Frank P. Zeidler
Encyclopedia
Frank Paul Zeidler was an American
Socialist
politician
and Mayor
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948 to April 18, 1960. He was the most recent Socialist
mayor of any major American city, although U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
was the mayor of Burlington
, the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont.
and Marquette University
, but was never able to graduate
due to ill health. He became a socialist, because of socialism's emphasis on peace and improving the conditions for workers. In a more thorough interview, Zeidler said he chose the ideology of socialism in 1933 "because of several things in its philosophy. One was the brotherhood of people all over the world. Another was its struggle for peace. Another was the equal distribution of economic goods. Another was the idea of cooperation. A fifth was the idea of democratic planning in order to achieve your goals. Those were pretty good ideas". He distanced himself from the beliefs of communism
, especially communism linked in any way to the Soviet Union
. Later however, he credited his adoption of socialism because of reading left-wing literature, with the majority of them being written by Eugene V. Debs
and Norman Thomas
during the Great Depression
.
Zeidler became an active member of the Young People's Socialist League
(YPSL), the youth branch
of the Socialist Party of America
, he later became the leader of the Milwaukee branch of the Red Falcons
during the 1930s.
in 1938 on the Progressive Party ballot line (the Socialist Party and Progressives were in coalition in Milwaukee at that time). He was elected to a six-year term on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors
(a non-partisan office) in 1941, just after his brother Carl Zeidler
was elected Mayor of Milwaukee in 1940. In 1942, Frank Zeidler was the Socialist nominee for Governor of Wisconsin
, receiving 1.41% of the vote in a six-way race. He was re-elected to the Milwaukee School Board in 1947.
After two years in office, Carl Zeidler enlisted in the Navy at the height of World War II. Carl was killed at sea when his ship was lost and became a local hero, helping to pave the way for his younger brother to become mayor. In 1948 Frank Zeidler ran for mayor in a crowded field of fourteen candidates and won, undoubtedly aided by the familiarity of his surname. The large field of candidates was due to Mayor John Bohn
declining to seek re-election in 1948. Among the candidates that year was attorney Henry S. Reuss
, a Democrat who later went on to win election to Congress in 1954. Zeidler was re-elected in 1952 and 1956, but declined to seek another term in 1960, citing health reasons.
Zeidler was Milwaukee's third Socialist mayor (after Emil Seidel
[1910-12] and Daniel Hoan
[1916-40]), making Milwaukee the largest American city to elect three Socialists to its highest office.
and most of the Town of Granville
were annexed to the city. The park system was upgraded. Zeidler spearheaded planning and construction of the beginning of Milwaukee's freeway system, and turned it over to Milwaukee County in 1954. Freeway advocates claim that Zeidler always maintained that the projected Milwaukee freeway system should have been built and that the city's competitiveness had been compromised by the failure to complete the planned system.
Zeidler’s plans for the city were only a partial success. Milwaukee doubled in area through annexation and it experienced very little decline in population during a period of American urban decline starting in the 1960s and lasting until about 1990. Suburban residents and governments fiercely resisted annexation and the politics of regional Milwaukee became highly factional. An attorney who sued to block annexation claimed Zeidler planted listening devices in his office. Zeidler, angry about the resistance to his plans, said in 1958: “The city consults with suburban governments, but we do not believe they have reason for existing.”
Zeidler faced the vexing issue of race relations as Milwaukee's African-American population tripled during the 1950s. Zeidler was a vocal supporter of the civil rights movement and his opponents tried to exploit this to their advantage. Zeidler's political enemies spread false rumors that Zeidler had put billboards in the South asking blacks to come north. Many workers in Milwaukee were threatened for supporting Zeidler. One manufacturer even threatened to fire employees who voted for Zeidler. Zeidler cited bad personal health and the race issue as reasons for not running for re-election in 1960.
, as development director
for Alverno College
, and served in the administration of Wisconsin Governor John W. Reynolds. As a leader of the Public Enterprise Committee, Zeidler was a frequent and severe critic of his successor, Henry Maier. He supported a number of unsuccessful attempts to defeat Maier in subsequent elections.
Zeidler was instrumental in re-forming the Socialist Party USA
in 1973, and served as its National Chair for many years. He was the party's presidential nominee in 1976, getting on ten state ballots. He and his running mate, J. Quinn Brisben
, received 6,038 votes.
On July 26, 2004 Zeidler appeared at the 2004 Green Party National Convention
in Milwaukee to welcome delegates to the convention.
He died July 7, 2006, and is buried at Forest Home Cemetery
in Milwaukee. His papers are archived at the Golda Meir Library
of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
, renditions of four of Shakespeare's plays into present-day English, and children's stories. His 1961 memoir of his time as mayor, A Liberal in City Government, was published in 2005 by Milwaukee Publishers LLC, a local company formed for the purpose. On June 13, 1958 Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee., which now sponsors the Frank P. Zeidler International
Graduate Student Travel Award, a scholarship
enabling a non-American scholar to study for a masters degree in American history
at UW-M. The Wisconsin Labor History Society also sponsors an annual undergraduate Frank P. Zeidler Scholarship in labor history
. The Milwaukee Public Library
's historic collections are housed in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room, named in his honor.
, Virginia
, from 1998 until 2010, when she retired.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Socialist
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948 to April 18, 1960. He was the most recent Socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
mayor of any major American city, although U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders
Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...
was the mayor of Burlington
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont.
Early life and career
Zeidler was born in Milwaukee on September 20, 1912. He studied at both the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
, but was never able to graduate
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
due to ill health. He became a socialist, because of socialism's emphasis on peace and improving the conditions for workers. In a more thorough interview, Zeidler said he chose the ideology of socialism in 1933 "because of several things in its philosophy. One was the brotherhood of people all over the world. Another was its struggle for peace. Another was the equal distribution of economic goods. Another was the idea of cooperation. A fifth was the idea of democratic planning in order to achieve your goals. Those were pretty good ideas". He distanced himself from the beliefs of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, especially communism linked in any way to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Later however, he credited his adoption of socialism because of reading left-wing literature, with the majority of them being written by Eugene V. Debs
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...
and Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Zeidler became an active member of the Young People's Socialist League
Young People's Socialist League
The Young People's Socialist League , founded in 1989, is the official youth arm of the Socialist Party USA. The group's membership consists of those democratic socialists under the age of 30, and its political activities tend to concentrate on increasing the voter turnout of young democratic...
(YPSL), the youth branch
Youth wing
A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous or independently-allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support and allegiance for that organization's campaigns from members and potential members of a younger age...
of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
, he later became the leader of the Milwaukee branch of the Red Falcons
Red Falcons
Red Falcons was the name of various socialist youth organizations, popular in Europe and the United States, especially between the first and second world wars, but of which many are still active today...
during the 1930s.
Elections
Zeidler was elected Milwaukee County County SurveyorSurveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
in 1938 on the Progressive Party ballot line (the Socialist Party and Progressives were in coalition in Milwaukee at that time). He was elected to a six-year term on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors
Milwaukee Public Schools
Milwaukee Public Schools is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of 2007, it had an enrollment of 87,360 students, and as of 2006 employed 6,100 full-time and substitute teachers in 223 schools. The Milwaukee Public Schools system is the 33rd largest in the United States by enrollment...
(a non-partisan office) in 1941, just after his brother Carl Zeidler
Carl Zeidler
Carl Frederick Zeidler was the mayor of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1940 to 1942.Born in Milwaukee, he graduated from Marquette University in 1929 and receiving a J.D...
was elected Mayor of Milwaukee in 1940. In 1942, Frank Zeidler was the Socialist nominee for Governor of Wisconsin
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...
, receiving 1.41% of the vote in a six-way race. He was re-elected to the Milwaukee School Board in 1947.
After two years in office, Carl Zeidler enlisted in the Navy at the height of World War II. Carl was killed at sea when his ship was lost and became a local hero, helping to pave the way for his younger brother to become mayor. In 1948 Frank Zeidler ran for mayor in a crowded field of fourteen candidates and won, undoubtedly aided by the familiarity of his surname. The large field of candidates was due to Mayor John Bohn
John Bohn
John L. Bohn was an American politician who served as mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1942 to 1948.John Bohn was president of Milwaukee's Common Council when Mayor Carl Zeidler resigned in 1942 to serve in the U.S. Navy and was lost at sea later in 1942 while serving in World War II; Bohn...
declining to seek re-election in 1948. Among the candidates that year was attorney Henry S. Reuss
Henry S. Reuss
Henry Schoellkopf Reuss was a Democrat U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.-Childhood and education:He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in that city's German section. Reuss earned his A.B. from Cornell University in 1933 and was a member of the Sphinx Head Society. He then earned his LL.B...
, a Democrat who later went on to win election to Congress in 1954. Zeidler was re-elected in 1952 and 1956, but declined to seek another term in 1960, citing health reasons.
Zeidler was Milwaukee's third Socialist mayor (after Emil Seidel
Emil Seidel
Emil Seidel was the mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. He was the first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, and ran as the Vice Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America in the 1912 presidential election....
[1910-12] and Daniel Hoan
Daniel Hoan
Daniel Webster "Dan" Hoan was a United States lawyer and politician. He became the second Socialist mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his tenure is generally considered to be the longest continuous socialist administration in U.S. history...
[1916-40]), making Milwaukee the largest American city to elect three Socialists to its highest office.
Mayoralty
During Frank Zeidler's administration, Milwaukee grew industrially and never had to borrow money to repay loans. During this period, Milwaukee nearly doubled its size with an aggressive campaign of municipal annexations: large parts of the Town of LakeLake, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
The Town of Lake was formerly a town in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin which existed from January 2, 1838 to April 6, 1954.-Geography:Using current street names, it encompassed the area bordered by Greenfield Ave to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, College Avenue to the south and 27th Street to...
and most of the Town of Granville
Granville, Wisconsin
Granville was a town located in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. One portion was incorporated as the village of Brown Deer in 1955; the remainder was annexed by the city of Milwaukee in 1956. The latter became a neighborhood of Milwaukee.-History:...
were annexed to the city. The park system was upgraded. Zeidler spearheaded planning and construction of the beginning of Milwaukee's freeway system, and turned it over to Milwaukee County in 1954. Freeway advocates claim that Zeidler always maintained that the projected Milwaukee freeway system should have been built and that the city's competitiveness had been compromised by the failure to complete the planned system.
Zeidler’s plans for the city were only a partial success. Milwaukee doubled in area through annexation and it experienced very little decline in population during a period of American urban decline starting in the 1960s and lasting until about 1990. Suburban residents and governments fiercely resisted annexation and the politics of regional Milwaukee became highly factional. An attorney who sued to block annexation claimed Zeidler planted listening devices in his office. Zeidler, angry about the resistance to his plans, said in 1958: “The city consults with suburban governments, but we do not believe they have reason for existing.”
Zeidler faced the vexing issue of race relations as Milwaukee's African-American population tripled during the 1950s. Zeidler was a vocal supporter of the civil rights movement and his opponents tried to exploit this to their advantage. Zeidler's political enemies spread false rumors that Zeidler had put billboards in the South asking blacks to come north. Many workers in Milwaukee were threatened for supporting Zeidler. One manufacturer even threatened to fire employees who voted for Zeidler. Zeidler cited bad personal health and the race issue as reasons for not running for re-election in 1960.
After leaving office
After leaving office, Frank Zeidler worked as a mediatorMediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
, as development director
Development director
A development director is the senior financial officer of an organization, company, or corporation. The position is comparable to a chief financial officer or treasurer. A development director is usually remunerated for his or her work . In best practices for non-profit organizations, development...
for Alverno College
Alverno College
Alverno College is a Roman Catholic, four-year, independent, liberal arts college, historically and still primarily a women's college located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
, and served in the administration of Wisconsin Governor John W. Reynolds. As a leader of the Public Enterprise Committee, Zeidler was a frequent and severe critic of his successor, Henry Maier. He supported a number of unsuccessful attempts to defeat Maier in subsequent elections.
Zeidler was instrumental in re-forming the Socialist Party USA
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...
in 1973, and served as its National Chair for many years. He was the party's presidential nominee in 1976, getting on ten state ballots. He and his running mate, J. Quinn Brisben
J. Quinn Brisben
John Quinn Brisben was the Socialist Party USA candidate for President of the United States in the 1992 U.S. presidential election. His running mate was initially Bill Edwards, but after Edwards died during the campaign he was replaced by Barbara Garson.Extremely active in the civil rights...
, received 6,038 votes.
On July 26, 2004 Zeidler appeared at the 2004 Green Party National Convention
2004 Green National Convention
The 2004 national convention of the Green Party , FORWARD 2004!:The Green National Convention, was held at the Hyatt Regency and the Midwest CenterMilwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23-28, 2004.-Round 1 of Presidential nomination voting:...
in Milwaukee to welcome delegates to the convention.
He died July 7, 2006, and is buried at Forest Home Cemetery
Forest Home Cemetery
Forest Home Cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite...
in Milwaukee. His papers are archived at the Golda Meir Library
Golda Meir Library
The Golda Meir Library is the main library of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The Library has more than 4.5 million catalogued items, many of which are available electronically through Electronic Reserve, web-based online catalog, searchable databases and indexes.The building was first...
of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Writing and scholarship
Zeidler wrote several books, including not only treatises on municipal government, labor law, socialism, and Milwaukee history, but poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, renditions of four of Shakespeare's plays into present-day English, and children's stories. His 1961 memoir of his time as mayor, A Liberal in City Government, was published in 2005 by Milwaukee Publishers LLC, a local company formed for the purpose. On June 13, 1958 Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee., which now sponsors the Frank P. Zeidler International
Graduate Student Travel Award, a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
enabling a non-American scholar to study for a masters degree in American history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
at UW-M. The Wisconsin Labor History Society also sponsors an annual undergraduate Frank P. Zeidler Scholarship in labor history
Labor history
Labor history may refer to:* Labor history , a subfield of the discipline of history**Labor history of the United States, describes the history of organized labor, as well as the more general history of working people, in the United States...
. The Milwaukee Public Library
Milwaukee Public Library
Milwaukee Public Library is the public library system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin consisting of a central library and 12 branches, all part of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System...
's historic collections are housed in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room, named in his honor.
Jeanne Zeidler
Zeidler's daughter, Jeanne Zeidler, served as mayor of WilliamsburgWilliamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, from 1998 until 2010, when she retired.
External links
- "The Last Socialist Mayor". Interviewer, Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
. June 21, 2004. - Funeral service video clips includes tributes by Mayor Tom Barrett and historian John Gurda