He was too short for the stage so he became a lawyer instead. More than 100 years ago, Wisconsin's Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette took his law degree and went on to become a congressman, governor, U.S. senator and a presidential candidate. He is credited with starting what eventually became known as the Progressive Movement, although in the early days, establishment politicians used less polite terms to describe it.
In a new book, "Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics," author Michael Wolraich describes a near riot at the old Red Gym on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus during the state GOP convention of May 1904. The Republican “Stalwarts” sought to derail the efforts of what they termed “Half-Breeds,” led by La Follette, who were advancing a reform platform.
“Even without the barbed wire,” Wolraich said, “the old brick gymnasium looked like a fortress.”
And, with that, Wolraich describes the launching of the Progressive Movement, an effort which would eventually split the Republican Party and at least temporarily blunt the influence of the rich and powerful in national political affairs.
For some, the circumstances in the early 20th Century are very similar to what many see in 2014.
“That’s why I wrote the book,” Wolraich said.
Theodore Roosevelt, a fellow reformer, and La Follette never liked each other, Wolraich said. Roosevelt thought La Follette too radical while La Follette thought Roosevelt was too willing to compromise on important issues. They both subsequently had major roles to play in political reform during the first 20 years of that century. In his book, Wolraich tells their story in a play-by-play, blow-by-blow, manner. The story have many facets: mystery, intrigue, dirty work at the crossroads, surprises, triumphs and tragedies.