The Little New Deal also referred to as Wisconsin's Little New Deal or Wisconsin's New Deal was a series of rural, economic, social and political reforms in response to the Great Depression in the United States within Wisconsin under the Republican and Progressive Governorship of Philip Fox La Follette.[1][2]
| Location |
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|---|---|
| Organized by | Governor Philip Fox La Follette |
In 1931 Wisconsin became the first state in the United States to enact a "Union Bill of Rights" and Unemployment Laws, in the early years the Wisconsin progressives often informally aligned themselves with the national New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the late 1930s it became difficult to place Philip's policies on weather they were politically to the left or to the right of the national New Deal with Philip being accused of Authoritarianism, Fascism and Demagoguery.[3][1]
History
editWisconsin was the first state in the United States to start implementing statewide reforms which would go on to influence many policies of the national New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Little New Deal implemented laws such as a Union Bill of rights, Rural Electrification, Reorganization Orders, Unemployment Composition, Conservation and a Wisconsin Works Bill.[1][2][4] By 1938, Philip sought a return to the policy of the "old days" in which
"our country did not pay people to remain idle or to do unproductive work. We gave everyone an opportunity to do wealth-creating work. If they did not take that offer, they could sink or swim as they pleased. Today we have idle resources, and also idle people.... Again we must provide every able-bodied man and woman with a real opportunity for wealth-creating work at decent hours and at decent pay. Then, let us return to the principle that he who is able and does not work—well, then, at least he shall not live at the expense of his neighbor."[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 Miller, John E. (1982). Governor Philip F. La Follette, the Wisconsin Progressives, and the New Deal. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-0371-7.
- 1 2 "The New Deal in Wisconsin (and Beyond)". wi101.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "Wisconsin Court System - Articles on Wisconsin". www.wicourts.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ Miller, John E. (1978). "Progressivism and the New Deal: The Wisconsin Works Bill of 1935". The Wisconsin Magazine of History. 62 (1): 25–40. ISSN 0043-6534.
- ↑ "La Follette Launches THE Party: National Progressives of America". Wisconsin State Journal. 1938-04-29. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-04-22.