William La Follette
Encyclopedia
William Leroy La Follette (November 30, 1860 - December 20, 1934) was a member of the United States House of Representatives
representing Washington. He represented the 3rd District
from 1911 to 1915, and the 4th District
from 1915 to 1919.
to Primrose, Wisconsin
to join his older brother Josiah (15 years his senior) in a farming venture. The LaFollettes had lived in the Knob Creek area of Kentucky
for a generation before William's grandfather, Jesse LaFollette
relocated his entire family to Putnam County, Indiana
in order to leave land title and slavery issues behind him. William's brother, Harvey Marion LaFollette
and cousin Robert M. La Follette
were both born in Primrose in log cabins built by the two LaFollette brothers. After Josiah's premature death from diabetes, William's father returned to Indiana, settling near other LaFollette relatives where he continued farming and built a flour mill. William's birth took place shortly after his family's arrived in Thorntown, Indiana
late in 1860.
For five years additional siblings arrived and his family grew and prospered. Tragedy struck in 1865 when his father was killed in an industrial accident at the mill. William worked on the farm, clerked in a store, learned the jewelry business, and attended the local normal (public) schools. William and his older brother Harvey both left their Indiana home in 1876. Harvey travelled to Europe
to continue his studies in Paris
. The sixteen year old William headed west to the Washington Territory
and took up farming in Whitman County, an area in the Palouse
that had been off limits to settlers since the Indian Wars of the 1850s. Too young to qualify for land under the Homestead Act
, he returned to Indiana where he took some business courses at Central Indiana Normal College (now Canterbury College (Indiana)
.
, having purchased some 375 acreas from his father-in-law, John Tabor
(one of the founders of Whitman County) who had been among the first settlers to bring apples to the region.He added to these fruit holdings, expanded his crops, built a tramwayto transfer the fruit across river to access the new railroad, created a sawmill to make the wooden boxes for shipping, and was responsible for making Wawawai the largest shipping point for fruit along the Snake River
. He shipped many vegetables and hogs as well as fruit, and by the early 1900's his land holdings along the river exceeded one thousand acres. In order to educate his family, La Follette built a large home in Pullman
to be near Washington State College. He sold a large portion of his fruit holdings and entered the world of national politics.
in 1893. He served as a member of the State House of Representatives from 1899 to 1901. He also served on the School Board and was an active member of the Grange. He was elected as a Republican
to the Sixty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1911 to March 3, 1919). He was active on the House Committee on Public Lands and engaged deeply in land use and water issues. His policy interests reached far beyond the region he represented in the Pacific Northwest
. He fought for the passage of bills that brought water to San Francisco and the creation of the National Park Service
.He joined with his cousin, Robert M. La Follette
in opposing President Woodrow Wilson
's foreign policy decisions.
For much of the time he was in Congress, the two LaFollette families shared a large house that he had purchased in Mount Pleasant, Washington D.C.. The house became a center for debate and discussions of the great issues of the day as a steady stream of politicians, policy makers, academics, artists and labor and business leaders debated late into the night. In 1918 he ran unsuccessfully for renomination in the Republican primary.
from 1920 to 1923 and in Princess Anne, Maryland
from 1924 to 1925.After the failed presidential bid and death of his cousin Robert, William La Follette returned permanently to the Palouse.He moved to Colfax, Washington
in 1927 and resumed his former business activities. Both he and his wife, Mary Tabor, died in 1934.
. His son, William Leroy "Roy" LaFollette Jr., served for many years as Prosecuting Attorney for Whitman County (1922–1930 and again during World War II). He successfully ran for his father's old seat in the Washington House of Representatives
in 1939, but was defeated in 1942 in a bid for Congress.
One of his daughters, Suzanne La Follette
, became a noted libertarian journalist. She helped to found The Freeman
and National Review
magazines.
Another son, Chester La Follette
, was a painter whose portrait of his father's first cousin, U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
of Wisconsin, hangs in the United States Capitol.
William La Follette, Sr.'s brother, Harvey Marion LaFollette
, served as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction
before moving to Tennessee, where he founded the city of LaFollette, Tennessee.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
representing Washington. He represented the 3rd District
Washington's 3rd congressional district
Washington's 3rd congressional district encompasses the southernmost portion of Western Washington, from Olympia south to the Columbia River. It includes the counties of Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, and Clark, and the majority of Thurston and Skamania counties...
from 1911 to 1915, and the 4th District
Washington's 4th congressional district
Washington's 4th congressional district encompasses a large area of central Washington, covering the counties of Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Grant, Yakima, Franklin, Benton, Klickitat, and parts of Adams and Skamania counties. The district is dominated by the Yakima and Tri-Cities areas. Since...
from 1915 to 1919.
Early Years and Education
1854 William's father, Harvey LaFollette, was just twenty two years old and newly married. He moved from IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to Primrose, Wisconsin
Primrose, Wisconsin
Primrose is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 682 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Primrose is located in the town.-Geography:...
to join his older brother Josiah (15 years his senior) in a farming venture. The LaFollettes had lived in the Knob Creek area of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
for a generation before William's grandfather, Jesse LaFollette
Jesse LaFollette
Jesse LaFollette is featured in one of the limestone panels at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City, Indiana. Jesse's family lived next to the Knob Creek Farm, Kentucky owned by Thomas Lincoln during Abraham Lincoln's boyhood years...
relocated his entire family to Putnam County, Indiana
Putnam County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,019 people, 12,374 households, and 9,119 families residing in the county. The population density was 75 people per square mile . There were 13,505 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
in order to leave land title and slavery issues behind him. William's brother, Harvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette was an Indiana teacher and educator who, as a young man, served two terms as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. He then moved to Tennessee where he established the town of LaFollette, Tennessee...
and cousin Robert M. La Follette
Robert M. La Follette
Robert M. La Follette is the name of:* Robert M. La Follette, Sr. , senator, congressman, governor of Wisconsin and candidate for President, * Robert M. La Follette, Jr. , his son, also a senator from Wisconsin...
were both born in Primrose in log cabins built by the two LaFollette brothers. After Josiah's premature death from diabetes, William's father returned to Indiana, settling near other LaFollette relatives where he continued farming and built a flour mill. William's birth took place shortly after his family's arrived in Thorntown, Indiana
Thorntown, Indiana
Thorntown is a town in Sugar Creek Township, Boone County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,562 at the 2000 census. Thorntown is located in northwestern Boone City, about halfway between Lafayette and Indianapolis.-Geography:...
late in 1860.
For five years additional siblings arrived and his family grew and prospered. Tragedy struck in 1865 when his father was killed in an industrial accident at the mill. William worked on the farm, clerked in a store, learned the jewelry business, and attended the local normal (public) schools. William and his older brother Harvey both left their Indiana home in 1876. Harvey travelled to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to continue his studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The sixteen year old William headed west to the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
and took up farming in Whitman County, an area in the Palouse
Palouse
The Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of southeastern Washington, north central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes...
that had been off limits to settlers since the Indian Wars of the 1850s. Too young to qualify for land under the Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
, he returned to Indiana where he took some business courses at Central Indiana Normal College (now Canterbury College (Indiana)
Canterbury College (Indiana)
Canterbury College, formerly Central Normal College, was a private institution founded in the state of Indiana, United States, in 1876 as part of the larger state-wide university system. The school was located in Ladoga, Indiana, but was moved to Danville, Indiana in 1878 after purchasing the...
.
Business career
He returned to the Palouse after these studies, staked his claim and began farming. He engaged in agricultural pursuits(mainly wheat), stock raising, and fruit growing.Later, he was extensively engaged as an orchardist at Wawawai on the Snake RiverSnake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
, having purchased some 375 acreas from his father-in-law, John Tabor
John Tabor
John Bayless Tabor "J.B." was a 49er who crossed the plains to California shortly after the discovery of gold. He later settled in the Washington Territory and was one of the founders of Whitman County where he served as a County Commissioner. He had large holdings of fruit orchards and wheat...
(one of the founders of Whitman County) who had been among the first settlers to bring apples to the region.He added to these fruit holdings, expanded his crops, built a tramwayto transfer the fruit across river to access the new railroad, created a sawmill to make the wooden boxes for shipping, and was responsible for making Wawawai the largest shipping point for fruit along the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
. He shipped many vegetables and hogs as well as fruit, and by the early 1900's his land holdings along the river exceeded one thousand acres. In order to educate his family, La Follette built a large home in Pullman
Pullman
Pullman may refer to:*Pullman , various luxurious railway cars, cars, buses or coaches*Pullman Company, maker of Pullman rail cars*Pullman porter, a man hired by the Pullman Company to work as porter on sleeping cars...
to be near Washington State College. He sold a large portion of his fruit holdings and entered the world of national politics.
Public service
La Follette was a member of the World’s Fair Commission and had charge of the Washington State building at the Chicago ExpositionWorld's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in 1893. He served as a member of the State House of Representatives from 1899 to 1901. He also served on the School Board and was an active member of the Grange. He was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the Sixty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1911 to March 3, 1919). He was active on the House Committee on Public Lands and engaged deeply in land use and water issues. His policy interests reached far beyond the region he represented in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. He fought for the passage of bills that brought water to San Francisco and the creation of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.He joined with his cousin, Robert M. La Follette
Robert M. La Follette
Robert M. La Follette is the name of:* Robert M. La Follette, Sr. , senator, congressman, governor of Wisconsin and candidate for President, * Robert M. La Follette, Jr. , his son, also a senator from Wisconsin...
in opposing President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's foreign policy decisions.
For much of the time he was in Congress, the two LaFollette families shared a large house that he had purchased in Mount Pleasant, Washington D.C.. The house became a center for debate and discussions of the great issues of the day as a steady stream of politicians, policy makers, academics, artists and labor and business leaders debated late into the night. In 1918 he ran unsuccessfully for renomination in the Republican primary.
Later years
After leaving elected office La Follette resided in Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
from 1920 to 1923 and in Princess Anne, Maryland
Princess Anne, Maryland
Princess Anne is a town in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Somerset County.Princess Anne is included in the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area....
from 1924 to 1925.After the failed presidential bid and death of his cousin Robert, William La Follette returned permanently to the Palouse.He moved to Colfax, Washington
Colfax, Washington
Colfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States.The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census.It is situated amidst wheat-covered hills in a valley at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Palouse River. U.S...
in 1927 and resumed his former business activities. Both he and his wife, Mary Tabor, died in 1934.
Family
He was a member of the politically prominent La Follette familyLa Follette family
The La Follette family is a family of politicians from the United States. Below is a list of members:*Robert M. La Follette, Sr. , District Attorney of Dane County, Wisconsin 1880-1884; U.S. Representative from Wisconsin 1885-1891; delegate to the Republican National Convention 1896, 1904; Governor...
. His son, William Leroy "Roy" LaFollette Jr., served for many years as Prosecuting Attorney for Whitman County (1922–1930 and again during World War II). He successfully ran for his father's old seat in the Washington House of Representatives
Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, the legislature of the U.S. State of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 districts, each of which elects two members. All members of the House are elected to a two-year term without...
in 1939, but was defeated in 1942 in a bid for Congress.
One of his daughters, Suzanne La Follette
Suzanne La Follette
Suzanne Clara La Follette was an American journalist and author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century. As an editor she helped found several magazines. She was an early and ardent feminist and a vocal anti communist.-Family:She was born in Washington state...
, became a noted libertarian journalist. She helped to found The Freeman
The Freeman
The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty is one of the oldest and most respected libertarian journals in the United States. It is published by the Foundation for Economic Education . It started as a digest sized monthly study journal; it currently appears 10 times per year and is a larger-sized magazine. FEE...
and National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
magazines.
Another son, Chester La Follette
Chester La Follette
Robert Chester La Follette, was an American painter. His portrait of his cousin Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. hangs in the Senate Reception Room of he United States Capitol...
, was a painter whose portrait of his father's first cousin, U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr. , was an American Republican politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was also a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin...
of Wisconsin, hangs in the United States Capitol.
William La Follette, Sr.'s brother, Harvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette was an Indiana teacher and educator who, as a young man, served two terms as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. He then moved to Tennessee where he established the town of LaFollette, Tennessee...
, served as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected office in the state government of Indiana. The official is an elected member of the executive branch of government and work with the state Board of Education as head of the Indiana Department of Education to oversee certain areas of public...
before moving to Tennessee, where he founded the city of LaFollette, Tennessee.