George A. Nelson

George A. Nelson (November 15, 1873 – May 4, 1962) was an American dairy farmer, farm organization leader, and socialist politician. He is best remembered as the 1936 candidate of the Socialist Party of America for Vice President of the United States and member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party. He previously served as the 50th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and represented Polk County in the Assembly for three terms.

Early years

George A. Nelson was born of Danish parents on a Polk County, Wisconsin, farm on November 15, 1873. He worked as a farmhand in his youth but was restless and left young to see the world, sailing the length of the Mississippi River and working as a laborer, miner, and machinist in some 38 states of the union, Canada, and Mexico by the time he was 25.

Nelson was one of the original "Sourdoughs," a miner in the Yukon gold rush of 1898. While in the Yukon, George's friend pushed him out of the way of a falling rock during a mine collapse. George survived but his friend died. George paid to have his friend's body shipped back to his family in the lower 48 states. His adventure in the north proved to be successful and he returned to Polk County with enough gold to purchase a farm in Milltown, Wisconsin, where he worked throughout his life as a small-scale dairy farmer. At the time of his 1936 campaign for Vice President of the United States, Nelson's farm consisted of , which supported 20 cows and produced various small crops.

Nelson was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin during the 1930s. and was active in the Farm Holiday Association, elected as a vice president in 1936.

In 1934, Nelson was the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for Governor of Wisconsin, receiving over 50,000 votes in the race. The end of July saw Nelson making campaign stops in Illinois, where he spoke on behalf of John Fisher, the Socialist Party's candidate for governor.

After the campaign stint in the Midwest, Nelson was hustled back east to the core of the Socialist Party's strength. He spoke in Pennsylvania in early August before making his way to New York City at a reception in his honor on August 13, 1936, in the club room of the Hotel Delano, where he shared the podium with Harry W. Laidler, Socialist candidate for Governor of New York. At the New York event, Nelson declared that American farmers were "victims of the capitalist skin-game" and that the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was ineffectual since "we can't regulate what we don't own." The end of August featured Nelson appearances in upstate New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

In September, Nelson was sent into the South, including campaign stops in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. before heading for Kansas and Oklahoma.

The finale of the 1936 Socialist Party campaign took place on Sunday, November 1, 1936, when the party faithful gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York City to hear Thomas, Nelson, Laidler, black Congressional candidate Frank R. Crosswaith, and Milwaukee Mayor Daniel W. Hoan. Giant portraits of Norman Thomas and George Nelson flanked the stage, with a tall banner of a hand-and-torch — a Socialist Party emblem — immediately behind the rostrum. Hoan and Nelson spoke from Chicago, with their voices broadcast to the huge auditorium via radio hookup. Nelson's call for America to continue "the pioneering spirit of our forefathers" towards a socialist reorganization of society drew a mighty cheer from the gathering.

In 1938, Nelson was the candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin of the Farmer-Labor Progressive Federation. After that federation ended in 1941, he was again candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in 1944.

Death and legacy

George Nelson died on May 4, 1962, in a hospital in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.

Nelson was married and the father of four boys and three girls.

One who met Nelson during his 1936 New York City campaign stop recalled him:

"George Nelson is not one of the usual 'politician' types — a hail fellow well met one minute, a very exclusive, self-important individual the next. As he is on the platform, I can picture him on the farm. And the same kindly, unassuming ways that bespeak him a good neighbor, bespeak him a genuine comrade of the party. The word, comrade, on his lips is a heart-felt recognition of the need of one man for another, a need which capitalism exploits but which genuine Socialism serves."

Works The Farce of Farm Relief. With Carrie Eddie Sheffler. Chicago: Socialist Party of America, n.d. [c. 1934]. Farmers: Where Are We Going? Chicago: Socialist Party of America, 1934.

Footnotes