Gaylord Nelson’s Wisconsin Idea

Wisconsin has produced a number of remarkable political figures, both famous and infamous, but one of the most influential Wisconsin politicians in recent history was Gaylord Nelson.  He enjoyed a long and productive political career, serving as a Wisconsin State Senator (1949-59), Governor of Wisconsin (1959-63), and U.S. Senator (1963-81).  Nelson is probably best known for his passion for environmental issues and was the principal founder of Earth Day in 1970.  He also was an advocate for civil rights, the fight against poverty, safety standards in the automotive and tire industries, and accountability in the pharmaceutical industry.  He was one of only three senators to oppose the Vietnam War.  His colleagues called him the conscience of the Senate.

Gaylord Nelson holding a hearing regarding abuses by the pharmaceutical industry, 1968.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has Gaylord Nelson’s papers, and in honor of the recent completion of the first phase of the project to process these papers, WHS released an online gallery of selected images from Nelson’s life and career.  Some of these images appear here, and the complete gallery can be viewed here. 

Gaylord Nelson at the Apostle Islands, 1967.

Processing the Gaylord Nelson Papers was no easy task.  The Wisconsin Historical Society’s website describes the difficulties in dealing with this sizeable and historically significant body of material as follows:

Nelson donated a portion of his senatorial papers to the Society in 1974; the rest of the materials arrived in 1980 upon Nelson's defeat in the Senate. These two accessions constituted the bulk of the Nelson collection, totaling 1,040 boxes of paper, audio recordings, films, photographs, scrapbooks and video recordings. The papers remained unprocessed, however, until 2006 when the Society received a generous grant from the Evjue Foundation. In addition to the grant, the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been a major financial contributor to the project. Since then, the work to identify, organize and describe the materials in the collection has been ongoing. And now the most significant portion of the collection has been preserved, organized and, lastly, described in a finding aid now available online  through the Society's website. The Society also holds Nelson's official papers as governor of Wisconsin (1959-1963).

Kennedy campaigning in Wisconsin with Governor Nelson on his left, 1960.

Creating Menominee County, 1959.

WHS has digitized a number of original documents and primary sources relating to Gaylord Nelson and the environmental movement and made them available online as part of their Turning Points in Wisconsin History online collection.

Gaylord Nelson receives the Presidential Freedom Award, 1995.

Gaylord Nelson’s impact on Wisconsin and the country at large would be hard to overstate.  The Wisconsin Historical Society’s efforts to process and digitize the Nelson Papers are another great example of celebrating Wisconsin’s ideas and ideals.

[Post Created by Eric Tollefson]

Ada James

Inspired by the recent political activities in Wisconsin’s capital, I turned to the Wisconsin Historical Society to find other instances of social reform and political activity born in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Historical Society was founded in 1846 and was originally located in the Capital Building in Madison. As WHS began to outgrow its quarters, a move was planned to a larger location on the University of Wisconsin’s campus to better serve the society’s main user base at that time, university students. WHS is now housed in an impressive building opened in 1900.

Not to be missed on a trip to WHS is the second floor reading room and the many paintings that grace the staircases.

Newly renovated reading room.

WHS is open to researchers and the public alike. If a trip to Madison is not an option, WHS has a fantastic website with a variety of digitized collections and virtual reference available.

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/

The WHS archival collections are rich with materials of social reform and political unrest; varying from the papers and photographs of Edward Alsworth Ross, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin concerned with immigrant rights, federal health care and education; to film and manuscripts collections of anti-war protests from the Vietnam era; to the more recent Wisconsin Bureau of Community Health and Prevention Family Planning Program papers documenting family planning funding and education in the 1970’s and 1980’s. However, one collection in particular piqued my interest as an example of political reform born in Wisconsin.

The Ada Lois James collection chronicles the work of Richland Center, Wisconsin native Ada James as she worked to bring political equality to women and better the lives of Wisconsinites. Ada was born into a politically active family; her parents were David G. James, a Wisconsin state senator that among other accomplishments introduced a suffrage referendum bill to the state senate at the urging of his daughter in 1911; and her mother Laura Briggs James who was involved in the Wisconsin Woman’s Suffrage Association with her daughter. Throughout her life, Ada was involved in many organizations and social movements. Her papers contain correspondence with other social activist in the Midwest, correspondence from politicians as well as personal correspondence.

Below is the hand drawn cover and inside page of the Political Equality Club 1909 member log. Ada was president of the club from 1911-1918. She was also active with the Wisconsin Women’s Suffrage Association, and the National Women’s Party.

President-Marila Marshall, Vice-President-Gracie Harn, Secretary-Marcia Bliss, Treasurer-Mary McCormick

The suffrage movement began in Wisconsin in 1846 and was not fulfilled until June of 1919 when Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the 19^th amendment. Below is a letter from state senator Harlan P. Bird to Ada explaining why he is unable to support women’s suffrage. Although Senator Bird appears to hold women in high esteem, he explains to Ada that he cannot allow women to carry a man’s intellectual burden of voting. He also writes that he cannot foresee a time when the suffrage movement will catch on at a national level. The letter is dated April of 1909, some ten years before women won the vote in Wisconsin. You can click on the images for a closer look.

Ada and her fellow suffragist traveled around Wisconsin holding gatherings and trying to win the public’s support for women’s suffrage.

A group of suffragists in 1911 or 1912. Ada is in the center, wearing a sash.

A gathering in support of women’s suffrage in 1912 at Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

Although the suffrage movement was of great importance to Ada, she found time to be involved in other political movements. During World War I Ada became involved in pacifism and prohibition movements. After women secured the vote, Ada remained involved in social and political reform. In 1922 Ada was the Vice-Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee and in 1923 became the President of the Wisconsin Progressive Association. In her later life Ada became involved with social work within Wisconsin.

Ada was born in Wisconsin, and so was her determination and perseverance to bring about political equality.

[Post created by Laura Farley.]