NOT EVEN QUESTIONS
Hesseltine, William B.
Not Even Questions La Follette and the Rise of the Progressives in Wisconsin, by Robert S. Maxwell. State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 271 pp. $4.50. Reviewed by William B. Hesseltine THE...
...For the first quarter of this century, the nation and even the distant corners of the world watched developments in Wisconsin and treated them in books, magazine articles, and speeches as if they marked a significant set of experiences in political behavior...
...The questions—even the speculations-—are still unanswered...
...In the latest book on the subject, the questions are not even raised...
...Reviewed by William B. Hesseltine THE Progressive movement in Wis- consin was a unique phenomenon in American history...
...Among its elements there was a pragmatic approach, a belief that experts could furnish a guide to the practical solution of problems, a willingness to restore power to the states, and an experimental spirit which sought to find new devices for extending the areas of democracy...
...Wisconsin Progressivism had elements in it which made it distinct from either the Nationalism of Theodore Roosevelt and the theoretical liberals of the East, or the Bryanism which agitated certain portions of the West and the South...
...Progressivism was different from the Populist movement that preceded it, and from the contemporary reform movements which found political expression in other places...
...Just why these elements should have come forth and have been combined in Wisconsin, and just why Wisconsin should have developed a crusading spirit have been the subjects of much speculation and of a groping for answers...
...Maxwell's account of the rise of Progressivism in Wisconsin begins with the gubernatorial election of 1900, discusses the conflict between Governor Robert M. LaFollette and the Stalwarts of the Republican Party, details the legislative history of primary election laws, tax reforms, railroad and insurance regulations, relates the names and services of University professors who participated in Progressive legislation, and tells the superficial story of the conflict between LaFollette and Governor McGovern in 1912...
...for outsiders seeking to gain some insight into the motivations of Progressivism, the personality of Robert LaFollette, or the philosophy of a unique political movement, such a recitation is unrewarding...
...To students of Wisconsin political history, this is familiar ground...
Vol. 21 • January 1957 • No. 1
