| Description |
1 online resource (xix, 364 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
1. Belle and Bob (1879-1905) -- 2. Bob: On the Road and on the Rise (1906-1911) -- 3. Belle: A "New Woman" and Her Family (1891-1911) -- 4. Fola: From Art to Activism (1904-1911) -- 5. Transition Time: The Family Completed (1912-1916) -- 6. The Catastrophe: Alone and at Bay (1917-1919) -- 7. In Another Country: Old Bob's Last Campaigns (1919-1925) -- 8. The Succession That Wasn't (1925-1941) -- Epilogue: The War and After |
| Summary |
Dynastic political families have been an American tradition since the birth of the Republic. Indeed, a good part of our entire political history could be written simply by setting out the family histories of the Adamses, Roosevelts, Longs, and Kennedys. To that illustrious list must be added the La Follettes of Wisconsin, and they are brought vividly to life as never before in this collective biography by veteran journalist Bernard Weisberger |
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Magnetic, theatrical, intensely loved and passionately denounced, Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette was the rebel knight of the Progressive vanguard and a family patriarch in the larger-than-life tradition of Joe Kennedy. As governor of Wisconsin (1901-1906) and U.S. Senator (1906-1925) he battled uncompromisingly for his vision of democracy - an idealistic mixture of informed citizenry and enlightened public servants combining to produce a utopian egalitarianism |
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By contrast, the private man, often isolated and defeated by social forces beyond his understanding or control, suffered from intense periods of depression and relied heavily on his family for survival |
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With his beloved wife, Belle Case La Follette, a Progressive journalist in her own right, "old Bob" raised their brood to perceive a unique personal and family responsibility for challenging (and curing) society's ills. His first child, Fola, left her stage career to campaign for suffrage; Robert Jr. followed his father to the Senate in 1925, when he was only thirty; and, in 1930, youngest son Phil became the old man's heir as Governor of Wisconsin and as the state's leading Progressive figure |
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Not unlike the twentieth century's other political "first family," however, the La Follette saga ends in largely unrealized promise and tragedy. Fola, Phil, and Bob all ultimately abandoned public life, the latter two after bitter defeat and disillusionment. Finally, in February of 1953, "young Bob" took his own life |
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. An intimate portrait of the Progressive movement and the revealing, poignant story of a prominent American family, The La Follettes of Wisconsin will charm, fascinate, and entertain its readers |
| Analysis |
Politics History, 1865-1945 |
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United States |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-347) and index |
| Notes |
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL |
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digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL |
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Print version record |
| Subject |
La Follette family.
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La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855-1925.
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La Follette, Belle Case, 1859-1931.
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| SUBJECT |
La Follette, Belle Case, 1859-1931 fast |
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La Follette family fast |
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La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855-1925 fast |
| Subject |
Progressivism (United States politics)
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Historical.
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HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- General.
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Politics and government
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Progressivism (United States politics)
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| SUBJECT |
United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140446
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United States -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140464
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| Subject |
United States
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
93032286 |
| ISBN |
9780299141332 |
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0299141330 |
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