New Thoughts on Old Milwaukee

Milwaukee has become a topic of scholarly interest, with several books on our city's past rolling off the academic presses this year alone. Perspectives on Milwaukee's Past, published by the University of Illinois Press, is a collection of essays selected by a pair of UWM history professors, Margo Anderson and Victor Greene.

The essayists whose work was chosen for the collection explore a range of subjects, from the enduring popularity of ethnic festivals through the role of religion and women in the making of the city. The guiding inspiration behind Perspectives on Milwaukee's Past seems to be the life of Frank Zeidler, Milwaukee's last Socialist mayor. The theme behind the book's many themes is Milwaukee's unusual place in history as the longest major U.S. city governed by Socialist policies.

To that end, the core essay is "The Revolution Begins Here" by UWM historian Aims McGuiness. In a revealing and nuanced reconstruction of Socialism in Milwaukee, McGuiness examines the party's roots in the city, its internal controversies and leading figures, especially U.S. Representative Victor Berger, Mayor Dan Hoan and, of course, Frank Zeidler. The movement's tendency toward pragmatism, fiscal good sense and incorruptibility insured its popularity among Milwaukeeans. The fluid nature of partisan politics in pre-World War II Wisconsin, a strange land of liberal Republicans, reactionary Democrats and an active Progressive Party, also aided the Socialist cause.

Under Socialist leadership, Milwaukee became a beacon for enlightened urban policy, a legacy that dimmed considerably through most of the years since Zeidler stepped down in 1960.