Louis A. Fritsche

Louis Albert Fritsche (May 28, 1862 - June 18, 1931) was a Minnesota politician, medical doctor, and the mayor of New Ulm, Minnesota from 1912 until 1920. During World War I Fritsche was suspended from his position as mayor and barred from holding higher political office by the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety for holding opposing views on World War I and being a part of the broader anti-war movement.

Early life Louis Albert Fritsche was born on May 28, 1862 in Lafayette Township in Nicollet County, Minnesota, he was the son of Carl Frederick "Fred" Wilhelm Fritsche and Louise Wilhelmine Lillie who were both German American immigrants to Minnesota Territory who later settled land north of New Ulm, Minnesota. Fritsche's father Frederick was one of the founders of New Ulm and took part in the military expedition to the Yellow Medicine River to arrest Inkpaduta for the Spirit Lake Massacre in March 1857. In 1900 Fritsche was appointed by Minnesota Governor John Lind as a member of the Minnesota state board of medical examiners for a term of three years. This military appointment would continue under Minnesota Governor Adolph Olson Eberhart following Bobleter's death in 1909. Fritsche continued his served on the staffs of General Reeves and again by his successor, Gen. A. W. Wright. Shortly after America's entry into the war the Selective Service Act of 1917 was approved and Minnesotans were soon being drafted to fight in the war. Fritsche, as well as Pfaender, and Martin Luther College professor and college president Adolph Ackerman all openly opposed the draft and America's entry into the war. Fritsche soon became a target of the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety (MCPS), a political watchdog organization in Minnesota created on April 16, 1917 by the Minnesota Legislature in order to enforce draft laws, spy on citizens, and stamp out political opposition such as the Nonpartisan League and the Industrial Workers of the World who both opposed the war. Fritsche would go on to run two unsuccessful campaigns for the office of Governor of Minnesota in both the 1924 Minnesota gubernatorial election and the 1928 Minnesota gubernatorial election, losing both times. Lastly, in 1930 Fritsche attempted to campaign for the office of United States House of Representatives from the Second Congressional District of Minnesota, however, he lost to Frank Clague.

Personal life Fritsche married Amalie Pfaender (1865-1960), the daughter of Minnesota politician and Dakota War of 1862 veteran William Pfaender on June 14, 1890 in Berlin.