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Milwaukee Timeline - 1900's
Socialist Era Begins
In May of 1886, striking workers in Milwaukee were fired on and killed by the state-sponsored local militia. Workers throughout the city, most of whom joined a movement organized by a national labor union, the Knights of Labor, condemned the action. The People's Party of Wisconsin emerged from this movement. The city's Socialists reluctantly joined forces with the People's Party. The Party experienced great success in the elections of 1886, winning many seats, including one in Congress. The next year the Socialists left the Party and the Democrats and Republicans joined forces against the People's Party. The Party disintegrated over the next few years.
Although Socialists and other populists were active in Milwaukee's municipal government over the next twenty years, it wasn't until 1910 that they made some real electoral progress, including the election of the city's (and the nation's) first Socialist mayor, Emil Seidel.
Many factors contributed to the electoral success of the Socialists in 1910:
- Milwaukee was an industrial city ripe for change, as evidenced by the bloody strikes of 1886.
- Milwaukee was a very German city and in this country Germans were generally supporters of liberal causes.
- Victor Berger, a Socialist with a national reputation, led the Socialist movement in the city.
- The administration of Mayor Emil Seidel's predecessor, David Rose, was tainted with numerous scandals. Milwaukee was ready to try something different. The Socialist experiment in municipal government lasted, almost uninterrupted, for the next thirty years.
Mayor Dan Hoan
After the election of 1910, the Socialists -- Mayor Emil Seidel and the Common Council -- raised the minimum wage and made the eight-hour day standard for city workers. The administration was praised for its compassion and efficiency, but Republicans and Democrats who were humiliated by their defeat, put all their effort into defeating the Socialists in 1912. Seidel lost the election and the Common Council lost its Socialist majority. Victor Berger lost the seat in Congress he had won in 1910. Seidel also lost in a rematch in 1914. In 1916 the Socialists nominated Dan Hoan for mayor. Hoan, who had entered Seidel's administration as city attorney in the 1910 landslide, beat the incumbent candidate, Gerhard Bading. Unlike Seidel's term, the Common Council that came in after the election wasn't overwhelmingly Socialist. Hoan's popularity had its ups and downs but he was repeatedly elected until 1940.
Dan Hoan's tenure as mayor was a golden age in the city's government. His administrations were marked by honesty and efficiency. Under Dan Hoan, between 1925 and 1940, Milwaukee won a number of awards as the healthiest, safest and best policed big city in the United States.
World War I Anti-Germanism
The World War I years were difficult ones for Milwaukee. Besides the fact that many Milwaukeeans had relatives and friends fighting in Europe, a large number of those left at home suffered from an anti-Germanism sentiment that was a by-product of the war.
When the war began in 1914, many recently-arrived Germans were supportive of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. This support was seen by many non-Germans as acceptable before the U.S. took sides in the war. By 1916, the country was firmly aligned against Germany. When the U.S. entered the war in April 1917, tensions reached a peak. Anti-German sentiment was stoked further by the Milwaukee Journal which attacked the local German language newspaper, the Germania-Herold for "disloyalty" and "hatred for this government". As the war continued, nearly anything that smacked of Germanism was held up for derision by many Milwaukeeans. Some Germans themselves tried to hide their Germanism by changing their names and avoiding anything that made them appear too German.
World War I was not easy for the Socialists either. The official position of the Party was pacifism. Mayor Dan Hoan knew he had obligations to the city that went beyond his role in the Party and was instrumental in war preparations. Hoan easily won re-election in 1918 and Victor Berger won the congressional election although he had come out against the war. He was indicted a few weeks after the election for some anti-war editorials he had written and the House refused to seat him.
By the end of the war, most Milwaukeeans had grown tired of the German-bashing that had engulfed the city. But the war years definitely chipped away at Germanism in Milwaukee.
Prohibition
Carrie Nation, a temperance movement leader, once said, "If there is any place that is hell on earth, it is Milwaukee." After World War I, the prohibitionists convinced many people, including U.S. government officials, that alcohol was the cause of most of society's ills. With its German connotations, beer was singled out for being especially unpatriotic. On July 1st, 1919, Prohibition became national policy.
Although beer production was never central to the overall economy of the city, Prohibition had negative effects on the economy and character of Milwaukee. The larger breweries were able to stay open by producing near beer or other products such as flavored soda, cheese, candy bars and even snow plows. Many other businesses related to beer production were also affected.
Nearly all of Milwaukee's saloons were closed down by Prohibition. In 1918, there were 1,980 saloons in Milwaukee, one per 230 residents. Prohibition was detrimental to the cultural character of the city. Not surprisingly, the end of Prohibition was marked by a number of celebrations including one on the lakefront known as the Mid-Summer Festival. It became a regular event for eight years and foreshadowed Summerfest.
The Depression Hits Milwaukee
Milwaukee's economy remained strong for several years after the stock market crashed in 1929. However, what was known as the "Milwaukee Miracle" ended with mass layoffs in 1932. The number of wage earners in the city fell from 177,658 in 1929 to 66,010 in 1933. Poverty became rampant as families lost their homes and went hungry. Predictably, the Socialists, including Mayor Dan Hoan blamed capitalism itself for the Depression but they didn't waste much time gloating. Socialism in the city and across the nation experienced a tremendous resurgence during the early Depression years. Locally, the 1932 elections brought in a Socialist majority to the Common Council for the only time during Hoan's administration.
Mayor Hoan and his administration embarked on a variety of creative solutions to extend some relief to the city's employees. New jobs were created and bonds were issued to city employees that could be used like cash. President Roosevelt's New Deal programs and the various re-employment plans also helped thousands of Milwaukeeans get back on their feet.
The Depression years were undoubtedly difficult for the city, but by the end of the 1930s, the city (along with the rest of the country) was well on its way to an economic recovery.
"Best Governed City in the U.S."
In May of 1936, 20 years after he took office, Mayor Dan Hoan appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. The magazine called Hoan "one of the nation's ablest public servants, and, under him, Milwaukee has become perhaps the best governed city in the U.S."
As bleak as the thirties were for Milwaukee, its municipal government shone during the Depression. The city started its own work relief programs as well as made creative use of the money it was getting from the federal government. Milwaukee developed an excellent public park system, built libraries and social centers and started recreational programs. The city won some awards for public health during the 1930's.
Mayor Hoan made sure he gave plenty of credit to the Socialist Party, which was beginning to experience setbacks by the mid-thirties. For one thing, workers and populists had more choices. Some aligned themselves with the Communist Party, others joined up with the Progressive Party and President Roosevelt' s Democratic Party. The last four years of Dan Hoan's tenure as mayor were not easy for him. He was facing aldermen who were not receptive to his ideas. In the election of 1940, he faced Carl Zeidler, a challenger who didn't appear to have much of an ideology at all. Zeidler was young, out-going and dynamic. Milwaukee was apparently ready for a change and chose Zeidler as its next mayor. But the Hoan era was definitely a high point in Milwaukee's political history.
World War II
Just as the misery of the Great Depression was finally ending, Pearl Harbor was bombed and America entered World War II. As the "machine shop of the world," Milwaukee was in a favorable position to aid the war effort. The city's factories quickly geared up to run at full speed producing materials needed to fight a war. New facilities did not need to be built. Existing manufacturers quickly converted to wartime production. For instance, a highway contractor, Froemming Brothers opened a shipyard. Allis-Chalmers, the largest employer in the state, built, among other armaments, the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan.
There was a major labor shortage in the city and many women were brought in to work in the factories. For the first time, many African-Americans were easily able to find jobs, though for lower wages than whites. There still weren't enough workers in the city and some were brought in from Jamaica and Barbados to work in the factories.
Nearly two years into his term, Mayor Carl Zeidler thought he could best serve the war effort by enlisting. The merchant vessel he was commandeering disappeared in the South Atlantic and was presumed to have been sunk by the Germans.
The war years were as hard on Milwaukee as for the rest of the country. With loved ones overseas and rationing on the home front, life was difficult for many. Nearly everyone had jobs but there was nothing on which to spend hard-earned wages. But, as with the Depression, Milwaukee residents pulled together, helped out their neighbors and got through the war years with a renewed sense of optimism.
Growing Pains
Through the long Depression and World War II years, there was not much growth in Milwaukee. Few people moved here and the birth rate was down. New home construction was slow. After the war, there were housing shortages as soldiers returned home and others moved into the city. Almost immediately home construction began at a swift pace. During the 1950s alone, nearly a hundred homes a month were built, mostly in the outlying areas of the city. The large numbers of cars bought by residents soon overwhelmed the streets causing traffic congestion.
Milwaukee County became fragmented as communities on the outer edges of the city became incorporated and left the City of Milwaukee. Glendale was the first to be incorporated in 1950, followed by St. Francis in 1951, and Hales Corners in 1952, with the trend continuing until 1964. After all the incorporations, Milwaukee County government took on a more important role, eroding some of the City's authority.
In 1948, Milwaukee elected Frank Zeidler (Carl's younger brother) as mayor. Zeidler, a Socialist, did his best to keep Milwaukee intact but was unable to prevent its division into suburbs. But the city didn't do too badly. The land area of Milwaukee actually doubled from 1946 to 1967 and the population grew from 587, 472 in 1940 to 741,324 in 1960. The city was still a vital urban center although more people were leaving it for the suburbs.
Civil Rights
In 1910, there were only about 980 African-Americans in Milwaukee. By 1945, the black population had grown to 13,000. In the late 1920s and early 1930s there was a vibrant black community in the city. Although there was discrimination from the larger white community, tension between the races was minimal.
By the 1960s conditions had grown much worse. Milwaukee's north side, home to the majority of African-Americans, was a neglected ghetto with alarming poverty rates. Mayor Zeidler tried to implement numerous strategies, such as clearing slums and creating new public housing, to remedy the problems facing blacks.
The mayor was unable to make much headway during his administrations between 1948 and 1960 and was constantly confronted with the barrier of racism. In fact, Zeidler's opponents used racism against him in the elections of 1952 and 1956, spreading lies that he had been advertising in southern states to bring blacks to Milwaukee.
The city appeared tolerant of the black community until the black population began to show a dramatic increase after World War II, from 13,000 in 1945 to 21,772 in 1950, rising further to 62,458 in 1960 and almost doubling to 105,088 ten years later.
By 1960, life for the majority of Milwaukee's African- American population was bleak. The civil rights movement was slow to get started in the city. A sit-in at the Milwaukee County Courthouse was followed by an occupation of the mayor's office in1963. Later that year, a movement began to desegregate Milwaukee's public schools. It came up against continuous resistance by school officials. A Catholic priest, Father James Groppi, became involved with the struggle in 1965. He also took a firm stand against housing discrimination for blacks.
The racial confrontations that started in Newark and Detroit sparked a race riot in Milwaukee in July 1967. Although it was a relatively minor riot, three people died, a hundred were injured and 1,740 were arrested. Mayor Henry Maier placed the entire city under a 24-hour curfew and several days later unveiled his "39-Point Program" which was an attempt to do something about inner-city problems. A series of marches over 200 consecutive days was led by Father Groppi and the NAACP Youth Council to protest housing discrimination.
A month after the marches ended, Milwaukee and most of its suburbs passed open-housing laws but segregation and discrimination did not end there. The riots of1967 showed a different side of Milwaukee. The city that had prided itself on its progressive past and its diversity would no longer be able to hold its head up in quite the same way.
Urban Renewal
By the 1960s, the inner city of Milwaukee was in a state of decay. Urban blight covered large sections of the city. Urban renewal projects had begun during Mayor Zeidler's administration, but, as urban problems worsened during the 1960s, a greater effort was made to revitalize the City of Milwaukee. A downside to urban renewal was that thousands of people, especially in the black community, lost their homes as whole blocks were cleared to make room for new housing projects, high rises and freeways. Many rundown yet beautiful buildings were demolished.
By the late 1960s many people thought that urban renewal had gone too far. A movement began to preserve historical buildings. The preservationists were able to save some landmarks such as the Pabst Mansion but others were lost in the move towards redevelopment.
As the decade continued, freeway construction was also perceived differently. Early in the decade, nearly everyone agreed that a freeway system was needed. By the late 1960s, however, many residents weren't so sure. Freeways uprooted and divided neighborhoods and eliminated millions of dollars of tax base. Even the mayor sided with the anti-freeway movement. Most freeway projects eventually were completed, although with some delays.
Milwaukee still retains some of its "old world" charm. Though much of the city was renovated during the 1960s and 1970s, there are still many reminders of its past.
The Braves and The Brewers
Milwaukee has always been a city that loves baseball, but until 1953, the city did not have its own major league baseball team. Since 1902, one of the most beloved minor league teams in the country had been the Milwaukee Brewers. They played at Borchert Field, a tiny antiquated stadium. Milwaukee County Stadium was built in 1950 as a replacement, but more importantly, to lure a big league team to the city. In 1953, the Boston Braves announced that they would move to the city. Residents were ecstatic. The opening season broke a national league attendance record. It helped that the Braves were a superior team. They won the World Series in 1957 and the National League pennant the following year. But then they lost momentum and Milwaukeeans lost enthusiasm for the team. Even though attendance dropped, Milwaukee residents were upset when the team left for Atlanta in 1965.
Major League baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1970 when the expansion team, the Seattle Pilots, moved to the city and changed their name to the Brewers. The Brewers didn't repeat the immediate success of the Braves but went to the World Series in 1982. Still, the city loves the Brewers through both its good and bad seasons. Milwaukee County Stadium was razed in 2000 to make room for Miller Park which opened in 2001.
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