m

Governor and Mrs. Heil at Heil's inauguration, 1939

forbade Project officials to inquire into or be influenced by any The Capital Times on September 22,1939, blasted Governor Heil and worker's political beliefs, it was inevitable, and, indeed, taken his allies for suppressing the Wisconsin Guide. for granted, that Communists should come upon the Projects." He estimated that, of the dozens of people who passed through the Madison office, three had been Com- ^ munists. "But it is untrue," Miner continued, "that the % Communists were permitted to inject their Commu- 1 nism into Project work. Not only would any sane Proj- | 4 ect supervisor guard most vigilantly against anything | of the sort, but all the rules requiring manuscripts to | pass the approval of the Washington office, the co-spon- 5 sor, and outside authorities were designed to impose a check upon such a possibility"26 While Lyons and his team were following the HUAC hearings and putting final touches on the guide, elec­ tions in November 1938 ousted their political patrons in printing ™ JllfL- Madison. The Wisconsin governorship and important legislative posts passed to Republicans and conservative «iflfl 000 Worth of ^] *£%***•"' iv . ,000 pUbnc schoc* Democrats who, like their peers in Washington, decided bor Wa»i and nearly 300 puouc iu»«... consin, the potential market tor tk* to investigate the politics of the writers' project. Censorship Wisconsin State Guide"* is obviou: Arthur Tiller, an aide to newly elected Republican In addition to these cutlet* tor tb governor Julius Heil, heard that the manuscript of the book, there are hundreds ot newspt *"**" •»*•«• ot Commerce 1 Wisconsin guide praised Progressive senator Robert M. l6v. «KLS ^BtwMrffcu«l- £e state Wto ««*» when tt «***££££ <* tJW *"*.*.*!? e book ** p««M « WS9!*? th

two weens •**»• __„«-, UK W". •T'V . «nes of ttuel e arttc OUT I TO WIN L

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A quiet moment on the picket line at Kohler, 1934

La Follette Sr. for attacking corporations and criticized former not change the facts, but offered to soften the tone or even Republican governor Walter Kohler for his handling of the delete entire chapters. Their comments were ignored. Kohler Strike. Without having seen the manuscript, Tiller and Senator Bolens' six-person investigating committee never other critics "charged that the book was inaccurate, untruth­ met. Regardless, gubernatorial aide Tiller drafted its bill to ful, politically biased, and badly written by incompetent work­ repeal the appropriation for the guide. When that bill reached ers." Governor Heil immediately halted its publication and the Senate finance committee on September 10, 1939, it was ordered a special legislative committee to investigate it. This approved without the committee seeing the manuscript, taking group was led by Senator Harry Bolens of Port Washington, a testimony, or debating the issue; several weeks later the legis­ loyal proxy of the governor. Throughout the summer of 1939, lature revoked the state appropriation for the guide. The Cap­ conservatives attacked the guide for being favorable to Pro­ ital Times castigated the decision: "At least $100,000 worth of gressives and Socialists and unfairly disparaging Republicans work, done by the writers and researchers who produced the and business leaders. Project staff responded that they could 600-page book, was made useless by the legislature's action."

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On October 4, 1939, the commission responsible for pub­ lication sent out postcards reading, "Re the Wisconsin State Guide, in which you have shown an interest, either by order or inquiry. Please be advised that this book will not be pub­ AMERICAN lished." Miner and his colleagues were devastated: "This, then, was the end of our labors, our enthusiasm, our great effort. GUIDE Most of us were too sick at heart to work." 28 WEEK Librarians to the Rescue Effective September 1, 1939, Congressional leaders killed the entire Federal Writers' Project, although states were per­ mitted to fund the work if they wanted. "Our project closed September 1," Miner recalled, and staff "borrowed from friends or dispersed to their various hometowns while they sought frantically for other work." At this critical moment, the University ofWisconsin agreed to keep the project afloat. "By the end of November we were ready to resume operation," Miner wrote, "not as the Federal Writers' Project ofWisconsin but as the Wisconsin Writers' Project, an independent state­ wide agency." The university also agreed to maintain a feder­ ally funded project that collected hundreds of stories and language materials from residents of the Oneida Reservation.29 Librarians around Wisconsin had found the guides to other states immensely useful and had eagerly anticipated a volume STATE BY STATE for their own state. As soon as she heard of its suppression, Wis­ THE WPA WRITERS PROJECTS DESCRIBE AMERICA TO AMERICANS consin Library Association president Martha Merrill wrote state officials about the possibility of her organization taking 'Through -these guides -to the -forty-eight states,Alaska, Puerto Rico,the District of Columbia,and the principal Cities over publication. She was referred to Lyons, who summarized and major regions of the United States, cilizensand visitorstoour country r\out have at their finger-tips, for the first time in our the project's editorial and legal status for her, and then she history, a series of volumes that ably illustrate our national tuay wrote the printer, who detailed the book's production status of life, yet at the same time portray variants in local patterns oF living and regional development." Presrc/ent fyoteve/t. and estimated its final printing and binding costs. At an Octo­ PROCESSED BY PENNA ART PROGRAM WPA ber 16 meeting in Milwaukee, WLA voted to investigate pub­ lishing the guide. They sent portions of the manuscript dealing November 10-16,1941, was celebrated as American Guide Week, with Green Bay, Kenosha, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, eight months after a group of enthusiastic librarians succeeded in Racine, Sheboygan, and Superior to librarians in those cities, getting the Wisconsin guide published. asking for evaluations. They were told that "though there are errors in the material as written—some omissions and some things included that could well be omitted, as well as some type from the state, the governor's office blocked their request. errors in statement—on the whole it is important and useful After frustrating negotiations in late 1940, they simply reset the and should be published." On December 29, 1939, the execu­ book from scratch. 30 tive board of WLA formally voted to sponsor the guide. Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State finally appeared The practical task of finding a publisher fell to Clarence on March 23, 1941, at a price of $2.75. Press reviews were Paine of Beloit College, who worked feverishly for several almost entirely positive, the worst criticism being the mis­ months to interest commercial firms. During the first half of spelling of a Milwaukee street name. The initial printing of 1940, the University ofWisconsin Press, Viking, Houghton 5,000 copies lasted three years, and in the fall of 1944, Duell, Mifflin, McClurg, and Oxford University Press all turned it Sloan and Pearce commissioned a second; a third printing was down. Finally, a new trade publisher in New York called Duell, soon needed, and in 1948, a fourth printing was issued with a Sloan and Pearce agreed to publish the guide at their own new dust jacket for the Wisconsin Centennial. The book has expense. They signed a contract with WLA on October 3, remained popular among Wisconsin readers ever since. In 1940, which authorized them to print 5,000 copies and retain 1954, Hastings House, a New York publisher specializing in all profits after WLA's modest expenses had been covered. But travel and art books, brought out an updated edition, and in when Duell, Sloan and Pearce tried to acquire the standing 1973, another appeared from Somerset House. In 2008, the

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Minnesota Historical Society reprinted the first edition with an introduction by historian Norman Risjord. By the time the guide was published in March 1941, the Wisconsin staff had largely dispersed. A skeleton crew worked another year on local guides and a huge biographical diction­ ary, but the momentum was gone. On May 1, 1942, Lyons wrote to Miner, who had left for Washington, "Well, it's all over at last. Marie and I have been working alone this last week arranging files, sorting materials, throwing away stuff..." A month later Marie Dieter wrote him, "I would like to write you a suitable obituary for the Writers' but the horror of the last lin­ gering death is still too close for me to have any perspective. Suffice to say it was rather like Wisconsin liberalism the past several years—a state of mind rather than an actual fact."

The Legacy of the Wisconsin Writers' Project "This project wrote and published a State Guide Book," Lyons tersely summarized in his final report to Washington. "It also wrote a guide to the City of Milwaukee, part of a Diction­ ary ofWisconsin Biography, a history of place names and street names in Milwaukee, a guide to Mineral Point, a recreation bul­ letin for the army camp at Sparta, a history of Kenosha for the grade schools there, a study of wildflower life in one section of Wisconsin, puppet plays for the WPA Health Project, radio pro­ grams for a Madison radio station, translation from the Ger­ man of two early histories of Milwaukee, a compilation of a roster of Milwaukee County and City Officials, an annotated bibliography on Milwaukee city government, synopsis of records of Civilian Defense activities for the Office of Civilian Defense, part of a text on Latin America for the State Teachers' College, and possibly other assignments not known to the writer After almost not being published, the guide has endured through of this summary." He forgot to mention the four Wisconsin folk­ several editions and reprints, and it is still enjoyed by many lore booklets and the historic guidebooks for Madison, Portage, Wisconsinites. Shorewood, Mineral Point, and Wausau.34 Local sponsors of books generally followed the governor's lead and withdrew or withheld their promised funds. In 1947, a few typescript copies of the Milwaukee County guide were dis­ tributed by the public library. In 1960, the Wisconsin Historical other officials and did public relations work for the Army Society published the Dictionary ofWisconsin Biography from Corps of Engineers. He also published stories in Ellery Queen's the project's records, and in 1979, the Mineral Point guide was Mystery Magazine and was a member of the National Press issued by the local historical society. Beginning in the 1970s, the Club until his death in 1980. Marie Dieter headed in the oppo­ Oneida tribal language preservation program produced several site direction, for California, where a relative had promised her bilingual story collections based on project records; more than a job; she died in Los Angeles in 1984. Jack Lyons, too, settled 800 of the stories were issued in typescript form on CD in 2004, in California, where he worked for the City of San Francisco and other selections were published by the University of and was active in public employee unions for many years; he Nebraska as Oneida Lives the following year. The Madison, Mil­ died in 1996 without, apparently, publishing anything note­ waukee, and Wausau guides, whose manuscripts and field notes worthy after the Wisconsin guide. fill five boxes at the Wisconsin Historical Society, still await a The thousands of pages they produced 70 years ago are still publisher seven decades after their completion.35 used nearly every day by people researching Wisconsin history. After the project ended, Harold Miner fought in World And they stand as a lasting monument to Wisconsin's partici­ War II and then returned to Washington, where he was the pation in what the poet W. H. Auden called, "one of the ghostwriter of many speeches for senators, congressmen and noblest and most absurd undertakings ever attempted.' •:i7 m

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Publications of the Federal Writer's Project Lyons Farewell," Capital Times, August 9, 1931, 10; Margery Latimer Papers, folder 6, Uni­ versity of Wisconsin Archives; Lyons' faculty employment cards and graduate admissions in Wisconsin papers can be found at the University ofWisconsin Archives, 17. Miner, 7-8. 1937 Wisconsin Indian Place Legends (reprinted 1948) 18. "Wisconsin," Archives of the Work Progress Administration and Predecessors, 1933-1943, 1937 Wisconsin Mushrooms. reel 13. 1937 Wisconsin Circus Lore, 1850-1908: Stories of the Big Top, Sawdust Ring, 19. Miner, 7-8. Menagerie, and Sideshows (reprinted 1947) 20. Miner, 27-28. 1937 The Fighting Finches: Tales of Freebooters of the Pioneer Countryside in Rock 21. United States, Work Projects Administration (WI), Wisconsin Work Projects Administra­ andjefferson Counties (reprinted 1969) tion: Professional and Service Dhision, 1939 (Milwaukee: Wisconsin Work Projects Adminis­ 1937 Racial Elements in Wisconsin (7 pages, mimeographed) tration, 1939), 85-86. 1938 Picnic Bulletin (Kenosha Dcpt. of Publie Recreation) 22. Miner, 9, 18. 1939 Portage 23. Miner, 9-10; Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1939 Shorewood 1941): ix-xii.; Most of Hone's photographs arc online at wisconsinhistory.org. 1940 The Rliinelander Logging Museum 24. Miner, 10-11. 1941 Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State (New York : Duell, Sloan and Pearee, 25. United States Congress, House Special Committee on Un-American Activities (1938- 1941). Reprinted 1944, 1948, 2008; revised editions 1954, 1973. 1944), Investigation of Un-American Propaganda Activities in the United States: Hearings, vol. 1941 Mineral Point (reprinted 1979) 4 (Washington, DC: U.S. Govt. Print. Office, 1938-1944), 2857-2858. 1941 Wisconsin: Facts, Events, Places, Tours 26. Miner, 21, 28-29. 1941 Name Index, Pioneer History of Milwaukee by James S. Buck 27. "Find No Bias, Untruths, in Banned State Guide," Capital Times, September 17, 1939, 1; 1947 History of Milwaukee County Miner, 12-13. 1960 Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography (SHSW Press) 28. "Find No Bias, Untruths, in Banned State Guide"; "Heil Bloc Throws Away State Cash n.d. Adilwaukee (translation of Rudolf A Koss's 1871 history in German) by Stopping Printing of WPA Guide," Capital Times, September 22, 1939; Wisconsin Library Association, Records, 1891-1969, Box 6, Folder 10, WHS Archives; Miner, 12-13. 29. Miner, 22; Jack Campisi and Laurence M. Hauptman, "Talking Back: The Oneida Lan­ guage and Folklore Project, 1938-1941," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Unpublished Records 125, no. 6 (December 18, 1981): 443-444; Herbert S. Lewis and L. Gordon McLester, Oneida Lives: Long-lost Voices of the Wisconsin Oneidas (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Federal Writer's Project. Records ca. 1936-1939: Folklore Wisconsin. (Seven microfilm 2005), xxxiii—xxxv. reels of ca. 5,000 pages transferred to Washington) Wisconsin Historical Society Library, 30. Wisconsin Library Association, Records, 1891-1969, box 6, folder 10 and box 15, folder P84-2051 to P84-2057 7, WHS Archives. Hone, Harold N. Photographs, ca. 1936-1940. Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, PH 31. Wisconsin Library Association, Records, 1891-1969, box 6, folder 10. 3978. 32. Wisconsin Library Association, Records, 1891 — 1969, box 6, folder 10, scrapbook vol. 25. Miner, Harold E. Essay and letters, 1941-1942. (1 folder) Wisconsin Historical Society and box 15, folder 7; OCLC WorldCat; examination of copies at Wisconsin Historical Soci­ Archives, SC 1243 ety and Memorial Library, University ofWisconsin. Writer's Program Wisconsin. Folklore Project Records, ca. 1935-1937. (1 box) Wisconsin 33. Miner, letters filed with his essay. Historical Society Archives, Wis Mss IZ. 34. "Wisconsin," Archives of the Work Progress Administration and Predecessors, 1933-1943, reel 13. 35. Lewis and McLester, xi; Susan Daniels, compiler, Oneida WPA Stories (Shawano, WI: Susan G. Daniels, 2004). Notes 36. Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Maryland), November 21, 1980, 5; Social Security Death Index; California Death Index; ["Lyons, JohnJ.,"] San Francisco Chronicle, September 29. 1. Federal Writers' Project, The American Guide Manual (Washington DC: Works Progress 1996, C-12. Administration, 1935): 4, quoted in Petra Schindler-Carter, Vintage Snapshots: the Fabrication 37. Anzia Yezierska, Red Ribbon on a White Horse (New York: Scribner, 1950), 17. of a Nation in the WPA American Guide Series (Frankfurt am Main and New York: P. Lang, 1999), 50. 2. Monty Noam Penkower. The Federal Writers' Project: a Study in Government Patronage of the Arts (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977), 19-22 and 140-154; "Mirror to Amer­ ica." Time, January 3, 1938, 56. 3. "Wisconsin," Archives of the Work Progress Administration and Predecessors, 1933-1943. Scries One: The Final State Reports, 1943 (Brighton, Sussex, England: Harvester Press Micro­ form Pub, Ltd, 1987), reel 13. 4. Brown to Marjorie O'KelHher, October 10, 1935, Museum Curators' Correspondence, Series 972, Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, Madison, Wisconsin; "The Color ofWis­ consin," Wisconsin Statejournal, November 7, 1935, 11. 5. "The Color ofWisconsin"; "Mail Bag," Wisconsin Statejournal, November 29, 1937, 4; Clifford Lord, Clio's Servant: The State Historical Society ofWisconsin, 1846-1954 (Madi­ ABOUT THE AUTHOR son: State Historical Society ofWisconsin, 1967), 332; Writers' Program Wisconsin, Folklore Project Records, 1935-1937, folder 1, WHS Archives. 6. '"'The Color ofWisconsin"; Harold Miner, Essay and Letters, 1941-1942, 13 - 14, WHS Michael Edmonds is deputy director of Archives; Register for the Records of the Writers' Program, Wisconsin, Green Bay District the Wisconsin History Society's Library Office, 1936, Green Bay Area Research Center, UW—Green Bay; "Anti-Union Charge Tossed at WPA Here," Wisconsin Statejournal, December 20, 1936, 1. Archives. A member of the staff since 7. Writers' Program Wisconsin, Folklore Project Records, 1935—1937, folder 1. 1982, he leads the teams that digitize orig­ 8. All four arc online at wisconsinhistory.org, as arc the interviewers' field notes. 9. 'J. E. Bocll Named Temporarily to Saunders' Post," Wisconsin Statejournal, August 21, inal manuscripts, rare books, and pictures 1936, 1; Miner, Essay and Letters, 5—6; "Quota Decreases Hit Several Employed on U.S. for publication on the Wisconsin Histori­ Writers' Project," Oshkosh Northwestern, September 16, 1936, 4; "Anti-Union Charge Tossed cal Society website (www.wisconsinhis- at WPA Here," Wisconsin Statejournal, December 20, 1936, 1; "WPA Cleared in Weinstein Ouster Case," Wisconsin Statejournal, December 31, 1936, 2. tory.org). His award-winning book from the Wisconsin Historical 10. Miner, 5-6. Society Press, Out of the Northwoods, received the prestigious 11. Lord, 331-332; "Chas. E. Brown, Mrs. Miller, Wed in Rockford," Wisconsin Statejour­ nal, April 7, 1937, 9. Wayland D. Hand Prize from the American Folklore Society. His 12. "An Open Letter to Mrs. Esther Haas," Wisconsin Statejournal, October 29, 1937, 4; articles on Increase Lapham's cartography, birds in the Old North­ "Ben Saunders Answers Mrs. Haas," Wisconsin Statejournal, November 29, 1937, 4. 13. Brown to Robert B. Halpin, November 10, 1935, Museum Curators' Correspondence; west, early Paul Bunyan researchers, and Wisconsin's Sound Lord, 332. Storm music festival appeared in volumes 68, 83, 91, and 93 of 14. Miner, 5-7, 13. the Wisconsin Magazine of History. 15. "Phil Signs Bill for Two-Year Teacher Training," Wisconsin Statejournal, June 10, 1937, 9; Chapter 229, Laws of 1937, as published in the Sheboygan Press, June 10, 1937, 16. 16. Mary Oppcn, Meaning a Life (Santa Barbara, CA: Black Sparrow Press, 1978), 61; 'Jack

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The Wisconsin Historical Society Harry Franke, Mequon John J. Frautschi, Madison Beyer Construction* Board of Curators Stephen Freese, Dodgeville Richard H. Holscher, Lake Tomahawk CG Schmidt Lynne Goldstein, Okemos, Ml W. Pharis Horton, Madison Foley &Lardner LLP The Ruth and Hartley Barker Director: Gregg Guthrie, LacDu Flambeau Margaret B. Humleker, Fonddu Lac Marcus Hotels & Resorts Ellsworth H. Brown Vivian Guzniczak, Franklin Roy C. LaBudde, Milwaukee Mead Witter Foundation, Inc.* Edna Gwin, Hudson* George H. Miller, Ripon Murphy Desmond S.C. Officers Charles Haas, La Crosse Carol T.Toussaint, Madison TheQTI Group President: Ellen Langill Janet Hartzell, Naples, FL Edwin P. Wiley, Milwaukee Sensient Technologies* President Elect: Conrad Goodkind Delores Hayssen, Mequon Robert S. Zigman, Mequon Spacesaver Treasurer: Sid Bremer Jean Helliesen, La Crosse Vogel Consulting Group Secretary: Ellsworth H. Brown Fannie Hicklin, Madison Ex-offkio Directors Webcrafters-Frautschi Foundation* Richard Holscher, Lake Tomahawk Conrad G. Goodkind, Milwaukee Weyco Group Board of Curators and Kailua Kona, HI Ellen D. Langill, Waukesha Betty Adelman, Mukwonago Gregory Huber, Wausau $1,000-$2,499 Jon Angeli, Lancaster Margaret Humleker, Fonddu Lac The Wisconsin Historical Alliant Energy* Angela Bartell, Middleton Thomas Jeffris, Janesville Real Estate Foundation Alpha Investment* Murray D. "Chip" Beckford, Cascade Errol Kindschy, West Salem Architecture Network, Inc.* Terese Berceau, Madison Ruth DeYoung Kohler, Kohler Officers The Coburn Company, Inc.* Mary F. Buestrin, Mequon Sharon Leair, Genesee Depot President: Bruce T. Block, Bayside Edison Electric Institute Linda Clifford, Madison Virginia MacNeil, Zirconia, NC Treasurer: David G. Stoeffel, Elkhart Lake's Road America Craig Culver, Prairie du Sac Howard Mead, Madison Whitefish Bay J. H. Findorff&Sonlnc. Laurie Davidson, Marinette George Miller, Ripon Secretary: Gary J. Gorman, Fitchburg The Greater Milwaukee Committee Victor Ferrall, Orfordville Douglas Ogilvie, Appleton Marshfield Clinic* Mark Gajewski, Madison David Olien, Madison Corporate Supporters of the Mead & Hunt* Beverly A. Harrington, Oshkosh Mary Pierce, l/l/ofersmeef, Ml Wisconsin Historical Society Mueller Communications Norbert Hill Jr., Oneida Janice Rice, Stoughton Navistar* Peggy Rosenzweig, Wauwatosa John O. Holzhueter, Mazomanie The Wisconsin Historical Society is Potter Lawson, Inc.* John Russell, Menomonie Carol McChesney Johnson, pleased to recognize the following Stevens Point Journal Mary Sather, New Richmond Black Earth companies for their generous U.S. Bank* Bob Smith, Huntsville, AL Will Jones, Madison support.Those marked with an U.S. Bancorp Foundation Edward Virnig, Brookfield John Kerrigan, Oshkosh asterisk (*) are also participants in Wausau Daily Herald Gerald Viste, Wausau Steve Kestell, Elkhart Lake the Society's Business Partnership John Wiley & Sons Lynne Webster, Cottage Grove* Helen Laird, Marshfield Program. Business Partners are Wisconsin Energy Foundation Anne West, Whitefish Bay Chloris Lowe Jr., New Lisbon eligible to receive a menu of benefits Worzalla Publishing Company Robert Zigman, Mequon Judy Nagel, DePere including membership discounts WPS Health Insurance* Jerry Phillips, Bayfield for employees, complimentary Xcel Energy Foundation Fred A. 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•deceased

54 wisconsinhistory.org WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY

Letters

The Potters Emigration Society

The article on potters migrating from Stoke-upon-Trent to Wisconsin was fascinating. I do my best to spread the word amongst our members that so much information is available in HULKS m the US regarding these unfortunate but enterprising pottery r workers. I would like to compliment you on the attractive and professional layout of the magazine and send good wishes for BRANCH-SOCIETIES the future. IN iriNM:rTiii\ wirii rut

Barbara Blenkinship, POTTERS' JOINT-STOCK . Northern Ceramic Society Secretary 1 n 1 ri i Note: The Northern Ceramic Society (NCS) is a registered lilflTTJWV UK charity, whose objectives are the study of the history and manufacture of ceramics (principally British) of the last five centuries and of the social history of the ceramics industry and SAVINGS' FUND. its key figures, www.northernceramicsociety.org.

I:\IH i.i:inM!i.!:AiT'iri'.\i;LiA:.ii:NT.

SHELTON: I ? •' '• ' 0 MOOTED AT TUE EXA3HNEB OFFICE. KUXS BAXK

- JdOi

Original copy of the Emigration Society's Rules and Regulations, left behind by an unknown settler at Fort Winnebago.

Members of the Potters' Emigration Society dreamed of leaving the smoking chimneys of the Staffordshire Potteries.

SPRING 2011 55 Curio

his dental cabinet was manufactured by the American Cabinet Company of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, in December 1932. It was purchased new by Lester Komers, T DDS, of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Dr. Komers used the cabinet until the early 1970s, when he gave it to the donor, David Sommer, DDS, also of Beaver Dam. Dr. Som- mer used the cabinet to store dental instruments and small rewards for his child patients until 2008. The company produced two styles of these "dollhouse" cabinets: with a flat or a mansard roof. One source suggests that perhaps only 25 of the latter were made. Products of the American Cabinet Company were made in the factory of the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Founded in 1896, American Cabinet was one of several businesses that got its start with the support and facilities of the Hamilton Company. Hamilton eventually took over the American Cabinet Company, but contin­ ued to market dental furniture under the American Cabinet name. The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. began life in 1880 as the J. E. Hamilton Hollywood Type Company, making wooden printer's type. It incorporated in 1890 and later expanded into manufacturing storage cabinets for printer's type. FOR YOUNG READERS Two New Badger Biographies FOR THE CIVIL WAR SESCtUICENTENNIAL

Cordelia Harvey ucius Fairchild Civil War Angel Civil War Hero Bob Kann CORDELIA HARVEY Stuart Stotts Paperback: $12.95 Crrr/c/J^/hjc/ Paperback: $12.95

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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS Gardening Insights from Wisconsin's Early Settlers

Creating Dairyland Beyond the Trees Putting Down Roots How caring for cows saved Stories ofWisconsin Forests Gardening Insights from Wisconsin's our soil, created our land­ Candice Gaukel Andrews Early Settlers scape, brought prosperity to Paperback: $26.95 Marcia C. Carmichael our state, and still shapes our Paperback: $24.95 way of life in Wisconsin Edward Janus Paperback: $26.95

TO ORDER Wisconsin Historical Society Please call: (888) 999-1669 (608) 264-6565 (in Madison) PRESS Shop online: shop.wisconsinhistory.org an Mound in Sauk County is one of the most unique effigy mounds in Wisconsin, being the sole surviving example of a mere handful of mounds shaped like human _ beings. Man Mound's legs were destroyed by the construction of Man Mound Road before the site could be preserved. The onetime location of the legs has been painted here, showing how the mound, possibly the image of a spirit, once seemed to march through the Wisconsin countryside. Learn more about Man Mound in Amy Rosebrough's essay, "A Spirit Striding Upon the Earth: Wisconsin's Famous Man Mound."

WISCONSIN magazine of history

WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY