Sewer Socialism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sewer Socialism was a Socialist movement that began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and existed from around 1892 to 1940. Also known as Milwaukee Socialism, the Sewer Socialists fought to clean up the dirty and polluted legacy of the Industrial Revolution. The beginning of this movement started with the manifestation of the Social-Democratic Party.
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[edit] Victor Berger
Victor Berger is seen as the manifestation of Sewer Socialism, often compared to Robert La Follette and his representation of Progressivism. He was an Austrian immigrant, who for quite awhile published an English and German paper. With its Socialist bias, he gave free versions to every household in Milwaukee before elections. Before he knew it, he was considered the leader of an aggressive group of "Socialists" whose party was less Socialist than it was a moderate variety of Reformation. They played down social theory and emphasizes honest government. In 1910 he went to Washington, DC as the first ever US Socialist congressman.
[edit] 1910 and Seidel
In 1910, the Socialists won most of the seats in the Milwaukee city council and county board. This included the first ever Socialist mayor in the United States, Emil Seidel. As mentioned before, Victor Berger won the first-ever Socialist seat in congress.
[edit] The Following Years
Seidel and Berger both lost their campaigns in 1912; but in 1916 a new Socialist mayor was elected, Daniel Hoan. He stayed in office until 1940. During those 24 years, the word "mayor" became synonomous with "Daniel Hoan." Socialists never had total control over the government like they did in 1910, but continued to show major influence until the defeat of Daniel Hoan in 1940. Victor Berger won a seat in the House of Representatives, but was refused by The House for his brisk anti-WW I statements at a St. Louis, Missouri Socialist convention. This was labelled down as "Violation of the Federal Espionage Act."
