Published in Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial year, this fourth volume in The History of Wisconsin series covers the twenty tumultuous years between the World's Columbian Exposition and the First World War when Wisconsin essentially reinvented itself, becoming the nation's "laboratory of democracy." The period known as the Progressive Era began to emerge in the mid-1890s. A sense of crisis and a widespread clamor for reform arose in reaction to rapid changes in population, technology, work, and society. Wisconsinites responded with action: their advocacy of women's suffrage, labor rights and protections, educational reform, increased social services, and more responsive government led to a veritable flood of reform legislation that established Wisconsin as the most progressive state in the union. As governor and U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Robert M. La Follette, Sr., was the most celebrated of the Progressives, but he was surrounded by a host of pragmatic idealists from politics, government, and the state university. Although the Progressives frequently disagreed over priorities and tactics, their values and core beliefs coalesced around broad-based participatory democracy, the application of scientific expertise to governance, and an active concern for the welfare of all members of society-what came to be known as "the Wisconsin Idea."

Published in Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial year, this fourth volume in The History of Wisconsin series covers the twenty tumultuous years between the World's Columbian Exposition and the First World War when Wisconsin essentially reinvented itself, becoming the nation's "laboratory of democracy." The period known as the Progressive Era began to emerge in the mid-1890s. A sense of crisis and a widespread clamor for reform arose in reaction to rapid changes in population, technology, work, and society. Wisconsinites responded with action: their advocacy of women's suffrage, labor rights and protections, educational reform, increased social services, and more responsive government led to a veritable flood of reform legislation that established Wisconsin as the most progressive state in the union. As governor and U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Robert M. La Follette, Sr., was the most celebrated of the Progressives, but he was surrounded by a host of pragmatic idealists from politics, government, and the state university. Although the Progressives frequently disagreed over priorities and tactics, their values and core beliefs coalesced around broad-based participatory democracy, the application of scientific expertise to governance, and an active concern for the welfare of all members of society-what came to be known as "the Wisconsin Idea."

The fifth volume in The History of Wisconsin series covers the years from the outbreak of World War I to the eve of American entry into World War II. In between, the rise of the woman's movement, the advent of universal suffrage, and the "great experiment" of Prohibition are explored, along with the contest between newly emergent labor unions and powerful business and industrial corporations. Author Paul W. Glad also investigates the Great Depression in Wisconsin and its impact on rural and urban families in the state. Photographs and maps further illustrate this volume which tells the story of one of the most exciting and stressful eras in the history of the state.

The fifth volume in The History of Wisconsin series covers the years from the outbreak of World War I to the eve of American entry into World War II. In between, the rise of the woman's movement, the advent of universal suffrage, and the "great experiment" of Prohibition are explored, along with the contest between newly emergent labor unions and powerful business and industrial corporations. Author Paul W. Glad also investigates the Great Depression in Wisconsin and its impact on rural and urban families in the state. Photographs and maps further illustrate this volume which tells the story of one of the most exciting and stressful eras in the history of the state.